A. A. Gray

A. A. Gray (September 7, 1881—June 21, 1939) was an American country musician. He was a well-known fiddler in his time and was a frequent participant in the Atlanta Fiddler's Conventions. He also played the violin.

A. A. Gray was born Ahaz Augustus Gray on September 7, 1881, in Carroll County, Georgia, to Matt and Eliza Gray. He learned to play the fiddle from his older brother and played for his first local Barn Dance when he was seven years old.

At age 25, Gray married Ida Clarinda Smith in a ceremony in Buchanan, the seat of Haralson County. Sometime after their marriage, the couple moved to a rural community near Tallapoosa, Georgia. They spent the rest of their lives in and around Tallapoosa where Gray made a living by farming and fiddling. They had three children—two boys and a girl.

Gray was popular among Haralson County residents as a square-dance fiddler. He also led his band Gray's String Band, with Charlie Thompson on guitar, Henry West on banjo, and Fred Hill on fiddle. The band usually incorporated jokes and dances into their routine. They played regularly at local and statewide events. 

During the week, he performed Saturday evening square dances and went on tours throughout Georgia. In 1916, Gray won the Atlanta Fiddlers' Convention—a reward he won three more times until 1935, more often than any other fiddler. He made his first radio appearance (unpaid) when Atlanta had its first radio station, WSB, in 1922.

In 1924, Gray recorded his solo record with "Bonaparte's Retreat" and "Merry Widow Waltz" (Okeh Records, August 1924). "Merry Widow Waltz" is a soundtrack from the 1861 operetta The Merry Widow (Die lustige Witwe) by Austrian-born Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. This was his only solo recording, but he did participate in recordings by other artists. In 1930, he played violin on John Dilleshaw (aka Seven Foot Dilly)'s recordings of A Fiddler's Tryout in Georgia, Parts 1 and 2 (Vocalion Records). He was accompanied by Joe Brown (violin), William Archer Chumbler (speaker), and Hoke Rice (speaker). He also made a few more recordings with John Dilleshaw in 1930 ("Tallapoosa Bound", "Streak o' Lean", "The Old Ark's A-Moving", "A Georgia Barbecue at Stone Mountain").

Gray also performed in a few skits modeled after the works of Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers, an old-time band from Georgia.

He continued to perform live in the 1930s and was occasionally heard on the radio, but he did not make any recordings. 

• Bonaparte's Retreat / Merry Widow Waltz (1924, OKeh Records)
• Streack-O-Lean, Streack-O-Fat / Tallapoosa Bound (with John Dilleshaw, 1930, Vocalion Records)
• The Old Ark's A-Movin ' (with John Dilleshaw, 1930, Vocalion Records)
• A Georgia Barbecue At Stone Mountain, Part 1 / A Georgia Barbecue At Stone Mountain, Part 2 (1930, Vocalion Records)
• A Fiddler's Tryout In Georgia, Part 1 / A Fiddler's Tryout In Georgia, Part 2 (1930, Vocalion Records)

Gray died on June 21, 1939, at the age of 57. He had been a member of the Methodist church for more than thirty years when he died.