Hoke Rice

Hoke Rice (January 8, 1909—May 26, 1974) was an American guitarist, banjoist, vocalist, songwriter, and old-time musician from Atlanta, Georgia. He played with several blues and hillbilly bands during the 1930s and 1934s and achieved fame with his band The Rice Brothers' Gang with his younger brother John Paul Rice (1913–1988), a guitarist, banjoist, and vocalist. He also performed regularly on Atlanta radio stations.

Hoke also used Chester Maines, Duke Lane, and Lee Landon.

Hoke Rice was born Hoke Spencer Rice in New Holland, Georgia, on January 8, 1909. His father worked as a cobbler during the week and worked in a local church on the weekends. His mother, Laura Della Adams Rice Silvey (1887–1967), was a talented musician who played five-string banjo, fiddle, and piano. She inspired her two sons to get into music. After the parents divorced in 1920, the brothers lived in various small towns in Georgia with their mother and stepfather, Rufus M. Silvey, a textile mill mechanic and part-time musician.

Hoke learned music from his mother and stepfather and also took guitar lessons from a local classical and pop-oriented guitarist.

Hoke began his professional music career in the early 1920s, performing solo in the Atlanta area and on Atlanta radio stations. He was a sought-after guitarist by record labels and played on recordings by various old-time music groups such as Lowe Stokes's North Georgians and Gid Tanner and his Skillet Lickers.

In October 1927, Hoke played guitar on Lowe Stokes's recordings of "Home Brew Rag" and "Unexplained Blues", accompanied by Clayton McMichen (violin) and Kasper "Stranger" Malone (clarinet). The following month, he made recordings with Clayton McMichen's group Melody Men accompanied by K. D. Malone (clarinet), Lowe Stokes (violin), and Riley Puckett (guitar). During that time, his brother Paul made appearances on Atlanta's WSB radio with Fiddlin' John Carson and also recorded with Gid Tanner.

In March 1930, Hoke made his first solo recordings for Brunswick Records and Paramount Records with Malone, Puckett, Stokes, and McMichen. In the following years, he was a member of the old-time string band The Carolina Tar Heels, with whom he performed at WSB Radio until 1934. The Carolina Tar Heels were Dock Walsh on banjo, Gwen Foster on harmonica, and Clarence Ashley on guitar.

At the beginning of his career, Hoke also recorded using pseudonyms Chester Maines, Duke Lane, and Lee Landon. As Lee Landon, he recorded "Waitin' For A Train" and "Lullaby Yodel" (Champion Records) in 1929. The same year, he recorded "Blue Yodel" No. 3 and No. 4 as Duke Lane. As Chester Maines, he recorded "Unexplained Blues" and "Oh Sweet Mamma Blues" in 1930. After that, he led a band Hoke Rice And His Hoky Poky Boys and recorded "Brown Mule Slide" / "Georgia Jubilee" (1930), "Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet" / "Wabash Blues" (1931), and "I Don't Love Nobody" / "Georgia Gal" (1931)—all on Brunswick Records.

Around 1934, Rice and his brother Paul formed their band The Rice Brothers' Gang, and toured throughout the United States. While touring, they made appearances on radio stations in Roanoke, Virginia; Cincinnati, Ohio; Washington, D.C. and Shreveport, Louisiana. They also scored a 13-week stint at the Village Barn venue in New York City and a six-month tour of duty with the Texas Centennial Exposition in 1936.

In 1937, the brothers returned to Atlanta, where they worked primarily on various radio stations such as WSB, WAGA, and WGST. During this time, with the companionship of various musicians, the group adapted to the Western swing style.

In June 1938, the gang played in Charlotte, North Carolina, accompanied by Johnny Gorman (steel/sax), Mike Eargle (bass), and Warren Sykes (harmonica).

In 1938, The Rice Brothers' Gang began working with Decca Records and recorded over 50 titles through 1941. On September 13, 1939, they recorded The Pine Ridge Boys (Marv Taylor and Doug Spivey)'s hit "You Are My Sunshine" for Decca Records in New York City. They sold the rights of the song to Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell for $35. Davis and Mitchell's version of the song became very popular and Davis went on to be governor of Louisiana from 1944 to 1948 and again from 1960 to 1964. The song was authorized as one of the official songs of the state of Louisiana.

Video: You Are My Sunshine by The Rice Brothers' Gang

Towards the end of the decade, the brothers moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where their music career peaked. They regularly performed on Shreveport's sports radio station KWKH. Hoke also got to perform in Louisiana Hayride, a radio/television country music show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport.

Hoke's music career was interrupted when the two brothers were drafted into the US Army when the Second World War broke out. After their discharge, Hoke left the music business and worked as a salesman with an appliance firm in Shreveport. Paul initially worked as a bass player in Chicago and in the late 1940s, moved back to Atlanta, where he was a member of The TV Wranglers, a TV music act on Atlanta's WAGA-TV. Paul retired from the music business in 1960.

Hoke and Paul Rice were inducted into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame in 1998.

Hoke married Jean Killgore (1922–2016) in 1941. They had two daughters— Rebecca Lusk (of Oklahoma) and Patricia Johnson (of New Orleans).

Following a long illness, Hoke died in Highland Hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana, on May 26, 1974, at age 65. His brother Paul died at his home in an Atlanta suburb on January 22, 1988.