Pioneer recording executive and music publisher whose work documented an array of
vernacular music. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Peer, by the age of eleven, developed a
fascination with recordings. Upon graduation from high school, he began working for
Columbia Phonograph Company, learn ing every facet of the business. In 1918 he moved
over to the small Okeh label and soon became its director of recordings.
In 1920 he authorized the recording of Mamie Smith, a Black songstress popular in
Harlem, singing “Crazy Blues.” This recording’s success began a trend that led to the
realization that there was a huge untapped African American market hungry for its own
music.
In 1923, eager to find other regional music that would sell on records, Peer initiated
the practice of conducting regional expeditions, in which he could find local talent. On
his initial field trip, to Atlanta, he discovered Fiddlin’ John Carson, the first of many
hillbilly musicians that Peer recorded. In succeeding years, Peer combed the South,
recording hundreds of rural artists, both Black and White, whose 78-rpm discs
complement field recordings made by folklorists during these same years. A major
difference is that Peer pushed for fresh material that he could copyright.
Peer eventually pioneered the recording of Latin American music, using the same
formula he had worked out for vernacular music in the United States. Peer is largely
responsible for the introduction of Latin American music to a northern audience.
Ed Kahn
References
Green, Archie. 1965. Hillbilly Music: Source and Symbol. Journal of American Folklore 78:204–
228.