Uncle Jimmy Thompson Pathway Marker

The only performer on WSM radio's first "Barn Dance" was "Uncle Jimmy" Thompson from Smith County, Tennessee. On Nov. 28, 1925, Thompson plan on-air for an hour, taking requests via telegrams and phone calls. Commercial radio was just 5 years old and WSM had been on air for only seven weeks.

Later, he recorded two sessions of songs that yielded four songs each, but only two records were issued, one on Columbia Records in 1926 and another on Vocalion Records in 1930. The four unreleased recordings were lost, so that only 12 minutes of Thompson's music remain, which captured the spirit and character of early American fiddle music.