# Salty Holmes

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{{Short description|American country musician (1910–1970)}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2017}}
'''Floyd Holmes''' (March 6, 1910 – January 1, 1970), better known as '''Salty Holmes''', was an American [country music](/source/country_music)ian, [harmonica](/source/harmonica) player and [Western B-movie](/source/B_movies_(Hollywood_Golden_Age)) [actor](/source/actor).

==Biography==
Holmes was born in [Glasgow, Kentucky](/source/Glasgow%2C_Kentucky). He became a [virtuoso](/source/virtuoso) on the [harmonica](/source/harmonica), specializing in the style known as "talking harp" which imitated the human voice (much like [Sonny Terry](/source/Sonny_Terry)). He also played the [jug](/source/jug_(musical_instrument)) and guitar. He formed the group The Kentucky Ramblers in 1930, who changed their name to The Prairie Ramblers in 1933 and began broadcasting on [Chicago](/source/Chicago) radio station [WLS-AM](/source/WLS_(AM)) with new vocalist [Patsy Montana](/source/Patsy_Montana).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/patsy-montana-mn0000015122/biography|title=Patsy Montana &#124; Biography & History|website=[AllMusic](/source/AllMusic)| access-date=20 September 2023}}</ref> They continued performing and recording under this name until 1952, playing country, [hillbilly music](/source/hillbilly_music), [gospel](/source/gospel_music), and pop songs. They were the backing group on Montana's platinum hit "[I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart](/source/I_Want_to_Be_a_Cowboy's_Sweetheart)". Group members included Jack Taylor on bass, Chick Hurt on [mandolin](/source/mandolin), and Alan Crocket and, later, Tex Atchison on fiddle. They made over 100 recordings between 1933 and 1940, including as [session musician](/source/session_musician)s.

The Prairie Ramblers have been called a "hot string band"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bear-family.com/monroe-bill-1936-1949-6-cd.html|title=Bill Monroe 1936-1949 (6-CD)|website=Bear-family.com|accessdate=January 16, 2020}}</ref> and "a hot fiddler band".<ref>Rosenberg & Wolfe, p. 9</ref> Both their "aggressive rhythms" and Chick Hurt's mandolin playing inspired [Bill Monroe](/source/Bill_Monroe),a mandolin virtuoso who is regarded as the "father of [bluegrass](/source/bluegrass_music)".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nodepression.com/album-review/bill-monroe-blue-moon-kentucky-1936-1949|title=The Journal of Roots Music|access-date=21 October 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301180435/http://nodepression.com/album-review/bill-monroe-blue-moon-kentucky-1936-1949|archive-date=2017-03-01}}</ref>

While a member of the Prairie Ramblers, Holmes befriended [Gene Autry](/source/Gene_Autry), who invited him to [Hollywood](/source/Hollywood%2C_Los_Angeles) to star in [Western](/source/western_film)s in 1936 and 1944; among the films Holmes appeared in are ''[Arizona Days](/source/Arizona_Days_(1937_film))'' and ''[Saddle Leather Law](/source/Saddle_Leather_Law)''. In a scene of ''Arizona Days'', Holmes played two harmonicas using his mouth and nose. The Prairie Ramblers also backed Autry on some of his recordings in the 1930s.

He collaborated with [Jean Chapel](/source/Jean_Chapel) as Mattie & Salty, playing regularly on the ''[Grand Ole Opry](/source/Grand_Ole_Opry)''; the two married in 1947 and divorced in 1956 and had two daughters named Barbara Holmes Hale and Lana (Chapel) who was part of their act as a young child.

==References==
'''Citations'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Sources'''
*{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p154112|label=Salty Holmes}}
* Neil V. Rosenberg & Charles K. Wolfe. ''The Music of Bill Monroe (Music in American Life)''. University of Illinois, 2007.

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=0392037|name=Salty Holmes}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Salty}}
Category:1910 births
Category:1970 deaths
Category:American country harmonica players
Category:Country musicians from Kentucky
Category:People from Glasgow, Kentucky
Category:4 Star Records artists
Category:Vocalion Records artists
Category:20th-century American musicians

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Salty Holmes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salty_Holmes) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salty_Holmes?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.