In this clip form the 1930s, the Cumberland Ridge Runners perform “Goofus,” a request from a member of the audience of children from a hospital ward that sit beside them.
The Cumberland Ridge Runners were a popular radio act in the 1930s, known for their musical virtuosity as much as their on stage antics, as seen here with the imitation of Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy and the switching of instruments mid-song.
Led by Guitarist Karl Davis and mandolinist Hartford Taylor, the Cumberland Ridge Runners took on a hillbilly schtick, popular in the wake of the Great Depression.
Featured performers on WLS Chicago’s National Barn Dance, the band became something of a launching pad for future \ country artists, most notably Red Foley.
