Hobo, brakeman, sailor, gospel singer, goldminer, mule driver, trade unionist, radio DJ, actor, veteran of the Boxer Rebellion and the Spanish-American War - Mr Harry McClintock the Great American Bum.
“When I was fourteen I ran away from home to join the Gentry Bros. Dog and Pony Show. When season ended, I hoboed to New Orleans where I was lucky enough to meet Captain and owner of a small stern-wheeler steamer that was laid up for the winter...
“It was in New Orleans that I found singing in saloons could be profitable. A bunch of Limey sailors were having a bit of a sing-song and I ventured in and shared in one of the choruses. I was immediately asked to grab a glass and sit it. Someone called on me for a song and I obliged. I scored a hit. I sang, it seemed, for hours. I'll never know how I got back to the boat, but in the morning I shook something like three bucks in nickles, dimes and quarters out of my pockets. I had made a discovery that shaped my life. No one who can sing need ever go hungry. They kept dropping coins in my pockets.”
- Bluegrass Messengers
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