Earl McDonald Memorial

Friday, September 18.
Honor the legacy and memory of
Louisville jug blower Earl McDonald.

Earl McDonald led the Ballard Chefs' weekly performances on Louisville's WHAS radio for three years (1929-1932). Public response exceeded expectations, enhancing the popularity of jug band music throughout the eastern half of the United States. Earl McDonald’s voice and the rhythm of his jug blowing enlivened the recordings of more than 40 tunes with a half-dozen bands from 1924 to 1931.

In addition to his Original Louisville Jug Band, those bands included Louisville Jug Band, Sara Martin’s Jug Band, Clifford’s Louisville Jug Band, Old Southern Jug Band as well as the Dixieland Jug Blowers.

His music was remarkable. His grave remains unmarked. On September 18 that will change when we unveil a monument at Earl’s gravesite in Louisville Cemetery. The next day, we will also unveil a Historical Highway Marker in his honor. We hope to have it placed along River Road near downtown Louisville.

Join us to honor this Louisville great!

Contributions through September 30, 2008: $1,156, thanks to:

Organizations

Chasin' Gus' Ghost ( the movie), Cincinnati Dancing Pigs, Jake Leg Stompers, Falk Audio, Gutbucket Jug Band (Australia), Juggernaut Jug Band, International Association of Jazz Record Collectors, Louisville Cemetery, National Jug Band Jubilee, Old Southern Jug Blowers (Japan), Searchin' the Roots Jug Band (Germany)

Individuals

Twenty Anonymous Jubilee Fans, Brandon Armstrong, Keith Baker, Tom Beck, Ron Bombardi, Chris Brandstatt, Eric Buhrer,Alison Drury, Steve Drury,  Anthony Dunn, Kellie Everett, Gary Falk, Jacob Fishman, Fred Glock, Wayne Hagen, Ralph S. Helm, Mike Hoerni, Vicki Hoerni, Ed Horning, Dieter Koerner, Todd Kwait, Arlo Leach, Shugo Maki, Cissy Musselman, Aviv Naamani, Ed Ohr, Marcia Provette, Dot Ridings, Sam Rorex, Bill Steber, Bill Street, Eric Sylvester, Charlee Tidrick, Gloria Wenz, Rod Wenz, Jim (Whip) Williams

Earl McDonald led the Ballard Chefs' weekly performances on Louisville's WHAS radio for three years (1929-1932).  Public response exceeded expectations, enhancing the popularity of jug band music throughout the eastern half of the United States.

Earl McDonald

  (1885-1949) 

His music was remarkable. 
His grave remains unmarked.

His musical influence lives on:

In July 2008, Japan’s Old Southern Jug Blowers released the CD album “The Jug Band Special” as a tribute to Earl McDonald’s recordings of the 1920s.

 Earl's voice and the rhythm of his jug blowing enlivened recordings of more than 40 tunes with a half-dozen bands from 1924 to 1931. In addition to his Original Louisville Jug Band, those bands included Louisville Jug Band, Sara Martin’s Jug Band, Clifford’s Louisville Jug Band, Old Southern Jug Band as well as the Dixieland Jug Blowers, whose quality is praised in the new jug band film documentary “Chasin’ Gus’ Ghost.”

Arlo Leach, jug band music instructor at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, has launched a fund drive for a handsome black granite monument at Earl’s gravesite in Louisville Cemetery. Its price: $1,800.

Become One in a Hundred--Send $18

to the Earl McDonald Memorial Fund

2435 Carolina Avenue

Louisville, KY 40205

Your tax-free gift covers 1% of the memorial's cost.

National Jug Band Jubilee
is a gathering of the nation's best jug bands,

performing in the city that started it all, that brings America's Happiest Music back to its old Kentucky home. 
Dedicated to preserving jug band music at its late 19th century home--Louisville, Kentucky. 
National Jug Band Jubilee--funded in part through aKentucky Arts Council grant.