Liverpool has the Beatles; Charlotte, NC, has the Briarhoppers. There are those in the latter town who feel the history of the Briarhoppers is also the history of their city and while that might be a bit too much of a crawl into the briar, it is true without a doubt that the history of broadcast media in Charlotte and this old-time group are intertwined as tightly as decades of unchecked briar, kudzu, and honeysuckle growth. Beginning with radio, then proceeding to television, the Briarhoppers were a regular programming fixture, the group's popularity spreading to a variety of old-time and country music-oriented programs over the years, including the nationally broadcast Louisiana Hayride. The story begins sometime in 1933 with Charlotte's WBT radio acquiring a 50,000-watt power boost and a new host, Charles H. Crutchfield from Hope, AK. It was Crutchfield who was credited with first organizing the Briarhoppers the following year. The nucleus of the new group was a country and early bluegrass duo Whitey Hogan from nearby Gastonia. The singing partners Arval Hogan and Roy Whitey Grant went from making cords to playing chords; they met while toiling in a cotton mill where a cord fabric used in automobile tires was made. The excellent banjoist Shannon Grayson, himself a leader of the Golden Valley Boys, was frequently heard in the company of the duo and folded himself into the new Briarhoppers outfit. Fiddler and mandolinist Garnett B. Warren, born in Mt. Airy, was also associated with the band in its early days, as was Fred Kirby, a singing cowboy type who cut a series of records on his own, including the marvelous Atomic Power. Claude Casey -- a musician who doubled as a Western actor and later, a South Carolina radio station owner -- was the lead singer with the group for several years. Coming up with a detailed lineup of Briarhoppers at any given time is much more difficult than the membership of the Beatles ever was, at the Best or worst of times. A studio photograph from the '30s shows what looks like something of an extended Appalachian string band, including a piano player, a mandolinist whose instrument is almost bigger than he is, two fiddlers, a guitarist, an upright bassist, a banjoist and a girl who seems to be holding a fife, although it could also be the sawed off barrel of a shotgun. To say that this group fit well into the ambience of the station is perhaps less of a description than is needed. Suffice to say, in 1935 Crutchfield made radio history by providing the first-ever radio broadcast of the notorious "Rebel Yell," supposedly used to chase the Yankees in the Civil War. Other Crutchfield coups included the marriage of two former slaves over the air. By comparison, the Briarhoppers must have seemed like nothing but good taste, even considering the heavy hillbilly content that was sometimes forced on many of the performing groups of this era. In 1941, the Carter Family joined WBT and Crutchfield once again made radio history by turning down Andy Griffith's job application, supposedly because Griffith wanted too much money at 75 dollars a week. The Carolina Hayride began in 1945 and the show's name was eventually changed to Carolina Calling when it was picked up by the CBS network. This program was a great outlet for many country and old-time artists of the day. North Carolina's first television station, WBTV, hit the airwaves in the summer of 1949 and by 1951, the station had begun live broadcasts featuring many of the same musical personalities who had proved to be so popular on radio. Also in the mid-'50s, the #Carolina Barn Dance became yet another hit live music series, a summer replacement on NBC or ABC throughout most of the 1950s, giving national exposure to acts. Nonetheless, the Briarhoppers broke up in the mid-'50s due to a lack of much financial return and the end of the radio contract. Hogan moved to Florida, but eventually decided to get back together with his old partner, but not on a musical basis at first. They wound up living next door to each other, both working as mail carriers for the post office. A growing interest in bluegrass in the '90s got these reluctant mailmen back into picking and in 1996, a re-formed Briarhoppers featuring Whitey Hogan was busy touring and cutting new albums. In 2002, the group received an award from the Charlotte Folklore Society. Associating the group totally with this duo during this later era of its activity would be a mistake, however. By 2000, the group was carrying on without them and a Briarhoppers without them cut several new recordings for the Lamon label in the '80s. The title of these CDs, Hit's Briarhoppers Time, recalls a classic element of the original broadcasts and is not a reference to any smash records the group might have had, which it didn't. The programs used to begin with Hogan asking what time it is and the reply would be: "Hit's Briarhopper time!" Saying "hit's" for "its" is an essential part of the North Carolina patois, definitely suggested if one is trying to get a good price on car parts in the region. The modern incarnation of the Briarhoppers is usually a quintet and is frequently featured at regional old-time music and folk fests, as well as big-time local events such as the Fun Fourth. Group membership carries on the tradition of confusion, often involving members of Appalachian family dynasties. Don White is the only player who claims to be an original band member. With him on board, the group can at least claim to still have a "whitey," not a bad idea when playing old-time music in North Carolina. Other members include fiddler, mandolinist, and guitarist Dwight Moody and banjoist David Deese. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi