Lesley Riddle Meets Artificial Intelligence

James E. Akenson

Tennessee Tech University (Retired)

Cookeville, Tennessee, U.S.A

You never know what’s coming down the proverbial pike. I’ve known about the African American influence on Country Music for quite a while. From time to time, I heard about African American Lesley Riddle who worked with A.P. Carter collecting songs. Recently, I stumbled on a documentary project being developed about Lesley Riddle.

It piqued my curiosity and I’ve had some contact with folks involved in the Lesley Riddle documentary.  More importantly, it made me want to be more knowledgeable about Lesley Riddle. I also wanted to combine Lesle Riddley with my exploration of Artificial Intelligence. Could I get a handle on the two…Lesley Riddle and Artificial Intelligence? Let’s not kid ourselves. Despite jobs that might be eliminated and a negative environmental impact, Ai is here to stay.

Good news. I came up with an angle to link Lesley Riddle and Artificial Intelligence. How about this? Speed Dating should meet Artificial Intelligence (Ai). It’s hard for singles to meet other eligible singles in today’s world. Why don’t people just go to church, meet, and get married in church? Tinder, eHarmony and other ways of meeting potential partners can be tricky. 

Ai would certainly make Speed Dating encounters less intimidating and provide great items to share. The first thing said to your speed date could be “Hi there, here is my life enhancing caricature, fun facts, and a graphic with important elements of my life.” Just think. It would minimize any awkward moments, pauses, stuttering when making a hip, with-it, confident impression matters. After all, like it or not, first impressions are often lasting impressions.  

Let’s go back in Country Music history for some Speed Dating. Let’s go back in time and meet Lesley Riddle. Of course, you say just who is Lesley Riddle? Let’s go straight to the Ai source and make it easier on ourselves. I prefer going back in time via Mr. Peabody on The Adventures Bullwinkle and Rocky cartoon show.

Mr. Peabody and his dog Sherman time traveled in Mr. Peabody’s Way Back Machine to experience history.   But, Ai is considered cool. It’s not quite as hip as the likes of Sydney Sweeney advancing women’s rights by “Freeing the Nipple,” but Ai roxx.

Let’s give you, gentle reader, a quick overview. Lesley Riddle worked with A.P. Carter of the Carter Family collecting songs in the 1920s and 30s. That’s enough. Now let’s do our Ai Speed Dating. I asked Ai “Did Lesley Riddle have an impact on early Country Music?”  Ai said “Yes—Lesley Riddle absolutely had an impact on early country music, even though his name is far less known than many of the artists he influenced.”

Ai provided evidence of Riddle’s importance.  

1. Lesley Riddle (c. 1905–1980) was an African American guitarist and singer from Tennessee.
2. He was an exceptionally skilled musician, especially known for his blues-inflected guitar style and strong musical memory.
3.  Riddle worked closely with A.P. Carter in the late 1920s.
4. When A.P. traveled through the South collecting songs, Riddle often accompanied him, helping locate musicians and learn songs.
5. Crucially, Riddle had an extraordinary ability to remember melodies and lyrics, which helped preserve songs that would otherwise have been lost.

Ai identified specific musical impact

1. Many songs that became core to the Carter Family repertoire—now foundational to country music—came through Riddle’s influence.
2. His blues phrasing, guitar runs, and rhythmic feel shaped the Carter Family sound, especially Maybelle Carter’s guitar style.
3. This is a key example of how African American musical traditions directly shaped early country music, even though that influence was often uncredited.

Ai suggested why he was overlooked

1. Racial segregation and the music industry’s practices at the time meant Riddle received little recognition or compensation.
2. His role was largely behind the scenes, despite being musically significant.
3. Lesley Riddle wasn’t just a minor contributor—he was a bridge between Black blues traditions and early white country music, and his influence helped shape what we now recognize as classic country.

I had already heard and read the points Ai made in our Speed Date. Most important to me is the African American influence that Lesley Riddle represents.  

I also asked the same basic Lesley Riddle question a second time. I slightly changed it to “How does Lesley Riddle illustrate the Country Music and African American relationship.” Ai responded with the same basic information, but provided slightly different emphases. Ai stated:

1. His biggest impact was on Maybelle Carter’s guitar technique: He taught her fingerpicking and slide techniques. She adapted these into the famous “Carter scratch,” a defining sound of country guitar. That style influenced generations of country musicians. So a central sound of country music can be traced directly to an African American musician.
2. Riddle contributed songs and helped collect others that became part of the Carter Family’s catalog including The Cannonball, Coal Miner Blues, and I know What It Means to Be Lonesome.
3. His story reveals racial segregation in the music industry. Even though he helped shape the Carter Family’s sound: Country music was marketed as “hillbilly” music for white audiences. Black artists were placed in separate “race music” categories. Riddle himself received little recognition until decades later.

That’s not all the Speed Dating I did with Ai and Lesley Riddle. I asked Ai to create some graphics that got at important aspects of Country Music.  The first graphic I wanted Ai to create dealt with the Black and White interchange in Country Music and the Sacred and Profane dimension.

The Sacred and Profane comes from the strong Evangelical Protestant presence in Country Music culture. Ernest Tubb’s song Saturday Night Sinner Sunday Saint indicates the tension between good and evil, heaven and hell, being saved or lost. 

Take a look at what Ai generated for me.  On the surface, The Impact of Lesley Riddle on Country Music is impressive. I like the visual at the top and in the four quadrants.  The numbers, though, are a touch off and need to be consistent from 0 to +5 and 0 to -5.  I asked a very knowledgeable Lesley Riddle colleague what she thought of the graphic. She indicated: 

Going clockwise beginning with the top left slide – I think they meant to say “song” and not “sing.  Then the next slide is incorrect.  The Carter’s did not teach Mr. RIddle their musical stylings.  It was Mr. Riddle who showed Mother Maybelle both his unique picking style and also his slide guitar work.  She incorporated some of those elements into her style.  The 3rd slide seems okay but the 4th one – I don’t like the term “attitude” (he really didn’t have one) and it’s better said that “the elements of his music can be found even in the music of today and especially in the blues, country and rock genres.”

Well now. Three different Ai queries produced some different results. Then again, you might say that changing the question and format of research can result in different outcomes. True. The differences in the first two queries, though brought some slightly different emphases.

The graphic query though produced some items are polar opposites. The Carter Family did…or didn’t…learn some technique from Lesley Riddle. And…it’s not consistent with what the first two queries generated about Lesley Riddle’s impact on Mother Maybelle’s picking. 

There might be other items to question. No question Lesley Riddle lived in the Bristol, Tennessee and Virginia region. The Lesley Riddle historical marker makes things a bit more complex. The date of death is 1979, not 1980. Not a big deal, but which is accurate? He was born in Burnsville, North Carolina, but did grow up with grandparents in Tennessee.  And…even Wikipedia lists more songs of Riddle’s that the Carter Family recorded. An error of omission? Or just giving examples?

I queried Ai for another graphic representation about Lesley Riddle. I wanted to get a bit more sophisticated. I queried Ai to create a graphic with Sacred vs Profane on the X axis. The Y axis had Hard Core vs. Soft Shell on the Y axis.  Hard Core vs Soft Shell deals with very traditional Country Music vs Pop and Rock influenced Country Music.

In addition, I asked Ai to somehow include two early social scientists Max Weber and Emile Durkheim have had a big impact on how we think. I happened to run into them through the joys of going to college.  

Take a look at the graphic. It certainly put Lesley Riddle in the appropriate quadrant. He fits in the Black Sacred and Hard Core traditional quadrant. It makes sense to place the Carter Family in the Sacred quadrant, but most folks might think the Carters are hard Core traditionalists.

The 1927 Bristol Sessions are known as “The Big Bang of Country Music” and most folks would probably see the Bristol recordings as a touch more Hard Core traditional. Yes. Jimmie Rodgers recorded in the Bristol Session and is often viewed as a Profane symbol of Country Music. 

You’re wondering….the dashed line? It’s a statistical “what if” line of how all the varied songs would be plotted if they could be given a score from Sacred vs Profane to Hard Core vs Soft Shell. How does Ai know how to create such a line? Trust me, you don’t want to know unless you had to take statistics courses…more than one for sure… in university. It suggests, though, that Ai could point you toward some intriguing investigations about Country Music. 

I’ve done some other Lesley Riddle Ai queries, but I think the big picture comes through. Ai is impressive. Ai isn’t perfect. Use Ai carefully. It’s true, though, that there are other sources could give you a quick overview of Lesley Riddle or the topic of your choice. In Search Of Lesley Riddle by the Birthplace of Country Music Museum gets at the major ideas regarding Lesley Riddle.

The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area piece on Historic Artist Lesley Riddle is short and to the point. NPR station WXXI has a piece Lesley Riddle’s Story May Sound Familiar. That’s just three examples that a Lesley riddle search could offered….and there’s lots more. 

I’m impressed by Ai in various ways including the negative environmental and job loss impact. I brought my own knowledge to bear asking about Lesley Riddle. I’ve heard that there is an 80-20 rule. Twenty percent of your results can come from Ai. Eighty percent comes from your own effort. Sounds reasonable.

I’ve added to my knowledge of Lesley Riddle and my knowledge of Ai.  Speed Dating is fun. It won’t make a relationship a sure thing. You’ll have to grow your relationship in many ways to have a Life Partner. Ai won’t make your relationship to Country Music knowledge a sure thing. You’ll have to bring your own personal growth to your Country Music relationship.

Go for it.