<P> Dalhart was born in Jefferson, Texas on April 6, 1883 . He took his stage name from two towns, Vernon and Dalhart in Texas, between which he punched cattle as a teenager in the 1890s . Dalhart's father, Robert Marion Slaughter, was killed by his brother - in - law, Bob Castleberry, when Vernon was age 10 . When Dalhart was 12 or 13, the family moved from Jefferson to Dallas, Texas . </P> <P> He sang and played harmonica and jaw harp at local community events and attended the Dallas Conservatory of Music . He married Sadie Lee Moore - Livingston in 1901 and had two children, a son and a daughter . In 1910, he moved the family to New York City, where he worked in a piano warehouse and took occasional singing jobs . </P> <P> Dalhart's education was rooted in classical music . He wanted to be an opera singer, and in 1913 he got parts in Madame Butterfly and H.M.S. Pinafore . He saw an advertisement in the local newspaper for singers and applied . He was auditioned by Thomas Alva Edison and went on to record for Edison Records . From 1916 until 1923, he made over 400 recordings of light classical music and early dance band vocals for various record labels . </P> <P> In the 1920s and 1930s, he sang on more than 5000 singles (78s) for many labels, employing more than 100 pseudonyms, such as Al Craver, Vernon Dale, Frank Evans, Hugh Lattimer, Sid Turner, George White (with original Memphis Five) and Bob White . On Grey Gull Records, he often used the name "Vel Veteran", which was also used by other singers, including Arthur Fields . He was already an established singer when he made his first country music recordings . </P>

What type of music did vernon dalhart sing before switching to country music