In the post-Reconstruction South, many African Americans moved in search of better economic opportunities, and many became traveling musicians or itinerant songsters performing various genres on street corners. One such performer was Henry "Ragtime Texas" Thomas, born in 1874 to sharecroppers on a farm in Big Sandy, a hometown originally called Big Sandy Switch that developed along the Texas & Pacific Railroad. Around 1890, he used the railroad to leave farm work and begin a musical career, traveling along the Texas & Pacific and Missouri-Kansas-Texas, or Katy, rail lines while making a living singing and playing the quills, a type of American panpipe. He later taught himself guitar and could play both instruments at the same time. His song tempos often echoed the beat and sound of a train on the tracks, and the quills could imitate a train whistle, showing the railroad's influence on his music. His pacing also reflected dance hall tunes of the period, earning him the nickname "Ragtime Texas" from listeners who heard similarities to ragtime music. From 1927 to 1929, he recorded 23 songs for Vocalion Records. Drawing on his travels, he brought train itineraries and vagabond life into songs such as "Railroadin' Some" and "When the Train Comes Along," while songs including "Cottonfield Blues" and "Fishing Blues" formed a bridge between 19th-century African American songster styles and the early 20th-century development of the blues. Details of his later career and life remain unknown, but his influence on music and bands became his legacy.