Browne Decorating Co. in Columbus, Georgia, with his father and while painting a hotel, met Louise Wise of Little Rock, Arkansas.

[11] Besides his quartet and trio, Hornsby created or joined Skillet Lickers, Young Brothers Tennessee Band, Georgia Organ Grinders, Lowe Stokes and His North Georgians,[5] and Bamby Baker Boys.

[10] In 1922, Atlanta's WSM Radio went on air, making Bamby Baker Boys, Hornsby's group, the first commercial performers on the station.

[1] Hornsby discovered Hank Williams for MGM[1] and Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers,[1][5] Riley Puckett, Bessie Smith, Clarence Ashley, and Charlie Poole at Columbia.

[5] He had white bands and performers in recording sessions with Black musicians, which was highly unusual at that time in the South.

[10] He produced recordings with the Young Brothers Tennessee Band, like "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" and "Little Brown Jug".

[13] Hornsby composed a song, "Shelby Disaster":[1][4][14] Let the tears of fond remembrance, flow gently, full and free; Let all who read my story, extend their sympathy.

The Great Depression (1929–1939) affected the phonographic industry, and Hornsby lost his job with Columbia Records despite selling over 9,000 copies of "The Shelby Disaster".

Together with Clayton McMichen, Hornsby wrote History in a few words [1][15] published in 1931 by Shapiro, Bernstein & Co.[16] He returned to radio and worked with several stations, including WGST and WSB, where he was a scriptwriter, announcer, and entertainer until his death.

[5] For Bluebird Records, he played Uncle Ned in a series of children's bedtime stories[5] and sang with the big band of Perry Bechtel.

[5] In 1986, Hornsby was inducted into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame,[10] joining some of his friends and associates: Gid Tanner, Clayton McMichen, and Riley Puckett.