Bascom Lamar Lunsford, born in 1882 in Madison County, was a fruit tree salesman, teacher, and lawyer, who is celebrated for his lifelong devotion to Appalachian music and dance. Lunsford learned to play the banjo and fiddle, and collected songs and tunes. He began his repertoire during the folk revival of the 1920s. One voice … Continue reading Bascom Lamar Lunsford : Minstrel of the Appalachians
Tag: appalachian music
Clarence “Tom” Ashley : Country Music Pioneer
Clarence "Tom" Ashley (September 29, 1895 – June 2, 1967) was an American musician and singer, who played the claw-hammer banjo and the guitar. He began performing at medicine shows in the Southern Appalachian region as early as 1911, and gained initial fame during the late 1920s as both a solo recording artist and as … Continue reading Clarence “Tom” Ashley : Country Music Pioneer
The Winding Stream: deftly crafted documentary celebrates the Carter and Cash families
Beth Harrington celebrates the Carter and Cash family and its enduring contributions to country, folk and roots music in “The Winding Stream,” an impressively researched and deftly crafted feature that doubtless will find an appreciative audience through exposure in home-screen platforms. Clearly a long-gestating labor of love, “The Winding Stream” boasts among its highlights a … Continue reading The Winding Stream: deftly crafted documentary celebrates the Carter and Cash families
Hazel Dickens : It’s Hard to Tell the Singer from the Song
Hazel Jane Dickens (June 1, 1925 – April 22, 2011) was an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, double bassist and guitarist. Her music was characterized not only by her high, lonesome singing style, but also by her provocative pro-union, feminist songs. In the early 1950s she moved to Baltimore. She met Mike Seeger, younger half-brother of Pete Seeger and founding member of the New Lost … Continue reading Hazel Dickens : It’s Hard to Tell the Singer from the Song
Frank Proffitt : Will the real Tom Dooley stand up?
Frank Noah Proffitt (June 1, 1913 – November 24, 1965) was an Appalachian old time banjoist who helped popularize the song "Tom Dooley" and was a key figure in inspiring musicians of the 1960s and 1970s to play the banjo. He was born in Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee and was raised in the Reese area of Watauga County, North Carolina where he worked in a variety … Continue reading Frank Proffitt : Will the real Tom Dooley stand up?
The high lonesome sound of Roscoe Holcomb
Roscoe Holcomb, was an American singer, banjo player, and guitarist from Daisy, Kentucky. A prominent figure in Appalachian folk music, Holcomb was the inspiration for the term "high, lonesome sound," coined by folklorist and friend John Cohen. The "high lonesome sound" term is now used to describe bluegrass singing, although Holcomb was not, strictly speaking, a bluegrass performer. Bob Dylan once commented that Holcomb "... has … Continue reading The high lonesome sound of Roscoe Holcomb
Harry Smith and the Anthology of American Folk Music
Sixty-five years ago this year an event occcured which changed the course of American music. A unassuming man, unknown, with no professional expertise other than his devotion to old 78s of American vernacular music, released to the public the Anthology of American Folk Music. “Had he never done anything with his life but this Anthology, … Continue reading Harry Smith and the Anthology of American Folk Music
Musica Kaleidoskopea 