Scope:
The traditional music and musicians of the Blue Ridge Mountains have a legendary place in the history of American music. This pathfinder is designed to help people locate information on Old Time and Bluegrass music and musicians from Ashe County, North Carolina, and Grayson County, Virginia, known hotbeds for traditional music in the Southern Appalachian Region. It is important to note that sometimes the most useful resources in researching this particular topic are often found in the form of notes accompanying sound recordings and articles written in magazines focusing on traditional music.
Introductory Text:
A good introduction to the traditional music and musicians of Ashe County, North Carolina, and Grayson County, Virginia, is:
McGee, Marty. Traditional Musicians of the Central Blue Ridge: Old Time, Early Country, Folk and Bluegrass Label Recording Artists, with Discographies. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2000. ASU APP COLL STACK ML 106. U4 B66.
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
Highly Relevant
Bluegrass Music—North Carolina—Ashe County
Bluegrass Music—Virginia—Grayson County
Country Music—North Carolina—Ashe County
Country Music—Virginia—Grayson County
Folksongs, English—Appalachian Region—Southern
Music—Blue Ridge Mountains—Bio-bibliography—Dictionaries
Old Time Music—North Carolina—Ashe County
Old Time Music—Virginia—Grayson County
String Bands—North Carolina—Ashe County
String Bands—Virginia—Grayson County
Also Relevant
Bluegrass Music
Country Music festivals—North Carolina
Country Music festivals—Virginia
Country Music—Discography
Dance Music—Appalachian Region—Southern
Fiddlers Convention—North Carolina—Ashe County
Fiddlers Convention—Virginia—Grayson County
Folk Music—North Carolina—Ashe County
Folk Music—United States—Discography
Folk Music—Virginia—Grayson County
Mountain People—Southern States—Music
Old Time Music
More General
Banjo Music
Bluegrass Music—North Carolina
Bluegrass Music—Virginia
Buffalo Community
Fiddle Tunes
Folk Dance Music—United States
Folk Music—United States
Folk Songs—United States
Music—Southern States
Old Fiddler’s Convention—Periodicals
Old Time Music—Virginia—Periodicals
Popular Music—United States
Clipping Files Subject Headings – W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection:
Ashe County, North Carolina
Music—Appalachia
Music—Banjo
Music—Fiddles
Musical Instruments—General
Musicians—Appalachia
Library of Congress Call Numbers:
ML 1
ML 106
ML 156
ML 421
ML 3545
ML 3551
Helpful Hint, when researching, keep in mind the names of key musicians such as:
Albert Hash
Alec (Alex) Campbell
Bill Williams
Bob Paisley
Carolina Night Hawks
E.C. and Orna Ball
Emily Paxton
Emmett Lundy
Ernest “Pop” Stoneman
Fields Ward
Frank Blevins
G.B. Grayson and Henry Whitter
Glenn Neaves
Kilby Snow
Lyle Spencer
Martha Spencer
Michelle Spencer
New River Ramblers
Ola Belle Reed
Otis Burris
Pennington Spencer
Spencer Moore
Tar Heel Rattlers
Ted Lundy
The Mountain Ramblers
Thornton Spencer
Wade Ward
Wayne Henderson
Whitetop Mountain Band
Books:
McGee, Marty. Traditional Musicians of the Central Blue Ridge: Old Time, Early Country, Folk and Bluegrass Label Recording Artists, with Discographies. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2000. ASU APP COLL STACK ML 106. U4 B66.
Guides, Encyclopedias, and Dictionaries:
Erlewine, Michael, ed., et al. All Music Guide to Country: The Experts’ Guide to the Best Recordings in Country Music. San Francisco, California: Miller Freeman, 1997. ASU APP COLL STACK ML 156.4. C7 A45.
McCloud, Barry, with Ivan M. Tribe. Definitive Country: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Country Music and Its Performers. New York, New York: Berkley Pub. Group, ASU APP COLL STACK ML 102. C7 M33.
Bibliographies:
Appalachian Outlook. Morgantown, West Virginia: West Virginia University Library, 1968, 1972, and 1980. ASU APP COLL STACK Z 1251. A7 A6.
Cohen, Norm. Traditional Anglo-American Folk Music: An Annotated Discography of Published Sound Recordings. New York, New York: Garland Pub., 1994. ASU APP COLL STACK ML 156.4. F5 C64.
Lornell, Kip. Virginia’s Blues, Country & Gospel Records, 1902-1943: An Annotated Discography. Lexington, Kentucky: UP of Kentucky, 1989. ASU APP COLL STACK ML 156.4 B6 L87.
Tallmadge, William H. A Selected and Annotated Discography of Southern Appalachian Mountain Music. Berea, Kentucky: Berea College Appalachian Center, 1985. ASU APP COLL STACK ML 156.4. F5 T35.
Abstracts and Indices:
Only a limited amount of material was found for time spent, but this resource may be used for an exhaustive search.
International Index to Music Periodicals (IIMP), online: http://music.chadwyck.com/
MLA Bibliography, online: http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org/
RILM Abstracts of Musical Literature, online: http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org/
Note: When using these electronic databases it is helpful to search names of particular musicians. (Do not limit to, but remember that the list of musicians provided is a good place to start.)
Websites:
www.allmusic.com
www.folkways.com
Other Sources:
Biographies
Tribe, Ivan M. The Stonemans: An Appalachian Family and the Music That ShapedTheir Lives. Urbana, Illinois: U of Illinois P Music in American Life, 1993. ASUAPP COLL STACK ML 421. SB T7.
Wolfe, Charles. The Devil’s Box: Masters of Southern Fiddling. Nashville, Tennessee:The Country Music Foundation and Vanderbilt UP, 1997. See Chapter 5, “Mr. Grayson’s Train” p. 61-65. ASU APP COLL STACK ML 3551.7. S68 W65.
Wolfe, Charles. The Devil’s Box: Masters of Southern Fiddling. Nashville, Tennessee:The Country Music Foundation and Vanderbilt UP, 1997. See Chapter 5, “Mr. Grayson’s Train” p. 61-65. ASU APP COLL STACK ML 3551.7. S68 W65.
Gazetteers (to help locate communities in Ashe and Grayson Counties)
Gannett, Henry. A Gazetteer of Virginia and West Virginia. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1975. ASU APP COLL STACK F 224. G19.
Hanson, Raus McDill. Virginia Place Names. Verona, Virginia: McClure Press, 1969. ASU APP COLL STACK F 224. H3.
Powell, William S. The North Carolina Gazetteer. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: U of North Carolina P, 1968. ASU APP COLL STACK F 252. P6.
Specialized Magazines
Bluegrass Unlimited. Monthly publication. 1967-present. ASU APP COLL STACK ML1. B68.
The Devil’s Box. Quarterly publication. Vol. 10, 1976-Spring 1999. ASU APP COLL STACK ML1. D325.
Old-Time Herald. Monthly publication. 1987-present. ASU APP COLL STACK ML1. O35.
Old Time Music. Quarterly publication. 1971-1989. ASU APP COLL STACK ML1. O53.
Pickin.’ Monthly publication. Vol. 2, 1975-Vol. 6, 1979. ASU APP COLL STACK ML1. P43.
American Music. Champaign, IL: Sonneck Society and the University of Illinois Press,, Quarterly 1983-present. ASU MUSIC JRNL/BND Vol. 1-Vol. 23
John Edwards Foundation Quarterly. Los Angeles, CA: John Edwards Memorial Foundation, Quarterly 1972-present. ASU APP COLL ML1 .J55
The Journal of American Folklore. New York, NY: Published for the American Folk-lore Society by Houghton, Mifflin, and Co., Quarterly 1988-present. ASU PERIODICALS
Reviews
None found pertaining to the subject area; however, there are album (recording) reviews pertaining to artists from the area in the specialized magazines listed above.
Other Relevant Material
Often much valuable information is published in liner notes that accompany sound recordings. Also, there is one video that gives an excellent overview of the traditional music community of the area.
Davidson, Eric, and Jane Rigg. A Memorial to Wade Ward, Old Time Virginia Banjo Picker 1892-1971. Folkways Records 2380, 1973. ASU APP COLL REC # 134.
Goldstein, Carl. Ted Lundy and the Southern Mountain Boys: The Old Swinging Bridge. Rounder Records 0020, 1972. ASU APP COLL REC # 338.
Lornell, Kip, et al. E.C. Ball and Orna: Through the Years 1937-1975. Copper Creek CCCD 0141, 1997. ASU APP COLL CD # 133.
Martin, Wayne. Round the Heart of Old Galax Volumes 1, 2, 3. County Records 533, 534, 535, 1980. ASU APP COLL REC # 487, Volumes 1, 2, 3.
Music in the Old Time Way: Traditional Music and Musicians from the Southern Appalachians. Videotape. Dir. Philip S. Morgan. With Enoch Rutherford, Benton Flippen, and various musical groups. 1986. 60 minutes. ASU APP COLL VC 142.
Reed, Ola Belle. Ola Belle Reed. Rounder Records 0021, 1972. Author of liner notes not named. ASU APP COLL REC # 339.
Wolfe, Charles. G.B. Grayson and Henry Whitter: Early Classics Volume 1 and 2. Old Homestead Records OHCS 157, 165, 1984. ASU APP COLL REC # 637.
Wyatt, Marshall. Music from the Lost Provinces: Old-Time Stringbands from Ashe County, North Carolina & Vicinity. Old Hat Enterprises CD 1001, 1997. ASU APP COLL CD # 236.
Compiled by:
Trish Kilby
November 1, 2001
Updated by:
Jordan Laney
October 6, 2011
Subject: