Ralph Blizard, another great old time fiddler from East Tennessee, was born on December 5, 1918 and died on December 3, 2004
rjblaustein
of Blountville, Sullivan County, Tennessee was born on December 5,
1918 and died on December 3, 2004.just two days short of his 86th
birthday,.
Born on December 5, 1918 in Kingsport,Sullivan County Tennessee, Ralph
Blizard grew up in a musical home.The Blizard family's visitors and
friends included A.P., Sara and Maybelle Carter from Maces Springs in
Scott County, Virginia.Great East Tennessee fiddlers like Charlie
Bowman from Gray Station in Washington County and Dudley Vance from
Chinquapin near Bluff City in Sullivan County came to play with
Ralph's father,
an accomplished fiddler who taught his son to play.Fiddlin' Arthur
Smith's records and radio broadcasts were also a major influence on
Blizard's fiddling style. At age 12, Ralph formed The Southern
Ramblers and played on many Tri-cities area radio stations.
After serving in World War II, Ralph married his wife Mildred and
worked for Tennessee Eastman Company in Kingsport until he retired in
1980, having laid his fiddle down for twenty-five years. Ralph began
fiddling regional festivalsand then began playing with The New
Southern Ramblers, including excellent younger musicians such as John
Lilly, Gordy Hinner, Phil Jamison, John Hermann and Meredith McIntosh.
find. He also became involved with Warren Wilson College's annual
Swannanoa Gathering as an old time fiddle instructor. He also began
hosting weekly old-time musical sessions at the historic Anderson
House in Blountville, county seat of Sullivan County, Tennessee,
In 2002, Ralph was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the
National Endowment for the Arts,In 2003, Ralph Blizard and the New
Southern Ramblers performed at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in
Washington, D.C. That same year, Ralph received a Tennessee Heritage
Award. Ralph's lifelong love affair with old time fiddle music finally
came to a end when he passed away on December 3, 2004.
To read an excellent profile of Ralph Blizard on The Birthplace of
Country Music website, go to: http:/www.birthplaceofcountrymusic.org/
node/179
To read John Lilly's tribute to his old friend and playing partner
Ralph Blizard in The Old Time Herald, go to:
http://www.oldtimeherald.org/here+there/final-notes/ralph-blizard.html
To read Ralph Blizard's profile on the Tennessee Arts Commission's
webpage devoted to Heritage Award-winning
Tennessee folk artists, go to:http://www.arts.state.tn.us/
folklife_heritage_award.htm
You can hear a tribute to Ralph Blizard on National Public Radio by
going to: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4225339
You can view a video of Ralph Blizard and banjo player Richie Stearns
playing "Leather Britches" in a backstage session at the Mount Airy,
North Carolina old time fiddlers contest by going to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k23JJSJNyg
You can hear more of Ralph's fiddling at the Mount Airy, fiddlers
contest on the Digital Library of Appalachia website:
"Beer Barrel Polka"
http://www.aca-dla.org/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/WarrenWilson&CISOPTR=2082
"Billy In The Lowground"
p://www.aca-dla.org/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/WarrenWilson&CISOPTR=2091
"Black Mountain Rag"
http://www.aca-dla.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/WarrenWilson&CISOPTR=2095&REC=3
"Camptown Races"
http://www.aca-dla.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/WarrenWilson&CISOPTR=2096&REC=4
"Eighth of January"
http://www.aca-dla.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/WarrenWilson&CISOPTR=2093&REC=5
"Fiddler's Blues"
http://www.aca-dla.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/WarrenWilson&CISOPTR=2081&REC=6
"Grey Eagle"
http://www.aca-dla.org/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/WarrenWilson&CISOPTR=2088
"Leather Britches"
http://www.aca-dla.org/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/WarrenWilson&CISOPTR=2094
"Just Because"
http://www.aca-dla.org/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/WarrenWilson&CISOPTR=2083