Allen Sisson?

[Dmarts]

I saw a post that mentioned Sisson, I've heard a couple of tunes by him
but don't know anythng about him. Anyone have any info to share?
dm

[Oldtime1]

The post that mentioned Sisson was probably mine, but Kerry and Pat may
know more about him than I do. He was among the oldest players to record.
He recorded for Edison in the 1920s and lived in in the
Ducktown-Copperhill area of southeastern Tennessee, just north of the
Georgia line. People who make sweeping generalizations about regional
style usually asume he is a "northern" fiddler on first hearing him. Joe
wilson

[secret muse]

Sorry,joe-the dummy has just checked in.i sure do like rymer's
favourite,but sisson has existed for me only in the form of a
black-and-white label that reads "champion fiddler of tennessee".
the accounts of those exploits are legendary,and accessible,but only
to someone more organized than i.me....no,i.
-or is it me?
you know this internet thing gives an unfairly rosy picture of
the answer-type poster.(like me...i...er).sure,people think you're
smart when they tally up the answers you post.but of course,you only
answer those you CAN,normally.
so in all fairness,i'd like to add nothing to this entry,and be
a sport about it all.
we should all be thankful to the old wizard of menlo park,who gave
us the electric pen,countless recordings,and the rare mistake
named Allen Sisson.
pvc
--

"The blues...ain't no cause for jumpin'.You go to jumpin',THAT ain't the

blues-
The blues is just by itself..." SON HOUSE

[Kerry, Sheila, Louise or Mirabelle Blech]

I would like to add a bit more about Mr. Sisson, but I will yield to the
musicianer/reference librarian from Ohio. Joe LaRose did some extensive
research, interviewed Sisson's relatives, and got info and photo(s) from
the Edison archives. The work sat dormant, but I have been trying to
prod Joe (a sometime reader of this newsgroup) into polishing up his
notes and publishing an aricle on Sisson, 'cuz we all NEED to know about
him. "Ducktown?" What does that mean, Joe? (either Joe, actually [LaRose
or Wilson]. I will be visiting Mr. LaRose in a few weeks, so if I find
he has made little or no progress on this article, I will steal all his
material (harrumph). Will report.
regards,
Kerry
--
***** ****** ***** ***** ***** ***** ******
Kerry, Sheila, Mirabelle Rose & Louise Marie Blech
blec...@wolfenet.com + http://www.wolfenet.com/~blechfam
"The Old Tunes Are the Best Tunes." -- Luther Davis

[Jim Mullany]

secret muse (sec...@concentric.net) writes:
> Sorry,joe-the dummy has just checked in.i sure do like rymer's
> favourite,but sisson has existed for me only in the form of a
> black-and-white label that reads "champion fiddler of tennessee".

Is Sisson the source for Rymer's (or is it Rhymer's?) favorite, and who was
Rhymer, anyway?

Jim Mullany
Sandia Park, NM

[Paul Mitchell]

On 17 Mar 1997, Jim Mullany wrote:

> Is Sisson the source for Rymer's (or is it Rhymer's?) favorite, and who was
> Rhymer, anyway?

Jim,
Here's the Edison cuts which Sisson recorded:

ALLEN_SISSON
Edison 51522 Rymer's Favorite/ Farewell Ducktown
Edison 51559 Walking Water Reel/ Rocky Road To Dublin
Edison 51690 Cumberland Gap/ Katy Hill
Edison 51720 Kentucky Wagoners/ Grey Eagle

Paul

==============================================================================
Paul Mitchell email: pa...@thing.oit.unc.edu
Office of Information Technology phone: (919) 962-5259
University of North Carolina
==============================================================================

[Joe LaRose]

Yes, I have some information about him that I gathered in the early
'80's. (Kerry, it's not because you threatened to steal my notes that
I'm posting this now; it's because it took me all week to find them!).

According to a man I visited in Ducktown, Tennessee, Charles Edmund
Sisson, who said he was Allen Sisson's great nephew, Allen Sisson was
born October 22, 1873 in Fry, Fannin County, Georgia, just below the
Tennessee line. According to family history, by the age of twelve he had
become a champion fiddler in the area. He eventually went to work for
the Ducktown Chemical and Iron Company, in Ducktown, Tennessee, as a
section hand foreman on the railroad.
I have a biographical sketch attributed to Allen Sisson that I got
from the Edison Archives. In it, he tells about riding his mule several
miles to the home of "Uncle" George Barnes, and old time fiddler who
learned many of his tunes from Sisson's great uncle Ira Sisson, after
working all day on the railroad, praticing with him until late at night,
then riding back home to catch a few hours sleep before going to work
again.
I have two photographs of Sisson taken at the Edison company, I would
guess in 1925 when he made his recordings. He could be anywhere from his
mid-forties to mid-fifties, judging from the photos. This evidence
supports the year 1873 as his year of birth, which would have made him
52 at the time of the recordings. (I wasn't able to find in the census
records I checked a verification of his birth date).
This would also make him five years younger than Fiddlin' John
Carson (I think I have Carson's birth date right), who came from Fannin
County, also.
You might want to check Gene Wiggin's book about John Carson,
_Fiddlin Georgia Crazy_, which has information about Allen Sisson, too.
Hope this helps. He's a great fiddler, so intriguing in how he fits
into the music of his time and region. He seems to have an older, more
"northern"-sounding style than John Carson, yet in many ways, I feel,
they are similar.

Joe

[Lisa Riblet]

Joe LaRose wrote:

> According to a man I visited in Ducktown, Tennessee, Charles Edmund
> Sisson, who said he was Allen Sisson's great nephew, Allen Sisson was
> born October 22, 1873 in Fry, Fannin County, Georgia, just below the
> Tennessee line.

<snip>

In it, he tells about riding his mule several
> miles to the home of "Uncle" George Barnes, and old time fiddler who
> learned many of his tunes from Sisson's great uncle Ira Sisson, after
> working all day on the railroad, praticing with him until late at night,
> then riding back home to catch a few hours sleep before going to work
> again.

Joe - do you have any information on Andrew Jackson Williams who
fiddled in East Ellijay, Georgia (Gilmer Cnty) one county over from Fannin.
He died in 1960. Folks around here say he was one of Georgia's Great
Fiddle Players but they never know much more than that. Would love to
know a bit more...
Lisa