Preliminary List: Old-Time Recordings [LONG!]
Steve Goldfield
I left out CDs I know he has, for example from Rounder. And
I left out things like Chirps Smith and the Volo Bogtrotters'
recordings since Chirps said he'd send them to my friend. I'll
probably add in those and other things later. I'll also make a
list of LPs when I have the time. I should emphasize that these
are recordings that I have and like. I'm sure there are lots of
great recordings I don't have or don't know about. Apologies for
the formatting; I wrote it on a Macintosh. If anyone wants to
send me lists of things to add, I'll try to work them in. And if
anybody doesn't agree with my nutshell comments, that's fine, too.
My idea is that a list like this can become part of an FAQ
file.--sag]
CDs
Laura Boosinger My Carolina Home Upstream UP888
Wonderful voice and clawhammer backed up by Raymond McClain on guitar,
mandolin, fiddle, and vocals, Mark Schatz, David Holt, Steven Heller. 1990
release. Upstream Records, P. O. Box 8843, Asheville, NC 28814 704/258-9713.
Boiled Buzzards Fine Dining Marimac CD9043
Great old-time band with harmonica. 1991
Early Bird Special Buzzard 1004
Now with a fiddler. 1994. Buzzard Productions, P. O. Box 21712,
S. Euclid, OH
44121.
Hank Bradley Hassle the Caller Sage Arts 1601
Formerly from the Bay Area, Seattle fiddler Hank Bradley writes tunes that
sound like they've been around for a long time. 1991 Sage Arts,
Littlefield Farm, Arlington, WA 98223 206/691-5203
Franklin George Traditional Music ... County CD-2703
Excellent collection by West Virginia musician in his prime (born
in 1928). 1992.
Joel Mabus Flatpick & Clawhammer Fossil793CD
Great flatpicking and banjo on a variety of tunes. 1993. Fossil
Records, P. O.
Box 4754, E. Lansing, MI 48826
Cassettes
Sheila Kay Adams A Spring in the Burton Cove Granny Dell GDR-1210
Excellent ballad singer and banjo player from North Carolina who learned the
old songs from her greataunt. (Carol Elizabeth-Jones studied with another of her
greataunts. Tape $11 from Sheila Kay Adams, P. O. Box 1188, Mars
Hill, NC 28754.
Charlie Acuff Left-handed Fiddler CA-01
Great old-time fiddler from Tennessee; his grandfather also Charlie was Roy
Acuff's uncle. Backed up by John Hartford on banjo. 1990. I got it from County,
but the address is Museum of Appalachia, PO Box 350, Norris, TN 37828
615/494-0514
Back-Step Old Sport Heritage HRC-C-083
Old-time band featuring Greg Hooven on fiddle.
Mac Benford and the Woodshed All-Stars 1st 1/2 C Marimac 9047
Mac played banjo with the Highwoods String Band. 1991
Bing Brothers Just for the Sake of It C-6252
Great West Virginia band. 1993 Copies from Jim Martin Productions,
PO Box 152, St. Albans, WV 25177, 304/727-4904.
Jim Bowles Railway through the Rocky Mts. Marimac9060-C
Excellent Kentucky old-time fiddler. 1994.
James Bryan The First of May Rounder-0215
Lookout Blues Rounder-0175
Superb Alabama fiddler who played with Norman and Nancy Blake in
Rising Fawn String Ensemble.
Clark Buehling Out of His Gourd
Gourd banjo maker and player. 1992. Clarke Buehling, PO Box 744,
Fayetteville, AR 72702-0744.
Bob Carlin, Bruce Molsky Take Me as I Am Marimac 9023
Two of the very best young old-time fiddlers and banjo players.
Bob Carlin also has a couple on Rounder. 1989
Clyde Davenport Clydeoscope County C-788
Puncheon Camps AC002
Another great Kentucky fiddler and banjo player. Puncheon Camps (1990) is
available from The Applachian Center, Berea College, Berea, KY 40404.
Lotus Dickey Fiddle Tunes from Orange County, Indiana
vols. I and II Marimac 9029-30
Wonderful Indiana fiddler.
Dwight Diller Red Rooster YP-003
Piney Woods YP-007
O Death YP-005
Dwight Diller, who has two other tapes, is a tremendous banjo
player from West
Virginia, who likes to play at a moderate pace. Tapes are available
from him at
PO Box 148, Hillsboro, WV 249946.
Wilson Douglas Boatin' Up Sandy Marimac AHS#1
Legendary West Virginia fiddler, still alive. 1989. Augusta
Heritage Series.
Bob Flesher Old-Time Clawhammer Banjo
Bob has won the old-time banjo contest at Galax the last six
years in a row.
He has four other tapes of which I have three. He also makes
banjos. He's a noted minstrel banjo player, too.
County has his tapes.
Bruce Greene Vintage Fiddle Tunes
Another excellent younger fiddler playing tunes he collected, mostly in
Kentucky. The address I have for the cassette is out-of-date; he
lives in North Carolina now.
The Heartbeats Living Black and White Marimac 9048
The all old-time tape before their progressive CD on Green
Linnet. 1991. Great fiddling and great music generally.
The Hellbenders
Great band featuring two of the best young old-time fiddlers, James Leva and
Bruce Molsky. The Hellbenders, Rt. 1, Box 242, Natural Bridge, VA 24578
703/291-1178.
The Herald Angels You’ve Been a Friend to Me
Excellent band featuring Alice Gerrard on fiddle and vocals. There's no
address on the cassette. I ordered it from one of the band members in Austin,
but I think County has it.
The Humdingers First Take
Brad Leftwich, who plays fiddle in this band, says it's the first recording
he's made that he's really pleased with. 1991. I bought it from
Brad. There's no address on the cassette.
The Ill-MO Boys Timely Old Tunes from Ill-MO Marimac 9020
and Beyond
Fine as Frog’s Hair Marimac 9054
Wonderful midwestern band. 1988 and 1992.
Iron Mountain String Band Music from the Mountain Heritage
HRC-C-101
One of the excellent bands led by Wiley Mayo, excellent young
fiddler from Galax. 1992.
Tommy Jarrell Joke on the Puppy Heritage HRC-C-044
A great collection of Tommy Jarrell tunes. 1992.
Vesta Johnson Blue Flame Marimac 9057
Old-time fiddler from Missouri. 1994.
Will Keys, Barb Kuhns, Doug Smith Sweet Marie
Excellent band featuring the great Will Keys. 1994. From Bee Balm
Music, 2582 Medway-Carlisle Road, Medway, OH 45341 513/849-6819.
Dan Gellert and Brad Leftwich A Moment in Time Marimac 9038
I bought this one in Floyd and grooved with it while driving back to Mt. Airy
on the Blue Ridge Highway. Two of our best young old-time musicians. 1993.
Bruce Molsky Warring Cats Yodel-Ay-Hee 011
My personal favorite of the young old-time fiddlers. 1993. Bruce
Molsky, 227 N. Greenbriar Street, Arlington, VA 22203-1325 703/276-9525.
Ron Mullenex Taking Yesterday Along Bluestone 001
Respected young banjo player. 1989. Bluestone Productions, Rt. 2,
Box 299A, Bluefield, VA 24605.
Old-Time Fiddling of Braxton County, vol. 2 AHR-013
17 tunes from various fiddlers, including the great Melvin Wine. 1992.
From Augusta Heritage Center, Davis and Elkins College, Elkins, WV 26241.
Uncle Charlie Osborne 100 Years Farther On JA0064
100-year-old fiddler from Virginia. JuneAppal, 306 Madison
Street, Whitesburg, KY 41858, 1-800-545-SHOP (7467).
Doug Phillips, Hilary Dirlam, Laura Boosinger Seven Days at the Sawmill
Doug Phillips, Hilary Dirlam Wagoner
Good young North Carolina band. 1992, Doug Phillips, 11 Rice Rd.,
Mars Hill, NC 28754. 704/689-2417.
Dirk Powell & John Herrmann Yodel-Ay-Hee 003
Dirk Powell, John Herrmann, and Tom Sauber One-Eyed Dog
Yodel-Ay-Hee 008
The first one came out in 1992. Dirk, in his early twenties, is one of the
best very young old-time fiddlers. One-Eyed Dog (1993) is the better of the two
tapes. Both available from John Herrmann, 107 Ingle Road,
Asheville, NC 28804 704/258-8840.
Frank Profitt, Jr. Kickin’ Up Dust CLC008
Son of legendary banjo maker. 1992. Cloudlands Music, Rt. 1, Box 1048,
Mountain City, TN 37683.
The Red Hots Ready to Roll FAC-1003
Young band with a lot of drive. 1992. Fire Ant Music, 2009
Ashland Ave., Charlotte, NC 28205. I think I got it from County.
The Red Mules Old-Time Music Marimac 9056
Another fine midwestern band. 1992.
The Renegades Carryon Records 005
James Leva, Richie Stearns, Carol Elizabeth Jones, and June
Drucker. 1993.
(There's a new Renegades tape that I don't have yet.) The
Renegades, Rt. 3, Box
206, Lexington, VA 24450. 703/464-6526.
John Morgan Salyer Home Recordings 1941-1942 AC003
One of the greatest old-time fiddlers ever. 1993. Appalachian
Center.
Shoofly with Dan Gellert Forked Deer Marimac 9000
1986. Dan Gellert is one of the best young old-time musicians.
The Skirtlifters Fire Alarm
Somewhere in Dixie
Clark Buehling's band. 1990 and 1987. The Skirtlifters, PO Box
744, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72702-0744, 501/442-5368.
Matokie Slaughter Saro Marimac 9028
Legendary Virginia banjo player with Alice Gerrard and others. 1990.
Glen Smith Say Old Man Marimac AHS 3
Four Miles to Cumberland
Another great West Virginia fiddler backed up by Dwight Diller and Gerry
Milnes on the Marimac tape. The other tape is on Roane Records, Rt.
3, Box 293, Spencer, WV 25276.
Kirk Sutphin Fiddlin’ Around FC-023
Banjo and Fiddle SS 212
Step-Back
Kirk, still in his twenties, is already a respected old-time musician. Flying
Cloud, c/o Doug Rorrer, 594 NC 704, Madison, NC 27025. 1993. The Silver Spring
tape (Suite 200, 1320 Fenwick Lane, Silver Spring, MD 20910) has Greg Hooven,
Paul Brown, Lisa Sutphin, and Wayne Henderson on it. 1994.
Step-Back is a Round Peak band Kirk plays in. Cassettes from Chester McMillian, 381
Richards, Mt. Airy, NC 27030, 910/352-4796.
Joe and Odell Thompson Old-Time Music from GV C217
the North Carolina Piedmont
Probably the last active African-American string band until
Odell's death last year. 1989. Global Village Music, PO Box 2051, Cathedral Station,
New York, NY 10025.
The Troxell Brothers Troxsong Marimac 9025
Another legendary pair from Kentucky. 1990.
Wandering Ramblers Rambling & Wandering Marimac 9033
Great band with Carol Elizabeth Jones and Dirk Powell et al. 1991.
Wildcats On Our Knees Yodel-Ay-Hee 005
Carol Elizabeth and Dirk again. This time the great Rafe Stefanini plays
fiddle. 1992. No address on tape. I probably got it from County.
Melvin Wine Hannah at the Springhouse Marimac AHS#2
Vintage Wine Marimac AHS#6
Melvin is a wonderful West Virginia fiddler, still going strong at 86.
1989,1993.
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Steve Goldfield :<{ {>: s...@coe.berkeley.edu
University of California at Berkeley Richmond Field Station