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Legendary Jackson County musiian Samantha Bumgarner,
who grew up in Dillsboro and later lived in Lovesfield, is among the
artists featured in a recently published volume that explores the origins
of bluegrass music.
Wayne Erbsen, host of Sunday evening's popular Country Roots radio program
on Asheville's WCQS, delves into the history of traditional musicians
and songs in his new book, Rural Roots of Bluegrass: Songs, Stories
and History.
Erbsen and his wife, Barbara Swell, will be at City Lights in Sylva
Friday, Nov. 14, for an evening of old-time bluegrass (and the best
of traditional farmstead cooking) at 7 p.m.
Rural Roots features lyrics to more than 60 songs, musical notation,
chords, playing tempos and historic sources for each song. He traces
the history of the musical selections and lists the artists who have
recorded it.
Erbsen paints a vivid picture of Bumgarner and her partner, Eva Davis,
who traveled far from the mountains in 1924 to make their recording
debut in New York City.
"After taking the elevator to the top floor of the Gotham National
Bank Building, they were soon seated in front of a large horn that served
as a precursor to the modern microphone," Erbsen writes. "As
the pair of mountain women sang and played, history was being made as
the needle in the recording device in the next room dug grooves in a
cake of wax as it slowly rotated."
That session produced the earliest recordings of songs now considered
old-time and bluegrass standards.
Included in those early recordings were "Wild Bill Jones,"
"John Hardy" and "Soldier's Joy."
The daughter of mountain fiddler Has Biddix, Bumgarner was called the
"best all-around musician he'd ever met" by folk festival
king Bascom Lamar Lunsford. Bumgarner was the first representative of
the "assertive, independent banjo-pickin' girl" tradition,
according to Mary Bufwack and Robert Oermann, who featured Bumgarner
in their 1993 volume, Finding Her Voice: The Illustrated History of
Women in Country Music.
Bumgarner passed her musical legacy on to local fiddler Harry Cagle,
who died five years ago, and the two traveled to Del Rio, Texas, to
play on Dr. John Brinkley's radio show during the 1930s.
Besides Bumgarner, Erbsen's book features other Tar Heel musicians including
Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs.
Erbsen and singer Laura Boosinger have recorded a CD to complement the
book, and Erbsen will play a few selections at City Lights Friday night.
Swell's new book is Old-Time Farmhouse Cooking: Rural American Recipes
and Farm Lore. An expert on traditional Appalachian cooking lore, she
will accompany Erbsen Friday and sign copies of her collection of recipes
and stories.
For more information, call City Lights at 586-9499.
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