Southern Mountain Music - The Collected Writings of Wayne Erbsen

This work represents a lifetime of research by Wayne Erbsen, professor of old-time and bluegrass music at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, who interviewed many legendary figures in Appalachian music. Often the first and only scholar to ever collect their stories, he provides in this book an indispensable history of bluegrass and old-time music in Appalachia for generations to come.
The book begins with stories featuring many pioneers of old-time and bluegrass music. Next are chapters on brother duets from the 1930s, legendary banjo pickers and fiddle players, plus tales of 19th-century songwriters whose songs still populate bluegrass music. Also covered are wide-ranging and whimsical topics such as the Ghost of Scotty Stoneman, cowboys in bluegrass music, Charlie Cline's powerful snoring, a near-encounter with Bigfoot, and Hoss Cartwright's hat.

List of contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Foreword by Tim Stafford

Introduction

Mountain Music Pioneers, Foreshadowing Bluegrass

Bluegrass Roots in Western North Carolinä7 delete¿ deleteVernon Dalhart¿11 delete¿ deleteHenry Whitter¿12 delete¿ deleteErnest "Pop" Stoneman¿14 delete¿ deleteUncle Eck Dunford and "Angeline the Baker"¿15 delete¿ deleteThe Carter Family¿20 delete¿ deleteThe Lesley Riddle Story¿23 delete¿ deleteDock Walsh and the Carolina Tarheels¿25 delete¿ deleteCharlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers¿26 delete¿ deleteWade and J.E. Mainer¿29

Brother Duets

Wiley and Zeke, the Morris Brothers¿33 delete¿ deleteThe Callahan Brothers¿43 delete¿ deleteThe Blue Sky Boys¿46 delete¿ deleteCurly and Jack, the Shelton Brothers¿47

Fiddling

Thicker'n Fiddlers in Hell¿51 delete¿ deleteEck Robertson-Master Fiddler¿54 delete¿ deleteFiddlin' John Carson¿57 delete¿ deleteFiddlin' Arthur Smith¿58 delete¿ deleteJim Shumate¿62 delete¿ deleteLester Woodie-Coming Up the Hard Road¿71 delete¿ deleteAynsley Porchak, Fiddler¿79 delete¿ deleteFiddles, Fangs, and Folklore¿84 delete¿ deleteThe Hanging of Fiddlin' Joe Coleman¿87

Banjo Picking

Walter Davis-Fist and Skull Banjö89 delete¿ deleteSnuffy Jenkins¿94 delete¿ deleteEarl Scruggs¿96 delete¿ deleteRaymond Fairchild-Making His Own Way¿99 delete¿ deleteWhy Are There So Many Banjo Jokes?¿104

More Bluegrass Pioneers

Cleo Davis-The Original Blue Grass Boy¿107 delete¿ deleteTommy Millard-Blackface Comedian and Blue Grass Boy¿118 delete¿ deleteClarence White and the Roots of Bluegrass Guitar¿123 delete¿ deleteBill Clifton¿125

Songwriters and Songs

The Great American Tearjerker¿128 delete¿ deleteGussie L. Davis-Tin Pan Alley/Bluegrass Songwriter¿130 delete¿ deleteWilliam Shakespeare Who?¿131 delete¿ deleteJohnny Bond¿134 delete¿ delete"Wildwood Flower"¿136 delete¿ delete"Jimmie Brown, the Newsboy"¿138 delete¿ delete"Otto Wood, the Bandit"¿143 delete¿ delete"Stagolee"¿145 delete¿ delete"Diamond Joe"¿145 delete¿ delete"Run Mountain"¿148 delete¿ delete"Fox on the Run"¿150 delete¿ delete"I've Just Seen the Rock of Ages"¿152 delete¿ delete"I'm a Little Teapot"¿153 delete¿ deleteOther Songs with Quirky Stories¿154

"Banks of the Ohio"¿154 delete¿ delete"Buffalo Gals"¿154 delete¿ delete"Cumberland Mountain Deer Chase"¿154 delete¿ delete"Old Joe Clark"¿154 delete¿ delete"Roll on Buddy"¿155 delete¿ delete"Poor Ellen Smith"¿155 delete¿ delete"Red River Valley"¿156 delete¿ delete"My Rough and Rowdy Ways"¿157 delete¿ delete"Please Pardon Me"¿157

Appendix I. Miscellaneous

Cowboys in Bluegrass Music?¿159 delete¿ deleteTwo Meatballs in the Sand and Other Mondegreens¿162 delete¿ deleteThe Secret Signals of Bluegrass¿163 delete¿ deleteThe Lester Flatt G Run¿166 delete¿ deleteWe Almost Played on the Grand Ole Opry¿167 delete¿ deleteCharlie Cline, Powerful Snorer¿169 delete¿ deleteHoss Cartwright's Hat¿169 delete¿ delete"Winning" the Folk Song Completion at Galax¿170 delete¿ deleteJamming with David Grisman¿171 delete¿ deleteBigfoot's Gone Away¿172 delete¿ deleteArthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith¿174 delete¿ deleteJim Bob Tinsley-Cowboy Singer and Mountain Lion Hunter¿175 delete¿ deleteThe Ghost of Scotty Stoneman¿176 delete¿ deleteMy Radio Career¿176 delete¿ deleteGods and Generals¿177

Appendix II. Quickies

Jethro Burns¿179 delete¿ deleteOn Their Tippy Toes¿179 delete¿ deleteGive Me a Break!¿179 delete¿ deleteRalph and Stanley Carter¿179 delete¿ deleteSeptic Music¿179 delete¿ deleteMaking Stuff Up¿180 delete¿ deleteHank Williams Said¿180 delete¿ deletePlaying Pool¿180 delete¿ deleteDimwits¿180 delete¿ delete"Wee Wee"¿180 delete¿ deleteFresh Picks¿180 delete¿ deleteErnest Tubb¿180 delete¿ deleteMarshmallows¿180 delete¿ deleteThe Smoggy Mountain Boys¿180 delete¿ deleteAs Long as Yarn¿180 delete¿ deleteBagels Ain't Sweet¿181 delete¿ deleteBill Monroe on the Railroad Tracks¿181 delete¿ deleteThe Stanley Brothers in Floridä181 delete¿ deleteThe Stanley Brothers' Bass Fiddle¿182 delete¿ deleteYou Ain't Comin' Back¿182 delete¿ deleteBluegrass Motels¿182 delete¿ deleteLeave Now!¿182 delete¿ deleteLaying Out Pants¿182 delete¿ deleteWillie Nelson ­Look-Alike¿182 delete¿ deleteSenator Wayne Erbsen¿182 delete¿ deleteNothing to Eat¿183 delete¿ deleteBill Monroe and Frank Sinaträ183 delete¿ deleteRunnin' Out of Memory¿183 delete¿ deleteJimmy Martin¿183 delete¿ deleteChicken Necks¿184 delete¿ deleteDiscovering Clarence Ashley¿184 delete¿ deleteShowmanship of Mac Wiseman and Lester Flatt¿185 delete¿ delete"Lee Highway Blues"¿185 delete¿ deleteJoe Maphis' Flatpick¿186 delete¿ deleteCharlie Poole¿187 delete¿ deleteBrad Keith¿187 delete¿ deleteProfessor Wayne Erbsen¿187 delete¿ deleteDog Bit¿188 delete¿ deleteLost Cassette Covers¿189 delete¿ deleteHow I Bought My Martin Guitar¿189 delete¿ deleteRy Cooder and Donna Stoneman¿189 delete¿ deleteNo Such Thing as Time¿190 delete¿ deleteOutrageous ­Old-Time Band Names¿190 delete¿ deleteDon't Touch My Suit!¿191 delete¿ deleteWater Bottle¿191 delete¿ deleteStrange Names¿192 delete¿ deleteIs Hair Here?¿192 delete¿ deleteThornton Spencer¿192 delete¿ deleteWhite Bread and Cold Beans¿192 delete¿ deleteZeke Morris, the Body Shop Man¿193 delete¿ deleteWiley Morris, Another Body Shop Man¿193 delete¿ deleteBill Monroe's Mandolin¿193 delete¿ deleteThe Biggest Bull in the World¿194 delete¿ deletePlaying for a Mobster's Funeral¿194

Index

About the author

A professor of old-time and bluegrass music at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, Wayne Erbsen has spent most of his life playing, teaching, researching, publishing, and broadcasting southern Appalachian and bluegrass music. He has written 38 books of songs, folklore, and music instruction. He divides his time between his home in Asheville, North Carolina and his family's Civil War era log cabin in Elk Creek, Virginia.

Product details

• Authors: Wayne Erbsen, Wayne Erbsen
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 06.02.2025
• EAN: 9781476696461
• ISBN: 978-1-4766-9646-1
• No. of pages: 210
• Illustrations: Raster,schwarz-weiss
• Series: Contributions to Southern Appalachian Studies
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Music > General, dictionaries; MUSIC / Genres & Styles / Folk & Traditional, Folk & traditional music, Folk, Folkloric styles, Traditional and folk music, bluegrass music; Appalachia