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.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Foreword by Tim Stafford

Introduction

Mountain Music Pioneers, Foreshadowing Bluegrass

Bluegrass Roots in Western North Carolinä7 delete deleteVernon Dalhart11 delete deleteHenry Whitter12 delete deleteErnest "Pop" Stoneman14 delete deleteUncle Eck Dunford and "Angeline the Baker"15 delete deleteThe Carter Family20 delete deleteThe Lesley Riddle Story23 delete deleteDock Walsh and the Carolina Tarheels25 delete deleteCharlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers26 delete deleteWade and J.E. Mainer29

Brother Duets

Wiley and Zeke, the Morris Brothers33 delete deleteThe Callahan Brothers43 delete deleteThe Blue Sky Boys46 delete deleteCurly and Jack, the Shelton Brothers47

Fiddling

Thicker'n Fiddlers in Hell51 delete deleteEck Robertson-Master Fiddler54 delete deleteFiddlin' John Carson57 delete deleteFiddlin' Arthur Smith58 delete deleteJim Shumate62 delete deleteLester Woodie-Coming Up the Hard Road71 delete deleteAynsley Porchak, Fiddler79 delete deleteFiddles, Fangs, and Folklore84 delete deleteThe Hanging of Fiddlin' Joe Coleman87

Banjo Picking

Walter Davis-Fist and Skull Banjö89 delete deleteSnuffy Jenkins94 delete deleteEarl Scruggs96 delete deleteRaymond Fairchild-Making His Own Way99 delete deleteWhy Are There So Many Banjo Jokes?104

More Bluegrass Pioneers

Cleo Davis-The Original Blue Grass Boy107 delete deleteTommy Millard-Blackface Comedian and Blue Grass Boy118 delete deleteClarence White and the Roots of Bluegrass Guitar123 delete deleteBill Clifton125

Songwriters and Songs

The Great American Tearjerker128 delete deleteGussie L. Davis-Tin Pan Alley/Bluegrass Songwriter130 delete deleteWilliam Shakespeare Who?131 delete deleteJohnny Bond134 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 Stories154

"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 Mondegreens162 delete deleteThe Secret Signals of Bluegrass163 delete deleteThe Lester Flatt G Run166 delete deleteWe Almost Played on the Grand Ole Opry167 delete deleteCharlie Cline, Powerful Snorer169 delete deleteHoss Cartwright's Hat169 delete delete"Winning" the Folk Song Completion at Galax170 delete deleteJamming with David Grisman171 delete deleteBigfoot's Gone Away172 delete deleteArthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith174 delete deleteJim Bob Tinsley-Cowboy Singer and Mountain Lion Hunter175 delete deleteThe Ghost of Scotty Stoneman176 delete deleteMy Radio Career176 delete deleteGods and Generals177

Appendix II. Quickies

Jethro Burns179 delete deleteOn Their Tippy Toes179 delete deleteGive Me a Break!179 delete deleteRalph and Stanley Carter179 delete deleteSeptic Music179 delete deleteMaking Stuff Up180 delete deleteHank Williams Said180 delete deletePlaying Pool180 delete deleteDimwits180 delete delete"Wee Wee"180 delete deleteFresh Picks180 delete deleteErnest Tubb180 delete deleteMarshmallows180 delete deleteThe Smoggy Mountain Boys180 delete deleteAs Long as Yarn180 delete deleteBagels Ain't Sweet181 delete deleteBill Monroe on the Railroad Tracks181 delete deleteThe Stanley Brothers in Floridä181 delete deleteThe Stanley Brothers' Bass Fiddle182 delete deleteYou Ain't Comin' Back182 delete deleteBluegrass Motels182 delete deleteLeave Now!182 delete deleteLaying Out Pants182 delete deleteWillie Nelson ­Look-Alike182 delete deleteSenator Wayne Erbsen182 delete deleteNothing to Eat183 delete deleteBill Monroe and Frank Sinaträ183 delete deleteRunnin' Out of Memory183 delete deleteJimmy Martin183 delete deleteChicken Necks184 delete deleteDiscovering Clarence Ashley184 delete deleteShowmanship of Mac Wiseman and Lester Flatt185 delete delete"Lee Highway Blues"185 delete deleteJoe Maphis' Flatpick186 delete deleteCharlie Poole187 delete deleteBrad Keith187 delete deleteProfessor Wayne Erbsen187 delete deleteDog Bit188 delete deleteLost Cassette Covers189 delete deleteHow I Bought My Martin Guitar189 delete deleteRy Cooder and Donna Stoneman189 delete deleteNo Such Thing as Time190 delete deleteOutrageous ­Old-Time Band Names190 delete deleteDon't Touch My Suit!191 delete deleteWater Bottle191 delete deleteStrange Names192 delete deleteIs Hair Here?192 delete deleteThornton Spencer192 delete deleteWhite Bread and Cold Beans192 delete deleteZeke Morris, the Body Shop Man193 delete deleteWiley Morris, Another Body Shop Man193 delete deleteBill Monroe's Mandolin193 delete deleteThe Biggest Bull in the World194 delete deletePlaying for a Mobster's Funeral194

Index