Early old-time music had a great diversity of styles ranging from duos to fiddle virtuosos, from down-home blues to rambunctious string bands. While many of the performers on Old-Time Music of West Virginia may be unfamiliar, their talent helped to lay the groundwork for country music. Frank Hutchison lays down his slide guitar on the bluesy "Worried Blues" and performs a talking blues song on "Last Scene of the Titanic." Hutchison's guitar work probably benefited from the somewhat comfortable race relations in West ...
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Early old-time music had a great diversity of styles ranging from duos to fiddle virtuosos, from down-home blues to rambunctious string bands. While many of the performers on Old-Time Music of West Virginia may be unfamiliar, their talent helped to lay the groundwork for country music. Frank Hutchison lays down his slide guitar on the bluesy "Worried Blues" and performs a talking blues song on "Last Scene of the Titanic." Hutchison's guitar work probably benefited from the somewhat comfortable race relations in West Virginia that allowed white and African-American musicians to learn from one another. Dick Justice, an unfortunately obscure and little recorded guitarist/singer, contributes "Black Dog Blues" and a delightful "Cocaine." "Cocaine," a fun though bizarre song, starts with the narrator's girlfriend stealing him ground meal and lard, and ends with him having all of his furniture repossessed. In the Jackson County Barn Owls' "I Wonder How the Old Folks Are at Home," the narrator sings longingly about the pastoral home left behind, while the Fruit Jar Guzzlers cut loose on an energetic "Cripple Creek," giving some sense of how the group must have sounded performing live. The Weaver Brothers' "Prison Sorrows," recorded in 1929, covers the now standard country theme of the misfit dreaming of his girl and family from behind locked doors. While the listener can glimpse the beginnings of country music in these recordings, there is also a diversity that is missing from the current scene. This variety creates a lively compilation, and it's fortunate to have record labels like County documenting this fascinating musical history. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., Rovi
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