Preserve Appalachian Ballads: Support a Musician's Quest

All my life I have been a musician from Appalachia, 7th generation on Dad's side and 11th generation on Mom's. A few weeks ago I got to be the pianist for the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance National Conference in Washington, DC. While I was there I took the opportunity to do some research on ballad singers who were recorded around 1906 from Western NC and Eastern Tn. Many of these had my family names. The recordings are difficult to listen to, but since I am familiar with most of the songs, I could pull out what they were singing. I have an intense drive to spend at least 2 weeks there SOON to listen to these, learn them, perhaps acquire some copies and be a part of making sure the tradition is carried on with me and my circle of friends. I am concerned that time is of the essence. The recordings are very tedious and frankly, I am worried they might be discarded. The amount I am asking for is bare minimum for lodging, food and transportation. If for some reason you as a community wind up giving much more than I have asked for then it will be CD time for the ballads I know and the ones I have yet to discover in these recordings. If you are interested in being a part of preserving our culture in this way, consider a contribution please. I am available for performing and story telling. Thank you for your consideration.

Here is what I wrote about it on Facebook!

It is well known that Cecil Sharp came to the mountains from England to document the oral tradition of singing European ballads. In the Appalachian mountains our people had been isolated enough to have continued to carry on the traditional songs and he was successful in finding a Nest of Singing Birds in Madison County. When Cecil Sharp came to Appalachia, he discovered many coves where the ballads were being sung in the original forms. In Europe the ballads were changed over time as poets thought they could be written in a more proper form. They became known over there as broadside ballads and were printed. But those changes were not necessarily a part of our songs here.

In 2000 I was honored to be one of 400 musicians from around the world to sing and perform at the Dalai Lama's World Festival of Sacred Music in Bangalore, India. I had a feeling that being in India for 2 weeks would change my life and it did, but not in the way I expected. It was there that I saw the wisdom of honoring oral traditions. I was singing and playing new songs while I was there. Almost all of the musicians from around the world were practicing oral traditions that had been handed down for generations. I was absolutely smacked upside the head, realizing that I was one of the few in the US who grew up hearing and learning old time ballads. I had been the last generation of both sides of my family to grow up with them. We loved them, but I studied the classics and wound up with Piano Performance degree, playing composers who lived while my people were already on the main land.

Observing these cultures from all over the world caused me to see how these oral traditions were an important part of honoring the ages of time. Immediately I knew I had to come home and contact my old friend, Sheila Kay Adams. I needed her help to wipe those cob webs free from my brain and help she did!!! I am forever indebted to my dear friend for sharing this path with me.

Well, flash forward.....now, I am no longer a Music Director at a church. I no longer have weekly piano lessons. I do still play the meditative Taize service every week at Grace Episcopal at 6:00 on Tuesdays. But that is easy for me, except the drive! ha!

SOOOO.... I discovered that there are some unknown ballad singers recorded in the Library of Congress and some of them have my family names. BEFORE they turn that building into a place for condos and potentially throw out these cylinders that really do sound terrible, I want to do what I can to learn from them and document for our oral traditions going forward. I got to be there a couple of days and there is a ton of material to go through. The recordings are very scratchy and not something most people would enjoy listening to. These songs are meant to be experienced in person, just like poetry is meant to be heard.

There is a deep rooted connection that comes with these songs. It is not just about the words, but about the way they were sung, about the struggles of the human condition. Somehow I believe I am going to get back up there for a week or two to search for the gems. So, yesterday I set up a link to just put it out there. If you want to be a part of helping me go back to the Library of Congress, check out the link in the first comment below. With the fast speed that things are changing I really would like to get up there this summer. I guess I feel if it is meant to be, it will happen. Thank you to all my music community and friends and family!!!! Thank you Mom, on Mother's Day. Thank you to my Grandmothers and all their singing spirits.