Ballads and Banjos and Fiddles, Oh My: Appalachian Music Spotlight

Connecting the Docs: True Stories from the Old North State

Appalachian music has a rich history in western North Carolina. Native American and African American music cultures melded with the ballad-singing traditions of Scots-Irish settlers in the 1700s. In the years that followed, western and piedmont musicians crafted signature styles of banjo picking in old-time and bluegrass music. Today, the sounds of Appalachia can be heard in a range of musical genres, from country to blues and beyond. In this episode, oral history interns Fiona Allen and Bree Dumont introduce the Connecting the Docs crew to some Appalachian music traditions as we listen to Ashe County fiddler Howard Miller, explore the history of the banjo, and learn how musicians and historians alike have worked to preserve this unique heritage.

Sources Mentioned:

Miller, Howard, and Miller, Haroldean, c. 1970s, Unpublished cassette tape recording. Included in National Historic Register nomination AH0023, prepared by Sarah Woodard, approved September 24, 2001. https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/nr/AH0023.pdf

Sharp, C. J. (1973). English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, 1973. Oxford University Press. Outer Banks History Center, OBHC:15C4.

North Carolina Arts Council Record Group. Folklife Section: Projects File, 1852-2013, bulk 1990-2010. Finding aid available in DOC: https://axaem.archives.ncdcr.gov/solrDetailPages/series/NCA/Series_detail.html?fq=seriesRid:703807

Lunsford, B. L. (1925). “Old Gray Mare.” Robert Winslow Gordon Cylinder Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. Available at https://www.loc.gov/audio/?q=Bascom%20Lunsford&loclr=fbafc&fbclid=IwAR2XizdU1GGzqy3UqWuAMmt08VFMjnfN6axeFjt6sUPrvv45vbOht95jdIs

North Carolina Folklore Journal, 1948-2019, published by North Carolina Folklore Society. Available at https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/custom/nc-folklore-journal.