Across the Blue Ridge #33 Southern mountain balladry, and bluegrass classics

In the summer of 1916, English literature scholar and pioneer folklorist Cecil Sharp made his first trip to document the survival of English ballad singing in the southern Appalachian mountains.  With his assistant Maude Karpeles, he documented hundreds of ballads and tunes in the days before portable recording machines, writing down notation, verses and commentary.  Sharp's collecting inspired many other folklorists and traditional music enthusiasts through the years and may have helped preserve the ballad tradition in Madison County, NC and elsewhere by demonstrating to local residents how unusual and valuable their tradition was.  One hundred years after Cecil Sharp's first trip, Across the Blue Ridge, host Paul Brown interviews National Heritage Fellow  -- and Madison County native -- Sheila Kay Adams onstage at the Bluff Mountain Festival in Hot Springs, NC about the ballad tradition she has helped preserve through her singing and teaching.  We also hear from one of her young protégés, Branson Raines, about how he's been inspired to learn as much of the old repertoire as he can.  And we listen to their compelling ballad singing.  Also on the program, bluegrass classics and a couple of tunes from a new album by The Earls of Leicester, a contemporary band that pays homage to the great ensembles of the early bluegrass era, including Flatt & Scruggs, Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, and others.

Episode 33 Playlist

1. Farewell Blues
   Kevin Church
   Patuxent Banjo Project
    
2. Uncle Pen
   Bill Monroe
   In The Pines
    
3. Some Old Day
   Flatt & Scruggs
   Flatt & Scruggs 1948-59 Vol. 3
    
4. Buck Creek Gal
   Earls of Leicester
   Rattle & Roar
    
5. The Girl I Love Don't Pay Me No Mind
   Earls of Leicester
   Rattle & Roar
    
6. Old Pal of Yesterday
   Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin
   Blue Lightning
    
7. Break 1 - Steel Guitar Blues
   Earls of Leicester
   Rattle & Roar
    
8. The Wagoner's Lad
   Sheila Kay Adams
   All The Other Fine Things
    
9. Sheila Kay Adams Interview
   Sheila Kay Adams
   Across The Blue Ridge Field Recording
    
10. My Dearest Dear
    Sheila Kay Adams
    Across The Blue Ridge Field Recording
     
11. Young Hunting
    Sheila Kay Adams
    Across The Blue Ridge Field Recording
     
12. Break 2 - Nothing To Fit
    Presley Barker
    Just Ten
     
13. Sheila Kay Adams Interview
    Sheila Kay Adams
    Across The Blue Ridge Field Recording
     
14. The Silk Merchant's Daughter
    Dellie Norton
    High Atmosphere
     
15. Pretty Fair Miss
    Branson Raines
    Across The Blue Ridge Field Recording
     
16. Arkansas Traveler
    Branson Raines, Sheila Kay Adams, Paul Brown
    Across The Blue Ridge Field Recording
     
17. Sacred Throne
    Sheila Kay Adams
    All The Other Fine Things