Public Radio for the Piedmont and High Country
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Across The Blue Ridge - Episode 9 (Music of Southwestern Virginia and Beyond)

John Cohen
Wade Ward (l.) and Charlie Higgins were two of the most revered old time musicians from the southwest of Virginia in and around the town of Galax. We hear from them and others in a program with a big component of southwest Virginia musicians.

This week we check out some songs and tunes old and new from the Galax, Virginia area and beyond.  In the southwestern part of Virginia, Galax and surrounding communities have long been centers of old time and bluegrass music.  The Old Fiddlers' Convention in Galax was started in 1935 and continues to draw thousands of people each August.  On this show, we hear some field recordings of musicians including Wade Ward, Charlie Higgins, Ruby Vass and Hobart Smith; and the songs and tunes of contemporary musicians such as mandolinist Scott Freeman and his daughter Dori – who has a highly acclaimed new album out. Music from southwestern Virginia, and much more including Charlie Monroe, the Carter Family and JD Crowe, on the latest Across the Blue Ridge. 

Episode 9 Playlist

  1. Skip To Ma Lou My Darling – Eck Dunford
    Album -- The Bristol Sessions Volume 1
         
  2. Keep On The Sunny Side – The Carter Family
    Album – Anchored in Love
     
  3. Ain't Nobody – Dori Freeman
    Album – Dori Freeman
     
  4. County Road Gang – Fields Ward
    Album – Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie
     
  5. Ducks In The Millpond – Emmett Lundy
    Library of Congress recording
     
  6. Sally Ann – Step Back Cindy – Luther Davis, Paul Brown, Paul Friedman
    Field Recording
     
  7. BREAK 1  Bill Brown – The Canote Brothers
    Album -- Sugarbaby
     
  8. Grey Eagle – Scott Freeman
    Album – Southern Souvenirs
     
  9. Still A Child – Dori Freeman
    Album – Dori Freeman
     
  10. I'll Stay Around – J.D. Crowe
    Album – Blackjack
     
  11. Little Maggie – Obray Ramsey
    Album – Good Old Mountain Dew
     
  12. Live Forever – Laurie Lewis & Her Right Hands
    Album – The Golden West
     
  13. End of Memory Lane – Charlie Monroe
    Album – Charlie Monroe & His Kentucky Pardners Vol. 1
     
  14. Cluck Old Hen – Wade Ward
    Album – Southern Journey Vol. 2
     
  15. BREAK 2  Little Birdie – Paul Brown
    Source: studio recording
     
  16. Interview & Cripple Creek – Wade Ward & Charlie Higgins
    Album – Southern Journey Vol. 1
     
  17. Pretty Polly – E.C. Ball
    Album – Southern Journey Vol. 1
     
  18. The Banks of the Ohio – Ruby Vass
    Album – Southern Journey Vol. 2
     
  19. The Devil's Dream – Hobart Smith
    Album – Hobart Smith Blue Ridge Legacy
     
  20. Fly Around My Blue Eyed Girl – Hobart Smith
    Album – Southern Journey Vol. 2
Former 88.5 WFDD News Director Paul Brown founded Across the Blue Ridge at WFDD in the late 1980s. It was an instant hit, and was broadcast on WFDD for more than a decade until Paul left to become an executive editor, producer, reporter, and world newscaster at NPR in Washington, DC. Now Paul is back in his beloved Blue Ridge region, his journalism and storytelling skills honed better than ever. He's ready to present more music, share discussion with more interesting characters, and be your friend and guide in discovery. Paul is actively involved in today's acoustic music scene, crisscrossing the region and the country as a teacher, performer, and interviewer.

Support quality journalism, like the story above,
with your gift right now.

Donate