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 #72- Lightnin’ Wells, one-man band

Paul Brown
Lightnin’ Wells regales the audience at Muddy Creek Music Hall with stories and songs from blues, old time, bluegrass, ragtime and jazz traditioins.

Mike “Lightnin'” Wells brings traditions together in his entertaining, informative and down-home one-man shows.  His latest album, titled “O Lightnin' Where Art Thou?”, displays his range as never before, as he plays and sings his way through songs from early country and bluegrass to blues, gospel and old time mountain music.  Born in West Virginia and largely raised in North Carolina, Lightnin' was smitten early by the famed WWVA Jamboree radio show out of Wheeling, West Virginia. When his family moved to the Chapel Hill, North Carolina area, he discovered a rich vein of piedmont blues and old time music as well.  On this episode of Across the Blue Ridge, we hear selections from the new album, plus an interview and songs from his 2016 appearance at Muddy Creek Music Hall in Winston-Salem, NC.  Also on the show, a selection of classic cuts from the three most significant bands in the early history of bluegrass music: Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys; The Stanley Brothers; and Flatt & Scruggs & The Foggy Mountain Boys.  There's some great old time string band music as well from The Reed Island Rounders and The Camp Creek Boys.

Playlist

  1. Stone's Rag
    Leftwich & Higginbotham
    The Lost Child
     
  2. My Cabin In Caroline
    Flatt & Scruggs
    1947-59 Vol 1
     
  3. The Rambler's Blues
    Stanley Brothers
    Earliest Recordings
     
  4. I Wonder If You Feel The Way I Do
    Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys
    Mule Skinner Blues
     
  5. Old Cow Crossing The Road
    Reed Island Rounders
    Wild Goose Chase
     
  6. Cotton Eyed Joe
    Camp Creek Boys
    Old Time String Band
     
  7. Break 1
    Cripple Creek
    Junie Scruggs
    American Banjo 3-Finger & Scruggs Style
     
  8. Try Me One More Time
    Lightnin' Wells
    O Lightnin' Where Art Thou?
     
  9. Sugar Baby
    Lightnin' Wells
    O Lightnin' Where Art Thou?
     
  10. Me And My Dog Blues
    Lightnin' Wells
    ATBR Recording
     
  11. How You Want Your Rolling Done
    Lightnin' Wells
    ATBR Recording
     
  12. Waiting For The Evening Mail
    Lightnin' Wells
    ATBR Recording
     
  13. Guitar Rag
    Lightnin' Wells
    O Lightnin' Where Art Thou?
     
  14. Break 2
    Rambling Hobo
    Gaither Carlton
    High Atmosphere
     
  15. Oh How She Could Play A Ukelele
    Lightnin' Wells
    ATBR Recording
     
  16. Hurry Home Sweet Mama Or I'll Be Gone
    Lightnin' Wells
    ATBR Recording
     
  17. Interview: Lightnin' Wells
    ATBR Recording
     
  18. Love In Vain
    Lightnin' Wells
    ATBR Recording
     
  19. Freight Train Boogie
    Lightnin' Wells
    O Lightnin' Where Art Thou?
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