Bascom Lamar Lunsford
Encyclopedia
Bascom Lamar Lunsford was a lawyer, folklorist, and performer of traditional (folk
and country
) music from western North Carolina
. He was often known by the nickname "Minstrel of the Appalachians."
, Madison County
, North Carolina in 1882. His father James Bassett Lunsford was a self-taught teacher and his mother Luarta Leah Buckner often sang old ballads and religious songs. His father bought a fiddle to be shared between Bascom and his brother Blackwell. Later his brother bought a banjo. He played this on all social occasions - square dances, weddings and school entertainments. He enrolled at Rutherford College
and began teaching in Madison County. When he became a fruit tree salesman he visited isolated farms and there exchanged songs and tunes with the customers. In 1906 he married Nellie Triplett. In 1909 he re-enrolled at Rutherford College. After studying at Trinity College (which became Duke University
) he passed the bar exams and became licensed solicitor in 1913.
he became an agent chasing draft evaders. In 1922 Frank C. Brown, a song collector, recorded 32 items on wax cylinders from Bascom. In 1924 he recorded "Jesse James"
and "I Wish I Was a Mole In the Ground
" for the General Phonograph Company for commercial release. He recorded it again in 1949 for the Archive of American Folksong. It is not clear whether Bob Dylan ever heard it, but Bascom's delivery has some hallmarks of Dylan's early style, with a tight voice on the high notes and Dylan's "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again
" contains a line "all the railroad men just drink up your blood like wine" that comes from a Lunsford lyric, "'Cause a railroad man they'll kill you when he can, And drink up your blood like wine," as recorded in "I Wish I Was a Mole In the Ground
" on Harry Smith's collection Anthology of American Folk Music. In 1928 Lundsford recorded for Brunswick. He played in a style from Western North Carolina, which had a rhythmic up-stroke brushing the strings. It sounds similar to clawhammer
banjo playing, which emphasises the downstroke. He also played a "mandoline", an instrument with mandolin body and a five-string banjo neck. He occasionally played fiddle for dance tunes such as "Rye Straw". He censored himself, avoiding obscene songs or omitting verses. His repertoire included Child Ballads
, negro spirituals and parlor songs.
festival to encourage tourism. The Chamber asked Bascom to invite local musicians and dancers. 1928 was the first year of the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, often claimed as the first event to be described as a "Folk Festival
". After a few years the rhododendron element disappeared but the festival continues to this day. He was the organiser and performed there every year until he suffered a stroke in 1965.
. He managed the campaign for Congressman Zebulon Weaver
for North Carolina. From 1931 to 1934 he was a reading clerk of the North Carolina House of Representatives
. Charles Seeger employed him in the mid-30s to promote singers in "Skyline Farms", as part of the "New Deal
". He performed at the White House in 1939 when the King and Queen of Britain paid a visit.
He died on 4 September 1973.
His fame today rests on his performances, several of which have been preserved on records, and are also available on compact disc. Many of these recordings were made by the Library of Congress
to preserve vanishing Appalachian culture.
His most famous recording is "I Wish I Was a Mole In the Ground
", which is discussed at length in Greil Marcus
' The Old Weird America. It is collected on Harry Smith's
Anthology of American Folk Music
. A CD devoted exclusively to Lunsford is available, titled Ballads, Banjo Tunes, and Sacred Songs of Western North Carolina.
Lunsford's original recording of "Good Old Mountain Dew
" was used as the first advertising theme for the newly created Mountain Dew
soda. He sold the rights to the song for a train ticket home.
Lunsford's 1949 Library of Congress "Memory Collection" will be released in the next few years as a 10 cd set.
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
) music from western North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. He was often known by the nickname "Minstrel of the Appalachians."
Early life
Bascom Lamar Lunsford was born at Mars HillMars Hill, North Carolina
Mars Hill is a town in Madison County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,764 at the 2000 census. It is the home of Mars Hill College, which is named after the town. The town is located approximately one mile west of Interstate 26, and due north of Asheville, western North...
, Madison County
Madison County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 19,635 people, 8,000 households, and 5,592 families residing in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile . There were 9,722 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...
, North Carolina in 1882. His father James Bassett Lunsford was a self-taught teacher and his mother Luarta Leah Buckner often sang old ballads and religious songs. His father bought a fiddle to be shared between Bascom and his brother Blackwell. Later his brother bought a banjo. He played this on all social occasions - square dances, weddings and school entertainments. He enrolled at Rutherford College
Rutherford College, North Carolina
Rutherford College is a town in Burke County, North Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,293. It is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area....
and began teaching in Madison County. When he became a fruit tree salesman he visited isolated farms and there exchanged songs and tunes with the customers. In 1906 he married Nellie Triplett. In 1909 he re-enrolled at Rutherford College. After studying at Trinity College (which became Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
) he passed the bar exams and became licensed solicitor in 1913.
North Carolina folklore
He gave lectures on folklore poetry and songs. Almost mocking the formal structure of these lectures he wore white tie and tails, and proceeded to play the banjo. During the First World WarWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he became an agent chasing draft evaders. In 1922 Frank C. Brown, a song collector, recorded 32 items on wax cylinders from Bascom. In 1924 he recorded "Jesse James"
Jesse James in music
Jesse James became a hero in folklore and dime novels before he was killed in 1882. A manifestation of this was the emergence of a wide body of music that celebrates or alludes to Jesse James...
and "I Wish I Was a Mole In the Ground
I Wish I Was a Mole In the Ground
I Wish I Was a Mole In the Ground is a traditional American folk song. It was most famously recorded and archived in the Library of Congress by Bascom Lamar Lunsford in 1924. It has also been recorded by many other performers....
" for the General Phonograph Company for commercial release. He recorded it again in 1949 for the Archive of American Folksong. It is not clear whether Bob Dylan ever heard it, but Bascom's delivery has some hallmarks of Dylan's early style, with a tight voice on the high notes and Dylan's "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again
Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
"Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" is a song written by Bob Dylan that appears on his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde. The album version also appears on 1971's Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II. A live version of this song appears on the 1976 album Hard Rain; and was also released as...
" contains a line "all the railroad men just drink up your blood like wine" that comes from a Lunsford lyric, "'Cause a railroad man they'll kill you when he can, And drink up your blood like wine," as recorded in "I Wish I Was a Mole In the Ground
I Wish I Was a Mole In the Ground
I Wish I Was a Mole In the Ground is a traditional American folk song. It was most famously recorded and archived in the Library of Congress by Bascom Lamar Lunsford in 1924. It has also been recorded by many other performers....
" on Harry Smith's collection Anthology of American Folk Music. In 1928 Lundsford recorded for Brunswick. He played in a style from Western North Carolina, which had a rhythmic up-stroke brushing the strings. It sounds similar to clawhammer
Clawhammer
Clawhammer is a highly rhythmic banjo playing style and common component of American old-time music. The principal difference between clawhammer style and other styles is the picking direction...
banjo playing, which emphasises the downstroke. He also played a "mandoline", an instrument with mandolin body and a five-string banjo neck. He occasionally played fiddle for dance tunes such as "Rye Straw". He censored himself, avoiding obscene songs or omitting verses. His repertoire included Child Ballads
Child Ballads
The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century...
, negro spirituals and parlor songs.
The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival
In 1927 the Asheville Chamber of Commerce organized a rhododendronRhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
festival to encourage tourism. The Chamber asked Bascom to invite local musicians and dancers. 1928 was the first year of the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, often claimed as the first event to be described as a "Folk Festival
Folk festival
A Folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and folk music.-Canada:Alberta*Calgary Folk Music Festival*Canmore Folk Music Festival*Edmonton Folk Music Festival*Jasper Folk Festival*Wild Mountain Music FestOntario*Barriefolk...
". After a few years the rhododendron element disappeared but the festival continues to this day. He was the organiser and performed there every year until he suffered a stroke in 1965.
Politics and fame
Bascom was involved in the politics of the Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. He managed the campaign for Congressman Zebulon Weaver
Zebulon Weaver
Zebulon Weaver was a Democratic U.S. Congressman from North Carolina between 1917 and 1929 and between 1931 and 1947.-Early years and education:...
for North Carolina. From 1931 to 1934 he was a reading clerk of the North Carolina House of Representatives
North Carolina House of Representatives
The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the state senate....
. Charles Seeger employed him in the mid-30s to promote singers in "Skyline Farms", as part of the "New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
". He performed at the White House in 1939 when the King and Queen of Britain paid a visit.
He died on 4 September 1973.
His fame today rests on his performances, several of which have been preserved on records, and are also available on compact disc. Many of these recordings were made by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
to preserve vanishing Appalachian culture.
His most famous recording is "I Wish I Was a Mole In the Ground
I Wish I Was a Mole In the Ground
I Wish I Was a Mole In the Ground is a traditional American folk song. It was most famously recorded and archived in the Library of Congress by Bascom Lamar Lunsford in 1924. It has also been recorded by many other performers....
", which is discussed at length in Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a much broader framework of culture and politics than is customary in pop music journalism.-Life and career:Marcus was born in San Francisco...
' The Old Weird America. It is collected on Harry Smith's
Harry Everett Smith
Harry Everett Smith was an American archivist, ethnomusicologist, student of anthropology, record collector, experimental filmmaker, artist, bohemian and mystic...
Anthology of American Folk Music
Anthology of American Folk Music
The Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records , comprising eighty-four American folk, blues and country music recordings that were originally issued from 1927 to 1932.Experimental filmmaker and notable eccentric Harry Smith compiled the music...
. A CD devoted exclusively to Lunsford is available, titled Ballads, Banjo Tunes, and Sacred Songs of Western North Carolina.
Lunsford's original recording of "Good Old Mountain Dew
Good Old Mountain Dew
"Good Old Mountain Dew" – sometimes called simply "Mountain Dew" – is a song composed by Bascom Lamar Lunsford. In addition to being a folklorist, Mr. Lunsford was a lawyer, who defended clients in criminal cases involving moonshining. The original refers to traditional blind trading methods of...
" was used as the first advertising theme for the newly created Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew is a citrus-flavored carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in the 1940s by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman and was first marketed in Marion, VA, Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee. A revised formula was...
soda. He sold the rights to the song for a train ticket home.
Lunsford's 1949 Library of Congress "Memory Collection" will be released in the next few years as a 10 cd set.
Discography
- Ballads, Banjo Tunes and Sacred Songs of Western North Carolina (1996) (Smithsonian FolkwaysSmithsonian FolkwaysSmithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was founded in 1987 after the family of Moses Asch, founder of Folkways...
) - Minstrel of the Appalachians
- Smokey Mountain Ballads (1953) (FolkwaysFolkwaysFolkways can refer to:*Folkways —theory by the sociologist William Graham Sumner.*Folkways Records—a record label founded by Moe Asch....
) - Song and Ballads of American History and of the Assassination of American Presidents (1952)
- Bascom Lamar Lunsford (1956) (Riverside)
- Music from South Turkey Creek (1976) (Rounder)
External links
- Listen to "Dry Bones" at the Internet Archive's Open Source Audio collection
- Listen to "I Wish I Was A Mole In The Ground" at the Internet Archive's Open Source Audio collection
- Listen to "Little Turtle Dove" at the Internet Archive's Open Source Audio collection
- Listen to "Lost John Dean" at the Internet Archive's Open Source Audio collection
- Bonnie Prince Billy playing a cover version of Goodbye Old Stepstone