Category Archives: History

The Lilly Brothers and Don Stover: Little Annie

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Peter Feldmann

What got me excited was Don’s “tag” or ending of his banjo break. It’s four beats of pure delight, sort of going off sideways like a plot twist in an Alfred Hitchcock film! Continue reading →

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Earl Johnson, a Wild Georgia Fiddler

Posted on March 2, 2019 by Peter Feldmann

Earl was a Georgia, short-bow fiddler with a brisk attack, highlighted by upward slides in the melody that pushed his tunes forward impressively. Mississippi Sawyer (a descriptive term for a river snag, long-used by steamboat pilots) was very popular in … Continue reading →

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The Origins of Bluegrass Music

Posted on August 29, 2018 by Peter Feldmann

I think Bill Monroe might have hired Stringbean more as a comedian to break the ice than for his banjo picking. Either that or because he was a good shortstop! Many early bluegrass bands had at least one member who did the rube comic act . . . a relic from minstrel and medicine show times. Continue reading →

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The Sixties in Folk Music / 13. Todd Grant

Posted on July 2, 2018 by Peter Feldmann

I guess it all started when I was about 10 years old. That would have been 1951. Lots of Hank Williams on the radio, Ernest Tubb, Benny Goodman—you remember the days. I lived on the east side of town, down … Continue reading →

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