Introduction Two years ago this month we lost Doc Watson. This isnât an homage to Doc. Â I mention the anniversary by way of saying that I first heard todayâs song from him. Â But more to the point, âNo Telephone in … Continue reading →
Note: This is Part 3 of a three part series on âLittle Sadieâ â See also Part 1 and Part 2 Introduction I went out one night for to make a little round I met Little Sadie and I shot … Continue reading →
     SUTTON, HOLT & COLEMAN Ready For the Times High Windy Audio 1264 www.davidholt.com  Billed as a tribute to the late Doc Watson, this trio does indeed have a cumulative total of several decades of … Continue reading →
  Introduction Nature has no mercy at all. Nature says, âIâm going to snow. If you have on a bikini and no snowshoes, thatâs tough. I am going to snow anyway.â   â Maya Angelou, from Conversations with Maya Angelou Itâs … Continue reading →
Leonard Rutherford (fiddle) and Dick Burnett (banjo) â Theirs is the earliest known recording of âWillie Mooreâ Introduction One thing I find about murder ballads in my own life is that I often remember the first time and place I … Continue reading →
Arthel Lane âDocâ Watson This is our third post this week on âTom Dooley.â You can read the first here and the second here. Introduction My heart sank just a little after reading in John Edward Fletcherâs book about the … Continue reading →
This is the second post on Child 243. Â Read the first post here. The short answer is ânobody.â Â Nobody weeps for the house carpenter. Â In our last post, we saw how artists through the years molded and shaped the original … Continue reading →
Arthel Lane âDocâ Watson (March 3, 1923 â May 29, 2012) If there are patron saints for this blog, Doc Watson is one of them, at least for me.  With apologies to my dad, who was the acoustic guitar player with … Continue reading →
Introduction My first post this week introduced âHiram Hubbardâ, a Kentucky murder ballad from the era of the Civil War. Â The performance of Jean Ritchie and Doc Watson was our springboard. Â For the sake of avoiding multiple clicks across posts, … Continue reading →
âCome all you friends and neighborsâŚâ Every spring, as I finish teaching my unit on the American Civil War, my thoughts turn towards that most terrible of American experiences. Me being who I am always makes that rather intense.  This … Continue reading →
