Addie Graham

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Addie Graham, "born before 1900 in Wolfe County, Kentucky",[1] is considered one of Kentucky’s most important traditional singers, "whose style and repertoire capture important eras of Kentucky’s history."[2] She is variously reported to have lived in Cynthiana, Kentucky,[3] "the county seat of Harrison County",[4] and Magoffin County, Kentucky.[5]

Contents

[edit] Recordings

The LP Been a Long Time Traveling was released in 1978 by June Appal Recordings and featured many traditional unaccompanied Eastern Kentucky ballads. Her singing style and repertoire inspired many folk revival performers, including Mike Seeger, John McCutcheon, and Alice Gerrard, as well as West Virginia ballad singer Ginny Hawker.

Online recordings of the following folk songs appear at Digital Library of Appalachia:

[edit] Sample lyrics

"Stole and Sold from Africa"
traditional

We're stole and sold from Africa
Transported to America
Like hogs and sheep we march in drove
Suffer the heat, endure the cold.

We're almost naked, as you see
Almost bare-footed as we be
Suffer the lash, endure the pain
Exposed to sun, both wind and rain.

See how they take us from our wives
Young children from their mother's side
They take us to some foreign land
Make slaves to wait on gentlemen.

Oh Lord, have mercy and look down
Upon the race of the African kind
Upon our knees pour out our grief
And pray to God for some relief.[7]

[edit] Style

In addition to the traditional folk and mountain music styles, she was also known for her "Old Regular-style religious songs".[8] She sang "in a simple, straightforward style, unaccompanied and without excessive embellishment."[9]

[edit] Family

Her grandson, Rich Kirby is Faculty Coordinator for the 2008 Cowan Creek Mountain Music School held just outside Whitesburg, Kentucky each summer.[10] He is also on the staff at Appalshop.[11]

He first learned traditional music from his grandmother. During the old-time music revival of the 1970s, he performed with John McCutcheon and Tom Bledsoe as “Wry Straw.” He can be heard on three June Appal LPs: From Earth to Heaven, They Can't Put It Back, and Hits From Home. He has produced two June Appal Recordings, Lee Sexton's Whoa Mule and his grandmother's Been a Long Time Traveling. Mr. Kirby served as presenter at the 2003 Smithsonian Folk Life Festival and has also taught at the Appalachian Family Folk Week,[12] Augusta and the Swannanoa Gathering[13] held at Warren Wilson College just outside Asheville, North Carolina each summer.[14]

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 103, No. 408 (Apr. - Jun., 1990), pp. 193-205
  2. ^ http://appalshop.com/notes/dev-progress.htm Appalshop
  3. ^ http://www.folkmusic.com/record/r_live.htm John McCutcheon
  4. ^ http://www.kyhometown.com/cynthiana/ KyHomeTown.com
  5. ^ http://www.uky.edu/FineArts/Music/Niles/appalachian/ University of Kentucky
  6. ^ http://www.aca-dla.org/ Digital Library of Appalachia
  7. ^ http://www.folkmusic.com/record/r_live.htm John McCutcheon
  8. ^ http://www.appalshop.org/community/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=4&showentry=28 Rich Kirby (her grandson)
  9. ^ The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 103, No. 408 (Apr. - Jun., 1990), pp. 193-205
  10. ^ [http://www.cowancreekmusic.org/instructors.html Cowan Creek Mountain Music School
  11. ^ http://www.appalshop.org/staffbios.htm#rich Appalshop
  12. ^ http://www.hindmansettlement.org/cultural_programs/folk_week.html Hindman Settlement School
  13. ^ http://www.swangathering.org/ Swannanoa Gathering
  14. ^ http://www.cowancreekmusic.org/instructors.html Cowan Creek Mountain Musi School

[edit] Further reading

  • "Anglo-American Ballads and Traditional Song". Journal of American Folklore 96 (1983), pp. 114-116. JSTOR link (subscription required)
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Folk music