Clarence Ashley
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| Clarence Ashley | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Tom Ashley |
| Born | September 29, 1895 Bristol, Tennessee, United States |
| Died | June 2, 1967 (aged 71) |
| Genre(s) | Folk |
| Instrument(s) | Banjo, guitar |
| Label(s) | Folkways |
Clarence "Tom" Ashley (September 29 1895 - June 2, 1967) was an American clawhammer banjo player and singer.
[edit] Biography
Born in Bristol, Virginia and nicknamed "Tommy Tiddy Waddy" by his grandfather, Ashley became best known to friends and acquaintances as 'Tom'. He began to play banjo and guitar at a young age, and at 16 joined a traveling medicine show as a banjo-picker and singer.
Ashley made his first recordings with Garley Foster and Doc Walsh in 1928. Throughout the late '20s and early '30s, Ashley recorded with Gwen Foster, The Blue Ridge Mountain Entertainers and Byrd Moore & His Hot Shots. He also made solo banjo recordings. He would become well known for his recordings of "The Coo Coo Bird," "The House Carpenter" and "Peg and Awl" (Carolina Tar Heels) which were featured on Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music. For several of his solo songs Ashley used a G-modal banjo tuning that he called the 'sawmill' tuning (gDGCD).
In the folk music revival of the late 1950s and early 1960s, urban ethnomusicologists rediscovered Ashley's music. In 1960 Ralph Rinzler met Ashley at the Old Time Fiddler's Convention in Union Grove, North Carolina. He eventually persuaded him to start playing banjo again and to record his repertoire of songs. Over the next few years he and his friends, including Doc Watson, played at many urban folk festivals. They also made two records for Folkways Records. While Ashley was an accomplished guitar player as well as banjo player, after being rediscovered, he only played banjo.
In 1967, Clarence "Tom" Ashley died of cancer.
[edit] Sources
- Tom Clarence Ashley: An Appalachian Folk Musician (Masters Thesis: East Tennessee State University) by Minnie M. Miller, 1973.
- http://www.clarenceashley.com
- The Music Of Clarence "Tom" Ashley 1929-1933 Greenback Dollar
