Masters of Old-Time Country Autoharp

by MASTERS OF OLD TIME COUNTRY AUT

Overview

The autoharp was invented in the 1870s as a sort of automated zither and initially was popular as a parlor instrument. It took hold in the Appalachians in the early 1900s thanks to its mail-order affordability, and local musicians quickly adapted it to an assortment of hymns, ballads, and fiddle tunes. The autoharp required frequent retunings, however, which kept it from being featured very prominently in the string band tradition of the Southern mountains, although Sara Carter played one on several of the early Carter Family recordings, and Maybelle Carte began featuring an autoharp at her shows in the 1950s, proving to be every bit as innovative on the instrument as she had been on the guitar. This delightful set of field recordings made by Mike Seeger in the 1950s and very early '60s features four masters of the Appalachian autoharp style, Virginian Ernest Stoneman (who made his first commercial autoharp recording in 1924), North Carolina father-and-son duo Neriah & Kenneth Benfield, and the left-handed Kilby Snow of Virginia (later in his life he made his home in Pennsylvania). Several of these tracks were originally released in 1962 on an LP called Mountain Music Played on Autoharp, and Seeger has here expanded the number of cuts from that release (substituting alternate takes in some cases) to make a generous survey of these unique players. Stoneman plays harmonica and sings to the accompaniment of the autoharp, turning himself into a one-man string band on songs like the banjo standard "Bile 'Em Cabbage Down" and Uncle Dave Macon's "All I Got's Gone." The Benfields turn in a wonderful autoharp duet on "Weeping Willow Tree," originally recorded by the Carter Family in 1927, while son Kenneth goes solo on impressive versions of "Old Joe Clark" and "Golden Slippers." But the clear maestro here is Kilby Snow, a left-handed player whose autoharp playing literally explodes into chiming, drag-note runs on an instrumental "John Henry," on the pretty "Close By" (recorded by both Bill Monroe and the Stanley Brothers in 1954), and on an amazing version of the comic fiddle tune "Chicken Reel." Fast-paced, gentle, and sounding as bright as the first day of spring, Masters of Old-Time Autoharp is a complete delight. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	04/25/2006
Label:	Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
UPC:	0093074011522
Rank:	90667

Tracks

1. Stoney's Waltz  - Ernest V. Stoneman
2. Sweet Marie  -  Benfield
3. John Henry  - Kilby Snow
4. May I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight, Mister?  - Kilby Snow
5. She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain  - Kilby Snow  - Wade Ward
6. Sweet Sunny South  - Ernest V. Stoneman
7. Bile 'Em Cabbage Down  - Ernest V. Stoneman
8. Marching Through Georgia  - Ernest V. Stoneman
9. Wreck of Number Nine  - Ernest V. Stoneman
10. Ella's Grave  - Neriah Benfield
11. Waltz  - Neriah Benfield
12. Old Joe Clark  - Kenneth Benfield
13. Shortening Bread  - Kenneth Benfield
14. Cindy  - Kilby Snow
15. Budded Roses  - Kilby Snow
16. Flop-Eared Mule  - Kilby Snow
17. Home Sweet Home  - Kilby Snow
18. Springtime Again Little Annie  - Stephen Foster  - Ernest V. Stoneman
19. Great Reaping Day  - Ernest V. Stoneman  - R.E. Winsett
20. Weeping Willow Tree  -  Benfield
21. I'm Alone, All Alone  - Mike Seeger  - Ernest V. Stoneman
22. All I Got's Gone  - Uncle Dave Macon  - Ernest V. Stoneman
23. Benfield Hoedown (Idaho Girl)  - Neriah Benfield
24. Bonaparte's Retreat  - Kenneth Benfield  - Pee Wee King
25. Chinese Breakdown  -  Benfield
26. Wildwood Flower  - Maud Irving  - Kilby Snow  - Joseph Philbrick Webster  - Mike Seeger
27. Tragic Romance  - Hazel Dickens  - Grandpa Jones  - Mike Seeger  - Kilby Snow
28. Close By  - Kilby Snow
29. Way Down in the Country  - Kenneth Benfield  - Alton Delmore  - Grandpa Jones
30. Golden Slippers  - Kenneth Benfield  - James A. Bland
31. Lights in the Valley  -  Benfield
32. Chicken Reel  - Kilby Snow
33. Precious Jewel  - Roy Acuff  - Kilby Snow
34. Muleskinner Blues  - Kilby Snow  - George Vaughn
35. Red River Valley  -  Snow  - Kilby Snow
36. Hallelujah Slide  - Ernest V. Stoneman
37. Jacob's Ladder  - Kenneth Benfield
38. Ain't Going to Work Tomorrow  - A.P. Carter  - Kilby Snow

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Mike Seeger   Primary Artist,Banjo,Guitar
Wade Ward   Primary Artist,Banjo
Neriah Benfield   Primary Artist,Autoharp
Kenneth Benfield   Primary Artist
Hazel Dickens   Primary Artist,Guitar
Kilby Snow   Primary Artist,Autoharp
Jim Snow   Primary Artist
Ernest V. Stoneman   Primary Artist,Harmonica,Vocals,Autoharp
Neriah & Kenneth Benfield   Primary Artist
Ken Bonfield   Guitar

Technical Credits

Charles Wolfe   Track Notes
R.E. Winsett   Composer
Mary Monseur   Production Coordination
Carla Borden   Editorial Assistant
Ernest V. Stoneman   Performer,Composer
Pee Wee King   Composer
Pete Reiniger   Mastering,Sound Supervision
Joseph Philbrick Webster   Composer
A.P. Carter   Composer
Mike Seeger   Editing,Engineer,Producer,Annotation,Photography
Ellen M. Martin   Photo Printing
Neriah & Kenneth Benfield   Performer
Sonya Cohen Cramer   Design,Layout Design
Maud Irving   Composer
Kilby Snow   Performer
James A. Bland   Composer
Stephen Foster   Composer
Uncle Dave Macon   Composer
Alton Delmore   Composer
Roy Acuff   Composer
D.A. Sonneborn   Production Supervisor
Neriah Benfield   Composer
Dan Sheehy   Production Supervisor
George Vaughn   Composer
Grandpa Jones   Composer