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Tommy Millard – Blackfaced Musician & Bluegrass Boy by Wayne Erbsen

Rural Roots of Bluegrass

When the full story of country music is told, the name Tommy Millard will not be forgotten. Dubbed “Snowball” by Bill Monroe, Tommy was a legendary performer who made important contributions to country music. Working with numerous medicine shows up and down the East Coast, Tommy was one of a small number of blackfaced comics who helped make the transition from the racially sensitive blackface act to the more acceptable role of the rube comic. Tommy, in fact, helped to further define the rube comic character with a freckled face, tattered baggy pants, oversized shoes, and slouch hat. His constant

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Samantha Bumgarner: The Original Banjo Pickin’ Girl

This article was written by Charles K Wolfe.

One of the sillier myths being bandied about these days by the Nashville establishment involves the role of women in the history of country music. It is said, down along Music Row and in the August pages of Country Music Magazine, that before the advent of Kitty Wells in the late 1940’s, women had little to do with country music’s devel­opment: they were cast as only pretty faces along to dress up the act. This, of course, is nonsense, and an account of the significant women artists who contributed to

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Karl and Harty

Rural Roots of Bluegrass

By Wayne Erbsen

The search for the core of the roots of bluegrass always leads to the many brother acts that were so popular with rural audiences in the 1930s and 1940s. The familiar names that always crop up include the Monroe brothers, Callahan brothers, Delmore brothers and the Bolick brothers. Practically forgotten, but no less important to the roots of bluegrass, were Karl and Harty. Though “officially” not brothers, both were born in 1905, growing up in Mount Vernon, Kentucky, as if they were brothers. This same area produced such artists as Bradley Kincaid, Red Foley, and John Lair.

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I’ll Fly Away on Banjo

By Wayne Erbsen

There are many ways to close out a bluegrass show, but I always favor ending an evening’s entertainment with a rousing version of I’ll Fly Away. This song is the perfect choice because everybody knows it and they love to sing along. Recently, I started digging into the origins of I’ll Fly Away, and here’s what I found.

I’ll Fly Away was among the earliest compositions of Albert Edward Brumley, who was born in Indian Territory near Spiro, Oklahoma on October 29, 1905. Growing up in a family of sharecroppers, Brumley knew from an early

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About

We are a small, family-owned, American publishing company, started with a simple idea – to teach and preserve Southern Appalachian music.

We offer:

Books: Music instruction books, songbooks, cookbooks, and books on folklore

Recordings: Bluegrass and old-time music

Log Cabin Classes: In-person and online music and cooking classes

History of Native Ground Books & Music

Wayne-at-cabin-window
Wayne Erbsen

It was 1973 and Wayne Erbsen had just moved from his home in California to Charlotte, North Carolina. His aim was to dig deep into the roots of Southern Appalachian music by learning from the masters. He chose Charlotte because this area had

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Basic Guitar Chords

By Wayne Erbsen

If you’re wanting to learn the basic guitar chords, you’ve come to the right place. Although there are thousands of chord positions, I’m only going to show you the basic chords you need to start with. In certain kinds of music, such as as bluegrass, Appalachian, folk, gospel, country and blues, these chords are pretty much all you’ll ever need.

Important Tip: When you’re making your chords, it’s ESSENTIAL that you go to the chord all at once, not one finger at a time. Landing on the chord all at once will guarantee that you’ll be able

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The Carter Scratch

By Wayne Erbsen

They didn’t call her Mother Maybelle for nuthin.’ Nope. In addition to being the mother of three girls (Helen, June, and Anita), Maybelle Carter was nothing less than the mother of flatpicking guitar. Starting in 1927, her lead and rhythm guitar playing laid the foundation of what would later be known as bluegrass guitar. Her signature lick on the guitar has been referred to as the Carter Scratch, the Carter Family Scratch, or the Maybelle Carter Scratch. That’s because of her way of playing the melody notes on the bass strings of the guitar while vigorously going

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How to Order

Ordering

We’ve made ordering simple and painless! You’ll find an “add to cart” button for every product we sell. When you go to check out, you can change your order or cancel it altogether. You can add items to your cart, view your cart at any time, and change items or quantities, all before going to the check out. We accept PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. If you’d prefer to pay by check or money order, please order by mail. International orders can only be paid by credit card. Unfortunately, we are not able to accept returns, so

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Bluegrass vs Clawhammer Banjo + ‘Things in Life’ Tab

Don Stover on StageApproximately 99.99%  of all banjo players fall squarely in one camp or the other: Clawhammer or bluegrass. It’s kind of like the Hatfields and the McCoys; you’re either with us, or you’re against us. This silly notion has lingered for too long. Let’s do our part in poking holes in this crazy idea by looking at the life of a renowned banjo player who played both styles extremely well: the late Don Stover.

Don grew up in the coalfields of West Virginia, and spent much of his teenage and young adult life working down in the mines. He originally learned

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Blind Alfred Reed

Henry Reed with Fred Pendleton

The Blind Man’s Song  – Recalling Alfred Reed By John Lilly

Young Violet Reed climbed a tall tree near her family’s home in Summers County and watched the road. She was looking for her father, Blind Alfred Reed, to return from Hinton, where he would go most days with his fiddle to play and sing on a street corner, a tin cup by his side. She could see him coming from a distance, walking down the road, fiddle tucked under one arm. Sometimes, if the day went well, he’d have a pound of bacon in his hand. Or, if the

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