2019: The Year of Music

Man, for someone who (likes to) fancy himself a chronicler and promoter of all things North Carolina, somehow it slipped past me that 2019 will be the Year of Music in the Old North State.

*Looks at calendar. Realizes that 2019 is almost halfway over.*

D'OH!

It wasn't until I saw some of my favorites -- like BJ Barham of American Aquarium and the Chatham County Line guys -- tweeting about it last night that I realized this was a thing. Apparently Mandolin Orange had a special gig at the Executive Mansion in celebration of the Year of Music.

“From bluegrass to the blues, from gospel to funk, from beach music to indie and hip hop, North Carolina is the birthplace of many musical styles and iconic performers,” Gov. Cooper said in a press release, ahem, last year. “The Year of Music celebration not only recognizes North Carolina musicians that are now cultural icons but the nearly 25,000 North Carolinians who work in music occupations.”

Even taking away the business of music, songwriting and performing here in N.C. is a BIG deal and should be celebrated, even just for the art of it. Lord knows we have a lot of which to be proud.

Here are a just a few of the music-related posts from this site from over the years:

• Dunn, N.C. and the Hall of Fame connection
• (Also, Let's Get Link Wray into the Rock HOF) 
• Nothin' could be finer
• Epperson preserved the music of the Appalachians
• Doc Watson, the face of N.C.
• A tribute to N.C.'s musical heritage
• Are we losing beach music?

“Music is universal in North Carolina, regardless of where you live in the state,” said Susi H. Hamilton, secretary for the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. “North Carolinians are the heroes of many musical genres in America, reflecting our rich cultural heritage, our innovative spirit and the collaborative nature of our musical communities.”

R.I.P. Earl Scruggs

North Carolina has produced more than its share of influential musicians: John Coltrane, James Taylor, Link Wray. But Earl Scruggs may even top that impressive list. Scruggs, who grew up in Shelby but who would go on to "transform acoustic music with his fiery five-string banjo style," died Wednesday at 88 in Nashville.

From the News & Observer:

... Scruggs won international fame initially as the duet partner of guitarist Lester Flatt between 1948 and 1969. The duet and their band, the Foggy Mountain Boys, lived briefly in Raleigh in 1952 while playing on radio station WPTF.

Scruggs was known nationally and internationally for intricate tunes such as “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” made famous in the 1967 film “Bonnie and Clyde,” and “The Beverly Hillbillies” theme. He attracted fans all over the world and admirers as diverse as comedian Steve Martin, actress Angelina Jolie and pop-rocker Elton John.

ad more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/03/28/1966179/banjo-great-earl-scruggs-dies.html#storylink=cpy

At the time Scruggs achieved stardom, the banjo was an instrument most closely associated with the cornball humor and rowdy songs of traveling medicine shows. In later years, the New York Times famously dubbed him the Paganini of the banjo, a reference to the famed violinist. ...

Scruggs had been in poor health for months; his family said his death came as a result of “natural causes.” In January, likely aware of Scruggs’ fragile state, Martin wrote a eulogistic piece for The New Yorker praising the performer who heavily influenced Martin’s own banjo style.

...

Scruggs, a soft-spoken, modest person who generally found time to give an ear to the fans who wanted just a word with the legendary figure, won virtually every award that popular music could present. From membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame to three Grammy awards to performances at the White House, he was recognized widely as a genius of folk music.

Born Jan. 6, 1924, Scruggs worked around the family farm and in area mills as he developed a more sophisticated, revved-up version of the area’s three-finger banjo style. While in his early 20s, he earned a place, along with Flatt, in the band of Kentucky singer and mandolin master Bill Monroe, another giant figure in the formation of bluegrass.

With Flatt and Scruggs to spur him to new musical heights, Monroe created tremendous musical excitement as the band played regular engagements on the Grand Ole Opry and crisscrossed the South playing auditoriums, country churches and schoolhouses.

In 1948, Flatt and Scruggs went on their own to create a band that would surpass Monroe’s in popularity, both with their original songs and their blazing-fast, intricate picking.

“He was so far ahead of his time, that so many players today are still trying to figure out the little things he did 60 years ago,” Mills said.

Scruggs was the behind-the-scenes business force of the act, working in concert with his business-savvy wife, Louise, who died in 2006. The group toured constantly, moving around the South to bases such as Bristol, Tenn., and Raleigh, where son Randy was born in 1952.

...

Always a more adventurous musician than Flatt, Scruggs parted ways with the guitarist in 1969 and started a band with sons Randy, Gary and Steve. They perfected a country-rock sound that brought them widespread acceptance in the burgeoning youth culture of the day.

Scruggs was plagued by injuries and left the Earl Scruggs Revue to issue solo records beginning in the 1980s. He and Louise were famous as hosts of picking parties where bold-face names such Chet Atkins and Vince Gill rubbed elbows with new pickers in town and hosts of family members.

Scruggs always remembered North Carolina fondly. His home area is repaying the favor with the development of the Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby as a monument to the farm boy who brought fame to the banjo, even as it brought fame to him.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/03/28/1966179/banjo-great-earl-scruggs-dies.html#storylink=cpy

Patrick Sky, folk music legend

Full disclosure: I had probably worked with Patrick Sky for about six years before a co-worker pointed out that the bearded dude with the wicked sense of humor had, at one point, been one of the most respected folks music songwriters of the 1960s. Seriously.

Thankfully, it didn't take long to prove my co-worker correct. (Thank you, Google.) Yes, before he retired became an "IT guy" (he retired just a few years ago), Pat Sky was a legend in Greenwich Village and beyond.

From Wikipedia:

A contemporary of Bob Dylan and others in the Greenwich Village folk boom of the 1960s, following military service Sky released a number of well received albums from 1965 onwards and played with many of the leading performers of the period, particularly Buffy Sainte-Marie, Eric Andersen and the blues singer Mississippi John Hurt (whose Vanguard albums Sky produced). Sky's song "Many A Mile" became a folk club staple, and has been recorded by Sainte-Marie and others.

Becoming increasingly disillusioned with the music business and politically radical, Sky released the controversial and scabrously satirical Songs That Made America Famous in 1973 (the album was recorded in 1971 but rejected by several record companies before it found a home); to this day he claims to have received no royalties for the album. This album featured the earlier known recorded version of the song "Luang Prabang," written by Sky's friend Dave Van Ronk. Patrick Sky had honed his politically charged satire in earlier albums, but Songs That Made America Famous raised the stakes. The Adelphi Records website describes how the content was, indeed, shocking; yet, how several critics encouraged the public to rush to buy these timely and brilliant "explicit lyrics" while it could. Sky gradually moved into the field of Irish traditional music, founding Green Linnet Records in 1973. Today he is recognised as an expert in building and playing the Irish uillean pipes, often performing with his wife, Cathy. He has also published several books on the subject.

The same co-worker today alerted me to this piece from "Around Carolina" that catches up with Pat and his uillean pipe work (both musically and by trade). Glad to see Pat is still involved in the music business.

Quick hits: North Carolinians are pretty happy, and WCU makes a banjo player a doctor

N.C. ranks 13th for happy Americans

"People in sunny, outdoorsy states -- Louisiana, Hawaii, Florida -- say they're the happiest Americans, and researchers say they think they know why," says the AP.

"A new study comparing self-described pleasant feelings with objective measures of good living found these folks generally have reason to feel fine.

"The places where people are most likely to report happiness also tend to rate high on studies comparing such things as climate, crime rates, air quality and schools. ...

"Ranking No. 1 in happiness was Louisiana, home of Dixieland music and Cajun/Creole cooking. ...

"Rounding out the happy five were Hawaii, Florida, Tennessee and Arizona.

"North Carolina ranked No. 13 for happiness, while neighboring Virginia trailed at 27th.

"California is 46th.

"Last in happiness is New York state.

And ...

"So North Carolinians rank 13th as the happiest Americans?

"Well, yeah, we can work with that. Being in the top 20 is OK. It’s all right. Something to be happy about," says the News & Record's Eddie Wooten.

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has measured happiness, talking to 1.3 million Americans from 2005 to 2008.

"The places where people are most likely to report happiness also tend to rate high on studies comparing things such as climate, crime rates, air quality, schools and taxes, The Associated Press reports. ...

Banjo master to get WCU doctorate

"Call it an early holiday gift that can't be beat — famed mountain banjo picker Marc Pruett is getting an honorary doctorate on Saturday at Western Carolina University," says the Citizen-Times.

"t's the cap on a memorable year for Pruett, one of the region's premier bluegrass stars, who plays with the group Balsam Range. This fall, the band had a No. 1 hit on the bluegrass charts with the cut 'Last Train to Kitty Hawk.”'

" 'You could have knocked me over with a feather,' Pruett said when he heard he was getting the degree. 'At first, I thought it was a prank. But it's a very humbling experience.'

"Pruett, raised in Haywood County, is a 1974 Western Carolina University graduate. The school usually bestows two honorary doctorates a year, said WCU spokesman Randall Holcombe. Pruett was selected for his 'achievements as a professional musician and in appreciation for … love of the traditional culture of the Southern Appalachian mountains,' the degree reads. ..."

Nothin' could be finer ...

If you grew up in North Carolina (and probably in South Carolina too, I would suspect), then your elementary school's music class probably sung the ditty "Carolina in the Morning" at least once or twice.

The song is one of those tunes like "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" (or even "America The Beautiful" or "This Land is Your Land," for that matter) that we seemed to sing at least once a week in 4th or 5th grade but that I've rarely heard a note of since.

The chorus is one that most people, even non-Carolinians, seem to know: "Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning/No one could be sweeter than my sweetie when I meet her in the morning." But how many people actually know the melody and the words to the rest of it?

Well, here they are, the words at least. (For the melody, here's Al Jolson doing it way back when.) This way, if someone asks you to belt out "Carolina in the Morning," you have no excuse.

(from Wikipedia)

First verse
Wishing is good time wasted,
Still it's a habit they say;
Wishing for sweets I've tasted,
That's all I do all day.
Maybe there's nothing in wishing,
But speaking of wishing I'll say:

Chorus
Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning,
No one could be sweeter than my sweetie when I meet her in the morning.
Where the morning glories
Twine around the door,
Whispering pretty stories
I long to hear once more.
Strolling with my girlie where the dew is pearly early in the morning,
Butterflies all flutter up and kiss each little buttercup at dawning,
If I had Aladdin's lamp for only a day,
I'd make a wish and here's what I'd say:
Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning.

Second verse
Dreaming was meant for nighttime,
I live in dreams all the day;
I know it's not the right time,
But still I dream away.
What could be sweeter than dreaming,
Just dreaming and drifting away.
(Repeat Chorus)

Quick hits: Musical bonanza

Pickler's latest will separate her from the country-music pack
"It's hard not to like Albemarle's Kellie Pickler, especially if you're from the Carolinas," says the Charlotte Observer.

"Pickler's down-home charm, unapologetic honesty and humor has helped the former 'American Idol' finalist establish herself as one of country music's rising young female stars. She picked up three CMT Music Awards earlier this year; she'll compete for New Artist of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards on Nov. 12; and her self-titled sophomore album hit stores Tuesday.

"Having recorded her gold-selling debut 'Small Town Girl' while touring with “American Idol,” Pickler took a larger role in crafting her follow-up: She co-wrote half the disc's tracks. ..."

North Carolina Music Hall of Fame ... in Kannapolis?
"What do Earl Scruggs, Thelonious Monk, and Shirley Caesar have in common? They are all Grammy Award Winning Musicians from the state of North Carolina. Earl Scruggs (Shelby), Thelonious Monk (Rocky Mount), along with fellow North Carolinians, John Coltrane (Hamlet) and Doc Watson (Deep Gap) have been honored with the Grammy lifetime achievement award. Shirley Caesar (Durham) has received 11 Grammy awards and 7 Dove Awards throughout her career as a gospel singer. In fact North Carolina has produced some of the finest musicians in the modern world, but surprisingly, very few people are aware of North Carolina’s rich musical heritage.

"North Carolinians have helped shape every category of the music world, from country to rap, indie to pop, and from big band to jug band," writes New Raleigh. "Nina Simone (Tryon), Tori Amos (Newton), Charlie Daniels (Wilmington), George Clinton (Kannapolis), and of course Andy Griffith (Mount Airy), all have received numerous awards for their various contributions to the field, yet where would a person go to be explore this history?

"Many people might believe that the young James Taylor was baptized in the ol’ well at UNC on the day of his birth, although he was actually born in Boston. Both he and Tift Merrit were born outside the state, but graduated from the University of North Carolina.

"But nowhere in the entire state are all of these musicians and their achievements showcased. Why doesn’t North Carolina have a Music History Museum? Also, why is North Carolina creating the NC Music Hall of Fame in Kannapolis? ..."

Folk musician Darling passes away in Chapel Hill

"Erik Darling, the reedy-voiced guitarist and banjo player who deftly stepped in when Pete Seeger left the pioneering folk music group The Weavers, has died after battling lymphoma," said the Associated Press. "He was 74."

Darling passed away in Chapel Hill on August 3.

The AP states that Darling was known for his hit "Walk Right In," as well as for his arrangement of the Southern crime ballad "Tom Dooley" -- which was based on the real-life story of Tom Dula. (Dula was a former Civil War soldier who was tried, convicted, and hanged in Statesville for the murder of his fiancée, Laura Foster. The trial and hanging received national publicity, and Dula became a folk legend. According to Wikipedia, there "was considerable controversy around his conviction and execution. In subsequent years, a folk song was written (entitled 'Tom Dooley,' based on the pronunciation in the local dialect), and many oral traditions were passed down, regarding the sensational occurrences surrounding the murder of Foster, and Dula's subsequent execution." Darling's arrangement would go on to be a hit for The Kingston Trio. That song topped the charts in 1958.)

Darling was also a member of the Tarriers, "known for its version of 'The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)' — the signature tune of Harry Belafonte."

He replaced venerable folks icon Seeger in the Weavers in the late 1950s, a few years after the band was blacklisted for its political views.

Weavers member Fred Hellerman told the AP that Darling moved to Chapel Hill a couple of years ago to be near Willard Svanoe, a fellow member of The Rooftop Singers, the band with which he recorded 'Walk Right In,' a No. 1 hit for Vanguard Records in 1963.

"He was an absolutely logical person to be brought in" after Seeger's departure, Hellerman said. "Of the next generation of Weavers, I mean he was so outstanding that it was hard then or even now to imagine who else we could have brought in other than Erik."