Tag: georgia sea island singers

From “Ghost in This House” to “O Death,” Our 13 Favorite Boo-Grass Classics

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Ah! There’s a chill in the air, color in the leaves, and a craving for the spookiest songs in bluegrass — it must be fall. Bluegrass, old-time, and country do unsettling music remarkably well, from ancient folk lyrics of love gone wrong to ghost stories to truly “WTF??” moments. If you’re a fan of pumpkins, hot cider, and murder ballads we’ve crafted this list of 13 spooky-season bluegrass songs just for you:

The Country Gentlemen – “Bringing Mary Home”

THE bluegrass ghost story song. THE archetypical example of “What’s that story, stranger? Well, wait ‘til you hear this wild twist…” in country songwriting. (Yes, that’s a country songwriting archetype.) The Country Gentlemen did quiet, ambling — and spooky — bangers better than anybody else in bluegrass.

Cherryholmes – “Red Satin Dress”

Fans of now-retired family band Cherryholmes will know how rare it was for father and bassist Jere to step up to the microphone to sing lead. His grumbling, coarse voice and deadpan delivery do this modern murder ballad justice and then some. 

One has to wonder, though, with so many songs about murderous, deceitful women in bluegrass — the overwhelmingly male songwriters across the genre’s history couldn’t be bitter and misogynist, could they? Could they?

Zach & Maggie – “Double Grave”

A more recent example of unsettling songwriting in bluegrass and Americana, husband-and-wife duo Zach & Maggie White give a whimsical, joyful bent to their decidedly creepy song “Double Grave” in the 2019 music video for the track. Just enough of the story is left up to the imagination of the listener. Feel free to color inside — or outside — of the lines as you decide just how the song’s couple landed in their double grave. 

Alison Krauss – “Ghost in This House”

Come for the iconic AKUS track, stay for the impeccable introduction by Alison. Equal parts cheesy and stunning, if you haven’t belted along to this song at hundreds of decibels while no one is watching, you’re lying. Not technically a ghost story, we’re sliding in this hit purely because a Nashville hook as good as this deserves mention in a spooky-themed playlist.

The Stanley Brothers – “Little Glass of Wine”

Ah, American folk music, a tradition that *checks notes* celebrates the infinity-spanning, universe-halting power of love by valorizing murdering objects of that love. Kinda makes you think, doesn’t it? Here’s a tried and true old lyric, offered by the Stanley Brothers in that brother-duet-story-song style that’s unique to bluegrass. What’s more scary than an accidental (on purpose) double poisoning? The Stanley Brothers might accomplish spooky ‘grass better than any other bluegrass act across the decades.

Missy Raines – “Blackest Crow”


A less traditional rendering of a folk canon lyric, Missy Raines’ “Blackest Crow” might not feel particularly terrifying in and of itself, but the dark imagery of crows, ravens, and their relatives will always be a spectre in folk music, if not especially in bluegrass. 

Bill Monroe – “Body and Soul”

The lonesome longing dirge of a flat-seven chord might be the spookiest sound in bluegrass, from “Wheel Hoss” to “Old Joe Clark” to “Body and Soul.” A love song written through a morbid and mortal lens, you can almost feel the distance between the object’s body and soul widening as the singer — in the Big Mon’s unflappable tenor — objectifies his love, perhaps not realizing the cold, unfeeling quality of his actions. It’s a paradox distilled impossibly perfectly into song.

Rhiannon Giddens – “O Death”

Most fans of roots music know “O Death” from the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack and the version popularized by Ralph Stanley and the Stanley Brothers. On a recent album, Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi reprise the popular song based on a different source — Bessie Jones of the Georgia Sea Island Singers.

The striking aural image of Stanley singing the song, a capella, in the film and on the Down from the Mountain tour will remain forever indelible, but Giddens’ version calls back to the lyrics’ timelessness outside of the Coen Brothers’ or bluegrass universes and reminds us of just how much of American music and culture are entirely thanks to the contributions of Black folks.

Johnson Mountain Boys – “Dream of a Miner’s Child”

Mining songs are some of the creepiest and most heartbreaking — and back-breaking — songs in bluegrass, but this classic performance from the Johnson Mountain Boys featuring soaring, heart-stopping vocals by Dudley Connell, casts the format in an even more blood-chilling light: Through the eyes of a prophetic, tragic dream of a miner’s child. The entire schoolhouse performance by the Johnson Mountain Boys won’t ever be forgotten, and rightly so, but this specific song might be the best of the long-acclaimed At the Old Schoolhouse album. 

Oh daddy, don’t go to the mine today / for dreams have so often come true…

Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch – “Didn’t Leave Nobody But the Baby”

A lullaby meets a field holler song on another oft-remembered track from O Brother, Where Art Thou? The disaffected tone of the speaker, in regards to the baby, the devil, all of the above, isn’t horrifying per se, but the sing-songy melody coupled with the dark-tinged lyric are just unsettling enough, with the rote-like repetition further impressing the slightly spooky tone. It’s objectively beautiful and aesthetic, but not… quite… right… Perhaps because any trio involving the devil would have to be not quite right? 

AJ Lee & Blue Summit – “Monongah Mine” 

Another mining tale, this one based on a true — and terrifying — story of the Monongah Mine disaster in 1907, which is often regarded as the most dangerous and devastating mine accident in this country’s history. AJ Lee & Blue Summit bring a conviction to the song that might bely their originating in California, because they make this West Virginia tale their own.

Jake Blount – “Where Did You Sleep Last Night”

“In the Pines” is one of the most haunting lyrics in the bluegrass lexicon, but ethnomusicologist, researcher, and musician Jake Blount didn’t source his version from bluegrass at all — but from Nirvana. That’s just one facet of Blount’s rendition, which effortlessly queers the original stanzas and adds a degree of disquieting patina that’s often absent from more tired or well-traveled covers of the song. A reworking of a traditional track that leans into the moroseness underpinning it.

The Stanley Brothers – “Rank Stranger”

To close, we’ll return to the Stanley Brothers for an often-covered, much-requested stalwart of the bluegrass canon that is deceptively terrifying on closer inspection. Just who are these rank strangers that the singer finds in their hometown? Where did they come from? Why do none of them know who this person or their people are? Why are none of these questions seemingly important to anyone? Even the singer himself seems less than surprised by finding an entire village of strangers where familiar faces used to be. 

For a song so commonly sung, and typically in religious or gospel contexts or with overarchingly positive connotations, it’s a literal nightmare scenario. Like a bluegrass Black Mirror episode without any sort of satisfying conclusion. What did they find? “I found they were all rank strangers to me.” Great, so we’re right back where we started. Spooky.

BGS Long Reads of the Week // April 10

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Butterfly in the sky… I can go twice as high…

Let’s all read more together, how about it?! For a month now, our #longreadoftheday series has been looking back into the BGS archives for some of our favorite reporting, videos, interviews, and more — featured every day throughout each work week. You can follow along on social media [on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram] and right here, where we’ll wrap up each week’s stories in one place.

Our long reads this week are wise, comforting, thoughtful, illuminating, and more than a touch heartbreaking, as we say goodbye to one of the most poetic and cosmically poignant songwriters to ever live: John Prine.

Della Mae Offer Encouragement and Illumination on Headlight

Now nearly a decade into redefining what it means to be an all-woman band in bluegrass, Della Mae has learned a major lesson over the years: That you don’t need to care what everyone thinks about you all of the time. In fact, you don’t need to care what anyone thinks about you at all. Album after album the women behind Della Mae reinforce this message, musically, lyrically, and then some. [Read our interview]

The Dead South Have A Message for Bluegrass Purists

It’s not meant to be combative, The Dead South know they push the boundaries of what traditionalists would consider bluegrass, but that’s not the point. They’re not claiming to be the best, they’re not trying to “steal” anything, they’re just trying to have fun and be part of the community. They sat down and described their music making process and mission with us last year. [Read the full conversation]

John Prine: The Difficulty of Forgiveness

This week, it felt like we all woke up one day in a duller universe, without one of the greatest singer/songwriters to ever walk this earth: John Prine. He was our Artist of the Month in May 2018. His new album at that time, The Tree of Forgiveness — it would be his last release — wasn’t a “victory lap” for the legend. It was one of his greatest works.

So this week, we re-shared that feature in memory of and honoring a man who changed the lives and the music of each and every one of us, whether we knew it or not. [Read]

The Georgia Sea Island Singers: Kept Alive by Song

Are you familiar with the Georgia Sea Island Singers? Bessie Jones was one of the more famous singers among them. Song collector and folklorist Alan Lomax documented their slave songs, sharecropping narratives, children’s play songs, gospel tunes, and old folk dances during his time on Georgia’s St. Simons Island — first in the ’30s and again in the ’60s. It’s another example of this country’s vast and diverse musical traditions, many of which go forgotten or undervalued. [Read more about the music of the region]

I Am A Poor Wayfaring Stranger: 20 Versions of an American Classic

To wrap up the week, we chose a long read of the day that’s more of a long listen of the day. A truly unparalleled song in western folk traditions, “Wayfaring Stranger” has been covered and recorded by so many artists. In this post from the BGS archives we collected quite a few notable versions, by many of our favorites and some of the biggest stars on the planet. Who sings your go-to rendition? Let us know in the comments. [Check out the full list]

 

Black History Is Roots Music History

Posted on by Editor

To celebrate Black History Month, we’re taking a moment to revisit pieces that celebrated the creativity, music, and identities of artists of color over the past year.

Plenty of wisdom has been handed down in our Counsel of Elders features:

Jimmy Carter of the Blind Boys of Alabama spoke of faith and singing about reaching the end of the journey: “People ask me, ‘You’ve been doing this for almost seven decades, what keeps you going?’ I tell them, ‘When you love what you do — and we love what we’re doing — that keeps you motivated.’”

Soul singer Lee Fields had advice for staying positive without losing one’s realism: “I do believe that love is out there today, true genuine love, and I think a person should always keep that in mind. Stay positive.”

Then there’s 75 year-old singer and hit songwriter Don Bryant who has only just released his second album, so he knows a thing or two about perseverance and second chances.

Two of the past 12 months have been anchored by roots music legends:

Blues super-duo Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal released TajMo, so we marked the occasion by designating Keb’ our Artist of the Month for May. The album just won a (well-deserved) Grammy.

Country hit-maker Charley Pride held down the Artist of the Month slot in September, when we pointed out that, even now, in his 80s, he is unafraid to shake things up.

Then, there are the cover stories:

With her record, The Order of Time, Valerie June defies labels, spanning blues, bluegrass, soul, folk, rock, and more, gathering pieces from each to build a kaleidoscope that showcases the long undercurrent of history running through each.

Trombone Shorty is intent on keeping the culture and music of New Orleans alive, but without redundancy: “When I grew up, I was listening to brass bands and I was listening to New Orleans hip-hop, so that is a part of my culture. I started, then, playing my horn to hip-hop beats and rock beats. It’s part of knowing where you come from, but trying to move the music forward.”

Black Joe Lewis doesn’t revive rock ‘n’ roll, he just shows the world it’s still alive — and, as a classic form of American music, it should have a seat at the Americana table, too.

For Chastity Brown, making music is like a therapy session: “The music reflected itself back to me and, in one part, let me know I was quite broken, and in another part of [Silhouette of Sirens], let me know I wasn’t that way anymore.”

The historical context of Black identities in roots music is best supplied by, well … Black identities in roots music.

New York-based Black string band the Ebony Hillbillies expertly laid out the diverse history of bluegrass and old-time music in a Shout & Shine interview.

Scholars Doug Seroff and Lynn Abbott have worked together for nearly 40 years researching the history of African-American music in jubilee, quartet, vaudeville, ragtime, and early blues music.

We dove into the history of the Georgia Sea Island Singers, who have featured a rotating cast over the years and continue to share their rich history of West African descent, with performances at presidential inaugurations and other public ceremonies.

By working through a deep-rooted musical heritage, Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou uses the language of the past to inform the present, serving up a direct response to the current political climate.

In her album, Freedom Highway, Rhiannon Giddens examined the cyclical struggles of the victims of injustice that suffer throughout history … slaves, children, Black men, and more. We spoke to her about it.

Lesbian, Americana artist Crys Matthews is a native of the South and the daughter of a preacher. She understands and appreciates the myriad ways her background informs her ability to help others empathize with those with whom they might assume they have nothing in common.

Let’s not forget about all of the incredible music:

Birds of Chicago sang one of our favorite songs for a Sitch Session.

Ben Hunter & Joe Seamons released A Black & Tan Ball with Phil Wiggins and built the album on friendship, their commitment to celebrating the wide range of American styles available to any songster, and the joy of sharing those musical styles across generations.

Benjamin Booker’s “Truth Is Heavy” was featured as a Song of the Week this past June.

And Rhiannon Giddens had a Song of the Week, too.

One of our new favorites, Sunny War, sings to her younger self — and all young children today — about the challenges of life.

Guitarist Hubby Jenkins can do more with just his voice and guitar than some folks do with an entire band.

We hosted a number of wonderful artists on Hangin’ & Sangin‘, as well:

Johnnyswim had us laughing for the whole half-hour … and invited us over for dinner, to boot!

The aforementioned Keb’ Mo’ turned on the charm in a big, big way.

Acoustic soul singer Jonny P touched on the importance of positive representation.

Hopping over from the UK, Yola Carter blew our minds with her incredible voice and spirit.

During AmericanaFest, Leyla McCalla talked us through the history of Haitian-Americans.

And last but not least, there have been several stellar Mixtapes, too:

Singer Bette Smith remembers her big brother and his love of soul music with this playlist.

Contemporary blues guitarist Ruthie Foster gave us an introduction to the blues with a dozen foundational tracks upon which a blues novice might begin to build their love of the form.

Our friends at the Music Maker Relief Foundation are working hard to preserve traditional, vernacular American music, especially traditional blues.

The Georgia Sea Island Singers: Kept Alive by Song

Posted on by Editor

In 1962, an episode of the CBS documentary-style television show Accent featured an in-depth look at the culture of St. Simons Island. Situated off the coast of Georgia, St. Simons is draped in Spanish moss and rife with oak trees, beaches, marshes, and music. The segment followed musicologist Alan Lomax as he guided the show’s host, John Ciardi, around the island, introducing members of the Georgia Sea Island Singers and explaining the historical significance of the area’s musical heritage.

Lomax is a notorious folklorist whose contributions to the world of documentation loom large: He was the first person to record legends like Woody Guthrie and Muddy Waters. For nearly 70 years, Lomax traveled everywhere from Appalachia to Europe to collect and preserve folk music that was passed down directly from generation to generation, with the entirety of his collection now housed at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

His search for indigenous sounds first took him to St. Simons Island in 1935, where he traveled with fellow archivist Mary Barnicle and writer Zora Neale Hurston. He met musicians like Bessie Jones and the Georgia Sea Island Singers, and made a batch of initial recordings. He later returned to St. Simons in 1959 and 1960 to collect more recordings with improved equipment. The rich tradition Lomax tapped into dates back to the 18th century and comes from West African ethnic groups who were enslaved on the island’s plantations. They brought with them spirituals and work songs that often rely on call-and-response techniques.

“It’s an old continuity, this work-song business along this coast — 250 years, anyway, and of course it goes back to Africa, the continent of work songs to begin with,” Lomax explains to Ciardi during the opening sequence in Accent. The two sit along a riverbank and watch a boat-full of locals, including singers like Peter Davis and Joe Dixon, row inland after a day of fishing. “Africa has special problems: the heat, the jungle, the long distances. The people of Africa have worked out a system of communal work groups that’ll solve their problems for them, and the spark in these groups is provided by the work-song leaders.”

Lomax goes on to discuss how these songs exist for many different types of work — they could be heard on docks, in rowboats, in fields, in houses, and in churches. He believes that it was the tradition of song and dance that sustained the enslaved population when they arrived at these shores.

“I asked an old man once why they sang, and he said, ‘Well, I’ll tell ya boss, you start singing right after breakfast and, when you look around, it’s dinner time.’” Lomax recalls. “The songs took their minds off the rigor of their labor.”

Some of the last slaves to arrive in America landed in the smugglers’ ports on St. Simon and, while on the island, they had little contact with the mainland — meaning their connection to their home traditions remained well-preserved. With the onset of the Civil War, Confederate troops relocated to the mainland and blew up the lighthouse on St. Simons to prevent the Union soldiers from using its beacon as an aid. Soon thereafter, the Union occupied the island, and set up a camp for freed slaves. After the war, the land that thrived on cotton and rice during the plantation era was in disarray, and landowners abandoned their plots once they saw no possibility for profit. In their wake, sharecropping became the system of labor, and liberated slaves settled in an area of the island called Harrington, which is the community that Alan Lomax visited all those years later.

During his time on St. Simons, Lomax documented slave songs, sharecropping narratives, children’s play songs, gospel tunes, and old folk dances called reels.

“Down here in Georgia, you run into the roots of the whole thing. On this isolated island here, you find still alive the kind of thing that was happening in Old Virginia two or three centuries ago,” Lomax says on the Accent segment. “When the slaves encountered the English, Scotch, and Irish reels, they fell in love with those tunes and that way of dancing and they quickly picked them up and adapted them to their own way of doing things … they made these dances their own. They put a kind of rant into the tunes that wasn’t there before.”

One of the singers Lomax worked closely with was Bessie Jones. Growing up in North Georgia, stories of Jones’s grandfather, who was a slave, were passed down through her family. She brought those stories with her when she relocated to St. Simons after she got married and she became one of the foremost keepers of the island’s traditions. While the group existed by the name of the Spiritual Singers Society before her arrival on the island, Jones became the bandleader of the Georgia Sea Island Singers, which also included John Davis, Peter Davis, Mable Hillary, Emma Ramsey, and Henry Morrison. Recognizing the importance of keeping history alive, they worked with Lomax to expose a wider audience to the stories and songs of St. Simons. They booked gigs across the nation, performing on prestigious stages at the likes of Carnegie Hall and the Newport Folk Festival. In 1961, Jones even went to New York City so that Lomax could fulfill her request of recording her life story and music. She became an active figure in the Civil Rights movement, performing in a traveling prayer band that marched with Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Georgia Sea Island Singers have featured a rotating cast over the years and continued to share their rich history of West African descent, with performances at presidential inaugurations and other public ceremonies. It’s only fitting that the very songs that preserved and uplifted generations, in turn, be preserved and used as tools to educate.

“I suspect that it was these songs that gave [slaves] the heart more than anything else to endure the labor they had under the hot Southern sun, 14 hours of day under the driver’s whip,” Lomax poignantly reiterates in the Accent special. “They were kept alive by these songs.”

Photo of Bessie Jones on St. Simons Island by Paul Conklin (public domain).