Southern Mountain Music

This work represents a lifetime of research by Wayne Erbsen, professor of old-time and bluegrass music at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, who interviewed many legendary figures in Appalachian music. Often the first and only scholar to ever collect their stories, he provides in this book an indispensable history of bluegrass and old-time music in Appalachia for generations to come.
The book begins with stories featuring many pioneers of old-time and bluegrass music. Next are chapters on brother duets from the 1930s, legendary banjo pickers and fiddle players, plus tales of 19th-century songwriters whose songs still populate bluegrass music. Also covered are wide-ranging and whimsical topics such as the Ghost of Scotty Stoneman, cowboys in bluegrass music, Charlie Cline’s powerful snoring, a near-encounter with Bigfoot, and Hoss Cartwright’s hat.

A professor of old-time and bluegrass music at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, Wayne Erbsen has spent most of his life playing, teaching, researching, publishing, and broadcasting southern Appalachian and bluegrass music. He has written 38 books of songs, folklore, and music instruction. He divides his time between his home in Asheville, North Carolina and his family’s Civil War era log cabin in Elk Creek, Virginia.

Wayne Erbsen
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 210
Bibliographic Info: 100 photos, appendix, index
Copyright Date: 2025
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9646-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5620-5
Imprint: McFarland
Series: Contributions to Southern Appalachian Studies

Acknowledgments ix

Foreword by Tim Stafford 1

Introduction 3

Mountain Music Pioneers, Foreshadowing Bluegrass 7

Bluegrass Roots in Western North Carolina 7  •  Vernon Dalhart 11  •  Henry Whitter 12  •  Ernest “Pop” Stoneman 14  •  Uncle Eck Dunford and “Angeline the Baker” 15  •  The Carter Family 20  •  The Lesley Riddle Story 23  •  Dock Walsh and the Carolina Tarheels 25  •  Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers 26  •  Wade and J.E. Mainer 29

Brother Duets 33

Wiley and Zeke, the Morris Brothers 33  •  The Callahan Brothers 43  •  The Blue Sky Boys 46  •  Curly and Jack, the Shelton Brothers 47

Fiddling 51

Thicker’n Fiddlers in Hell 51  •  Eck Robertson—Master Fiddler 54  •  Fiddlin’ John Carson 57  •  Fiddlin’ Arthur Smith 58  •  Jim Shumate 62  •  Lester Woodie—Coming Up the Hard Road 71  •  Aynsley Porchak, Fiddler 79  •  Fiddles, Fangs, and Folklore 84  •  The Hanging of Fiddlin’ Joe Coleman 87

Banjo Picking 89

Walter Davis—Fist and Skull Banjo 89  •  Snuffy Jenkins 94  •  Earl Scruggs 96  •  Raymond Fairchild—Making His Own Way 99  •  Why Are There So Many Banjo Jokes? 104

More Bluegrass Pioneers 107

Cleo Davis—The Original Blue Grass Boy 107  •  Tommy Millard—Blackface Comedian and Blue Grass Boy 118  •  Clarence White and the Roots of Bluegrass Guitar 123  •  Bill Clifton 125

Songwriters and Songs 128

The Great American Tearjerker 128  •  Gussie L. Davis—Tin Pan Alley/Bluegrass Songwriter 130  •  William Shakespeare Who? 131  •  Johnny Bond 134  •  “Wildwood Flower” 136  •  “Jimmie Brown, the Newsboy” 138  •  “Otto Wood, the Bandit” 143  •  “Stagolee” 145  •  “Diamond Joe” 145  •  “Run Mountain” 148  •  “Fox on the Run” 150  •  “I’ve Just Seen the Rock of Ages” 152  •  “I’m a Little Teapot” 153  •  Other Songs with Quirky Stories 154

“Banks of the Ohio” 154  •  “Buffalo Gals” 154  •  “Cumberland Mountain Deer Chase” 154  •  “Old Joe Clark” 154  •  “Roll on Buddy” 155  •  “Poor Ellen Smith” 155  •  “Red River Valley” 156  •  “My Rough and Rowdy Ways” 157  •  “Please Pardon Me” 157

Appendix I. Miscellaneous 159

Cowboys in Bluegrass Music? 159  •  Two Meatballs in the Sand and Other Mondegreens 162  •  The Secret Signals of Bluegrass 163  •  The Lester Flatt G Run 166  •  We Almost Played on the Grand Ole Opry 167  •  Charlie Cline, Powerful Snorer 169  •  Hoss Cartwright’s Hat 169  •  “Winning” the Folk Song Completion at Galax 170  •  Jamming with David Grisman 171  •  Bigfoot’s Gone Away 172  •  Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith 174  •  Jim Bob Tinsley—Cowboy Singer and Mountain Lion Hunter 175  •  The Ghost of Scotty Stoneman 176  •  My Radio Career 176  •  Gods and Generals 177

Appendix II. Quickies 179

Jethro Burns 179  •  On Their Tippy Toes 179  •  Give Me a Break! 179  •  Ralph and Stanley Carter 179  •  Septic Music 179  •  Making Stuff Up 180  •  Hank Williams Said 180  •  Playing Pool 180  •  Dimwits 180  •  “Wee Wee” 180  •  Fresh Picks 180  •  Ernest Tubb 180  •  Marshmallows 180  •  The Smoggy Mountain Boys 180  •  As Long as Yarn 180  •  Bagels Ain’t Sweet 181  •  Bill Monroe on the Railroad Tracks 181  •  The Stanley Brothers in Florida 181  •  The Stanley Brothers’ Bass Fiddle 182  •  You Ain’t Comin’ Back 182  •  Bluegrass Motels 182  •  Leave Now! 182  •  Laying Out Pants 182  •  Willie Nelson ­Look-Alike 182  •  Senator Wayne Erbsen 182  •  Nothing to Eat 183  •  Bill Monroe and Frank Sinatra 183  •  Runnin’ Out of Memory 183  •  Jimmy Martin 183  •  Chicken Necks 184  •  Discovering Clarence Ashley 184  •  Showmanship of Mac Wiseman and Lester Flatt 185  •  “Lee Highway Blues” 185  •  Joe Maphis’ Flatpick 186  •  Charlie Poole 187  •  Brad Keith 187  •  Professor Wayne Erbsen 187  •  Dog Bit 188  •  Lost Cassette Covers 189  •  How I Bought My Martin Guitar 189  •  Ry Cooder and Donna Stoneman 189  •  No Such Thing as Time 190  •  Outrageous ­Old-Time Band Names 190  •  Don’t Touch My Suit! 191  •  Water Bottle 191  •  Strange Names 192  •  Is Hair Here? 192  •  Thornton Spencer 192  •  White Bread and Cold Beans 192  •  Zeke Morris, the Body Shop Man 193  •  Wiley Morris, Another Body Shop Man 193  •  Bill Monroe’s Mandolin 193  •  The Biggest Bull in the World 194  •  Playing for a Mobster’s Funeral 194

Index 197

• “The many entertaining and informative essays in Wayne Erbsen’s Southern Mountain Music bring the reader up close to the pioneers of Bluegrass music. Erbsen, obviously a good listener, uses a light touch and lets their voices come forward. Jim Shumate talks about playing on Bill Monroe’s baseball team, and Zeke Morris explains how he shaped older bits and pieces into what became ‘Salty Dog Blues.’ Informed by 50 years of playing and studying the music, Wayne Erbsen presents an intimate picture of the beginnings of what came to be known as Bluegrass.”—Tim O’Brien, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter

• “Wayne Erbsen models a curiosity and scholarship that all listeners to music would be wise to emulate. The information he has unearthed is significant to an understanding of the sources and early development of both bluegrass music and the styles that preceded it. He focuses largely on characters and phenomena that have not been widely celebrated elsewhere in the literature, helping us to understand that many unsung heroes underpin the familiar icons.”—Fred Bartenstein, bluegrass and country music historian

• “From the mere enthusiast to the acclaimed historian of old time, bluegrass, or country music, this book is a must-read! Wayne Erbsen has written so many great articles over the last few decades that it is great to see some of his best articles published all together in this wonderful book! Pick up a copy. You won’t regret it!”—Jeremy Stephens, member of award winning bluegrass band High Fidelity

• “For those with an interest in early country, bluegrass, and old time music, Southern Mountain Music, by Wayne Erbsen takes you on a personally guided tour through the hills and hollers of the genres like you never had before. In Erbsen’s collected writings, he shares an insider’s sharp-eyed view of the music, music makers, influencers, humor, and the varied regions—from the mountains of Western North Carolina to the balmy shores of Southern California—that make up these timeless musical offerings.”—Alan Munde, banjo player, American Banjo Hall of Fame, International Bluegrass Music Association Hall of Fame, Steve Martin Banjo Prize Winner

• “For more than half a century, Wayne Erbsen has served “Southern Mountain Music” in multiple roles—as musician, educator, radio broadcaster, promoter, and writer. This book celebrates his work in the latter role and reflects his sustained passion for regional music traditions. Erbsen deeply respects the forebears of those traditions, and this book offers a bountiful harvest of feature articles about music along with vital documentation from the many interviews he has conducted over the years with significant regional musicians from earlier generations.”—Ted Olson, professor of Appalachian Studies, East Tennessee State University

• “As welcome as a friendly handshake and a warm Appalachian smile, Wayne Erbsen’s new book sparkles with fascinating stories that are entertaining, educational, and rich in well-researched detail! It is a must read for any fan of American acoustic music history!”—Marc Pruett, Honorary Doctor of Arts, Grammy recipient, member of Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame

• “Wayne Erbsen has been teaching, playing, and writing books for as long as I can remember! His latest work is the best one yet! Totally gripping and illuminating! Dig in and dig it!”—Matt Glaser, artistic director, American Roots Music Program, Berklee College of Music

• “For longer than I care to admit, the writings of Wayne Erbsen have been a constant go-to source when learning about the history of bluegrass and old-time country music. He came of age when many of the titans of our music were still among us, and oftentimes Wayne’s thoughtful and well-researched articles represented the only serious overviews of their work. Southern Mountain Music celebrates a lifetime of music history well written.”—Gary Reid, three-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s award for Best Liner Notes, a past IBMA Print/Media Person of the Year

• “Count on Wayne Erbsen for accuracy and reliability!”—Bill Clifton, legendary bluegrass musician

• “Anyone with an interest in the history of the music of the southern Appalachian region will find Southern Mountain Music either a sterling resource, or an entertaining read…. One would expect to find this book on the reading list of Appalachian Studies programs all over the southeast…. this is a ‘can’t lose’ volume that belongs in the library of anyone with a passion for traditional mountain music.”—John Lawless, Bluegrass Today