Clarence Ashley
Clarence “Tom” Ashley Rediscovered in Folk Revival
Episode Description
Clarence “Tom” Ashley, a banjo player and guitarist from Mountain City, Tennessee, got his start in the medicine show circuit in the late 20s and 30s, but was “rediscovered” in the Folk Revival of the 1960s. Ashley’s famous solo recordings are probably “Dark Holler Blues” and its flip-side, “The Coo-Coo Bird,” both eerie clawhammer banjo performances recorded in late October of 1929. In the 1960s Ashley and his friends began to record with the addition of Doc Watson, then at the beginning of his career. Their record on the Folkways label, Old-Time Music at Clarence Ashley’s, remains a classic of early revival-era old-time music.
The Podcast
The “Down the Road on the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina” podcast highlights bluegrass and old-time music stories, performers, and traditions across the mountain and foothills counties of Western North Carolina. Hosted by Laura Boosinger and produced by Kim Clark of WNCW-FM, the podcast is a joint effort of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, the North Carolina Arts Council, and WNCW-FM.
