Appalachia "Will the Circle Be Unbroken"

“Banks on the Ohio” and “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” are both toying with ideas of death but in very dissimilar ways. One is causing it and the other is trying to prolong it. Dolly Parton’s lyrics for “Banks of the Ohio” contain the story of the murder as told by the murderer from prison. Joan Baez does not ask for the story to be told, but she does have the similar dialogue of the woman begging to not be killed. Joan Baez on her cover is singing, but her mouth position mimics what I see when I hear the lyrics “And there I threw her into drown” (even though that line is not in her version of the song). Johnny Cash also includes the cry for mercy but also does something different where he describes her with “golden curls,” and then sings of the drowning. When I looked up history on Appalachia, I found that there were some stereotypes for the behavior of “hillbillys,” which might be a possible explanation for the brutal story in “Banks of the Ohio.” Appalachia is an enigmatic place... so heavy in its roots...

Speaking of roots... for my project this week I wanted to hone in on the power of "at home" versions of songs. I can really hear something different in the front porch versions over performance. Both have strong qualities, but the heart can be heard in one much louder. This is seen in my project - the medium is charcoal, with a touch of sepia. Appalachia is home to mountains full of old growth and its people have a culture through their music to match it. It is created from listening to "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." The singer wishes to prolong the complete loss of the mother:

"I said to that undertaker
Undertaker please drive slow
For this lady you are carrying
Lord, I hate to see her go"

What is meant to be told through my drawing is the soul, or any soul really, that is taken by the "Undertaker" still lurks through tradition and culture derived from that soul's family and PLACE that they call home.

A church in Appalachia also used as a town hall 1930s

I listened to the versions of “Can the Circle Be Unbroken” by the Carter Family and by Doc Watson & Clarence Ashley. The Carter Family sang it with a more upbeat, happier tone. The song does not seem as sorrowful as the way Watson and Ashley sing it. The best way to characterize the difference between the two is that the version the Carter Family sings is a celebration of the life (of a loved one dying), and Watson and Ashley’s version is a funeral - both have an element sorrow due to death but they have their differences...

The Carter Family also sounds more appealing to me because even though it was recorded, it does not have that “stagey” performance vibe to it like Watson and Ashley’s. The Carter Family, according to Cohen, was one of the most popular “hillbilly” groups for the 1920s. Again we have what record companies call hillbilly, but will always know have talent beyond the name. Maybelle’s early interest in banjo and then her classic “Carter Lick” all add up to show her talent in the folk song realm. This on top of the ambition she possessed described in the “Maybelle Carter” article really highlights her role in folk music of Appalachia. This is where the “front porch” sound probably originates from.

Doc Watson and Clarence Ashley’s version still has an emotion of its own even though it the front porch vs. performance distinction is very apparent to me (their’s is performance). However, the truest of the true “front porch” versions comes from Ollie Gilbert. Her version, since it was really recorded at her home, tells a different story. Just like Cohen could feel the heart in the songs sung at home when he was in Kentucky, I feel that listening to Ollie Gilbert is more intimate than the performance versions. This is where PLACE comes in because it affects the mood and connection of the song to the singer, she is in her home, which is as personal as it gets. Ollie is singing without instruments and there is no stageiness to her voice it is what it is. And it is perfect.






It seems that folk songs became more widespread with the discovery of talented singers and musicians as well as technology, such as the phonograph, became more popular. John Cohen gives a brief discussion on the history of the birth of “Hillbilly and Race Recordings” in the reading where those two types of song were derived from the desire of record companies to “bolster sagging sales” (Cohen, 16). Of course other technologies were drowning the record companies, so they tried to market songs to the community in which the singer came from. The “race records” were sung by black folk and included gospel, spiritual, and blues songs, which were meant for regions with black listeners, while “hillbilly records” were also meant for rural areas and to reach out to other areas, but the name did not reflect the true style of the music, it was to appeal to the buyer of the record. 

Victor "Race Record" 1928

This seems as though the record companies - Victor, Columbia, etc. - were in a way misrepresenting the “folk” who sang these songs because they put the umbrella of “hillbilly” over them. Of course, many were hillbillys, but for me the name does not give an idea of the TALENT these musicians had. Cohen tells of how people like Buell Kazee  started to play instruments at a young age and even studied it in college. If I heard about Kazee’s background before knowing that he performed “hillbilly” music, I would be dumbfounded why a college student fluent in the music would specialize in “hillbilly” music. I appreciate it, and am a kind of hillbilly myself, since I grew up in the mountains, but for a professional musician, it may have been more appropriate to call it “folk music” for the record company. This is NOT to say that I do not appreciate hillbilly music, it is that the name is often a derogatory term and may not do the music justice. For example, Cohen explains that producers would prefer his “‘bad’ (hillbilly) voice” over his “‘good’ (concert) voice” (Cohen, 16).

Doc Watson born 1923, South Carolina

Clarence Ashley born 1895, Tennessee

In the video Cohen says he found something very personal in the Kentucky music player for him, “unless they were show performers;” I wonder what makes a front porch version of a song more personal than one heard from a stage. Maybe because at home versions are played in their home, where they are comfortable... not to sound corny, but where their heart it. On a stage it is more precise and planned. It’s staged! The same idea goes for Ashley singing “the Cuckoo” compared to the 1970s Towns Van Zandt recording.This popped a thought into my head from last week where we talked about our work being invented or discovered. “At home versions” are discovered - concerts and performances are invented.