Banjos, Shape Notes, and Jugs

Last night, I was fascinated by two remarkable video clips of American folk singers in 1930: Zanddervon Beliah Lamb ("Bela Lam") and Buford Threlkeld ("Whistler").

In February 1930, Bela Lam, his wife, Rose Meadows, and their granddaughter, Arlene Lam, are in front of the farmhouse porch on Bull Yearling Run near McMullen in Greene County, Virginia. (A commenter says:"Notice Bela's banjo roll: a triplet with fingers 1-2-3 up-picked on strings 3-2-1, then a quarter-note thumb on string 4, then a quarter-note up-pick of strings 3-2-1 simultaneously. Gives a nice light bounce to a 6/8 song. I think of that sound as older than that of the Carter Family.") Nevertheless, their maudlin song,"Poor Little Benny," with its shape note harmonies, isn't recommended for Father's Day.

Three months later, Whistler's Jug Band sang and played ragtime rhythms,"Foldin' Bed" (sometimes known as"Tear It Down" or"Bed Slats ‘n All"). (Nathanael Robinson points out that at the back left of this clip, you'll see a"now rare banjo-mandolin (mandolin scale and stringing with a banjo body)." Jug bands originated in Louisville, Kentucky, and became popular entertainment in Derby season. Whistler's band may here have been recorded at Churchill Downs.