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Song List

ECHOES OF THE OZARKS Volume 3

SIDE 1

1. NANCY ROWLAND - Carter

Brothers & Son

2. GREENBACK DOLLAR - Weems

String Band

3. MY OZARK MOUNTAIN HOME -

George Edgin's Corn Dodgers

4. RABBIT UP A GUM STUMP -

Hiter Colvin

5. ECHOES OF THE OZARKS - Fiddlin'

Sam Long

6. LIZA JANE - Carter Brothers & Son

7. ROBINSON COUNTY - Birkhead & Lane

Side 2

1. DAVY, DAVY - Weems String Band

2. CORN DODGER SPECIAL NO. 1 - George Edgin's Corn Dodgers

3. OLD JAW BONE - Carter Brothers & Son

4. INDIAN WAR WHOOP - Hiter Colvin

5. I'M SAD & BLUE - Perry County Music Makers

6. SENECA SQUARE DANCE - Fiddlin' Sam Long

7. COTTON EYED JOE - Carter Brothers & Son

The musicians on this, the third volume of old-time music of the Ozarks comprise some of the most obscure groups in recorded country music. Almost l biographical data is known for any of these bands, and in fact it is possible that one or two may not even be from the Ozark area.

Records by the CARTER BROTHERS & SON are among the rarest and most sougnt-after prizes to collectors of vintage string band recordings. No clues have yet been found regarding the whereabouts of this unique band, but they can be placed in the Ozark area on the basis of the tunes they recorded and their style of twin fiddling (where the 2nd fidale plays a baritone harmony rather than a "tenor" part).

Just as obscure is the WEEMS STRING BAND. They appeared at a recording studio in Memphis, in December of 1927, cut just two titles, and were not heard from again. Their powerful and precise versions of “Greenback Dollar” and “Davy, Davy" must rank as two of the greatest string band recordings ever made. There is a notable similarity in the fiddle part of “Davy, Davy"" with Dr. Smith's recording of "Going Down The River (County 519) - which might give some clue as to the origin of this group.

GEORGE EDGIN & HIS CORN DODGERS were apparently from the vicinity of Ozark, Ark. (Franklin County, in the western part of the state). Edgin recorded a number of pieces for two different companies in early 1932, but only a few sides were ever issued, thanks to the hard times of the depression. Edgin, who could play both fiddle and guitar, was joined on his recordings by Earl Wright and Brown Rich. It is not clear who played what or who did the singing. All members of the group are now deceased, Edgin said to have died about 1958.

HITER COLVIN, along with several of the other artists presented here, was not tennically from the Ozarks, coming from the little town of Strong, in the southern-most part of Arkansas (Union County) . His distinctive fiddling is backed up by Herb Sherrill on guitar in these 1929 recordings.

FIDDLING SAM LONG OF THE OZARKS, as he was billed was the first Ozark area musician to record. According to an old trade journal, recording scouts signed him up after he had won a big fiddler's contest in Missouri. Long, who was from Oklahoma, was accompanied on record by Ray Kastner on guitar. The two records he made were quite popular and sold widely throughout the Ozarks and the West and Mid-West. The records were acoustic, rather than electrical, and were rather poor pressings as well, which accounts for the poor sound quality. They have been included here nevertheless because of their musical and historical value.

No information is available on I.O. BIRKHEAD and R.M. LANE who feature twin fiddle and guitar or the PERRY

COUNTY MUSIC MAKERS, who might with be from another Perry County outside Arkansas. The inclusion of a zither in the latter group's recording of "I'm Sad & Blue" is unique in recorded old-time music.

Our thanks to Richard Nevins for the use of one of the rare original 78 rpm records necessary for the preparation of this album.

David Freeman

March—1970

The colorful Ozark Mountain area — comprising parts of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri — has always been among the most fascinating regions of the United States. The remoteness and isolation of the Ozark back country undoubtedly added a bit of mystery and intrigue to its aiready rich folklore. Fortunately, through the miracle of phonograph records, a good measure of this rich and colorful tradition has been preserved, and is presented here on 3 County albums - ECHOES OF THE OZARKS, Volumes 1. 2, and 3 (County 518, 519, 520).

Actually, relatively few examples of Ozark mountain music were recorded in the early days of phonograph records (up to

1932), compared, for example, with the multitude of records cut by Georgia musicians in Atlanta. However, the Ozark recordings that were made were — almost without exception of a very high quality.

The difficulty of travel within the region in the 1920's, and the lack of any central recording center probably account for the limited recording activity of Ozark area musicians — aside from an early session by Fiddlin' Sam Long in 1926, almost nothing was recorded until well into 1928. Yet from the records that were issued from 1928 to 1932 it is quite clear that the musical heritage of the Ozark region was extremely rich and varied.

Perhaps because they played a "purer" strain of music - basically free from the pop, jazz, and vaudeville influences that affected rural musicians of other areas — the Ozark musicians on these albums never produced any "national hits". In fact few of the records seem to have sold much outside of Arkansas, and indeed many are extremely rare collector's items today. Likewise, information on the artists is just as scarce, and at best we can only present a very sketchy picture of the Ozark music scene in the 1920's. Hopefully, with the release of these albums, information will come in that will enable us to construct a better picture in the future.