Roscoe Holcomb
Roscoe Holcomb | |
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Roscoe Holcomb in 1962 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Roscoe Halcomb |
Born | September 5, 1912 |
Origin | Daisy, Kentucky, USA |
Died | February 1, 1981 | (aged 68)
Genres | Folk, bluegrass, country, gospel, old-time music |
Occupation(s) | Miner, construction worker, Farmer, Musician |
Instrument(s) | Banjo, Guitar, Harmonica |
Years active | 1958–1978 |
Roscoe Holcomb, (born as Roscoe Halcomb[1] September 5, 1912 – died February 1, 1981) was an American singer, banjo player, and guitarist from Daisy, Kentucky. A prominent figure in Appalachian folk music,[2] Holcomb was the inspiration for the term "high, lonesome sound," coined by folklorist and friend John Cohen. The "high lonesome sound" term is now used to describe bluegrass singing, although Holcomb was not, strictly speaking, a bluegrass performer.
Life and performance style
Holcomb's repertoire included old-time music, hymns, traditional music and blues ballads. In addition to playing the banjo and guitar, he was a competent harmonica and fiddle player, and sang many of his most memorable songs a cappella.
Holcomb sang in a falsetto deeply informed by the Old Regular Baptist vocal tradition. Bob Dylan, a fan of Holcomb, described his singing as possessing "an untamed sense of control." He was also admired by the Stanley Brothers, and Eric Clapton cited Holcomb as his favorite country musician.
A coal miner, construction laborer and farmer for much of his life,[3] Holcomb was not recorded until 1958, after which his career as a professional musician was bolstered by the folk revival in the 1960s. Holcomb gave his last live performance in 1978. Due to what he described as injuries he sustained during his long career as a laborer, Holcomb was eventually unable to work for more than short periods, and his later income came primarily from his music. Suffering from asthma and emphysema as a result of working in coal mines, he died in a nursing home in 1981, at the age of 68.[4]
Holcomb is buried at the Arch Halcomb Cemetery in Leatherwood, Kentucky. His tombstone bears his given name of Halcomb rather than Holcomb.[5]
Discography
Holcomb's discography includes:[6]
- Mountain Music of Kentucky, Folkways Records and Service Corp., 1960 (reissued on Smithsonian Folkways in 1996, with other artists)
- The Music of Roscoe Holcomb and Wade Ward, Folkways Records and Service Corp., 1962
- Friends of Old Time Music, Folkways Records, 1964
- The High Lonesome Sound, Folkways Records and Service Corp., 1965, (reissued on Smithsonian Folkways in 1998)
- Close to Home, Folkways Records and Service Corp., 1975
- There is No Eye: Music for Photographs, Smithsonian Folkways, 2001
- Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian Folkways, Smithsonian Folkways, 2002
- Classic Old-Time Music from Smithsonian Folkways, Smithsonian Folkways, 2003
- Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways, Vol. 2, Smithsonian Folkways, 2003
- An Untamed Sense of Control, Smithsonian Folkways, 2003
- Back Roads to Cold Mountain, Smithsonian Folkways, 2004
- "San Diego State Folk Festival 1972", Tompkins Square, 2015
References
- ^ John Cohen in Eastern Kentucky: Documentary Expression and the Image of Roscoe Halcomb During the Folk Revival, Southern Spaces
- ^ Stephen Petrus; Ronald D. Cohen (8 June 2015). Folk City: New York and the American Folk Music Revival. Oxford University Press. pp. 183–. ISBN 978-0-19-023103-3.
- ^ Charles K. Wolfe (5 February 2015). Kentucky Country: Folk and Country Music of Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 154–. ISBN 978-0-8131-4960-8.
- ^ John Cohen (2012). The High & Lonesome Sound: The Legacy of Roscoe Holcomb. Steidl. ISBN 978-3-86930-254-6.
- ^ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2483413&GRid=104852814&
- ^ Search Results for "Roscoe Holcomb" at Smithsonian Folkways (accessed March 13, 2012)
External links
- 1912 births
- 1981 deaths
- American country guitarists
- American folk guitarists
- American male guitarists
- American country singers
- American country singer-songwriters
- American folk singers
- American banjoists
- American country banjoists
- Old-time musicians
- People from Perry County, Kentucky
- Musicians from Appalachia
- 20th-century American singers
- Folk musicians from Kentucky
- Country musicians from Kentucky
- Singers from Kentucky
- Songwriters from Kentucky
- Bluegrass musicians from Kentucky
- 20th-century American guitarists