West Virginia Old Time Musicians

Photos by Mark Crabtree.

West Virginia is famous for its traditional Appalachian old time musicians. The music of Wilson Douglas, French Carpenter, Melvin Wine, Henry Reed, "Blind" Ed Haley, the Hammons family (Edden, Burl, Maggie, and Sherman), and many others is known worldwide.

I've been lucky to have met, played music with, and photographed some of West Virginia's wonderful old time musicians. Here are a few of my pictures. Click on the photo for a larger version.

If you want to know more about West Virginia's traditional musicians, check out Gerry Milnes book Play of a Fiddle: Traditional Music, Dance, and Folklore in West Virginia (ISBN# 0813120802).

Melvin Wine	Clyde Howes	Burl Hammons
Wilson Douglas	Rosa Pheasant	Doc Scott

Old Time Music Links

David Lynch has a huge old time music site with lots to offer, including pages featuring some of the musicians mentioned here.

What is Old-time Music? by Mike Seeger

The Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, W.Va. offers workshops in traditional music, crafts, and dance throughout the summer. They have produced (and sell) many recordings (mostly cassette) of West Virginia traditional music.

Lots More Links

Old Time Music Links from Ahmet Baycu.