V.A. Last Wisps Of The Old Ways: North Carolina Mountain Singing

On "Last Wisps of the Old Ways" Derek Piotr pulls together mountain songs from North Carolina recorded across nearly a century. Child ballads, local murder songs, banjo and dulcimer pieces sit alongide tape transfers & close harmony singing. The star of the compilation, Mrs. Lena Bare Turbyfill, could have been another Texas Gladden in her own right, but dozens of recordings of herself and her family made in 1939 remained on a shelf in The Library of Congress, until they were unearthed and curated by Derek Piotr. Mrs. Turbyfill's daughter Nicky also makes a notable appearance here.

Track 1 recorded by Derek Piotr in Elk Park, North Carolina, July 13, 2020.
Tracks 2, 3, 7, 8, 11 and 16 recorded by Herbert Halpert in Elk Park, North Carolina, April 12, 1939.
Tracks 4 and 12 recorded by Herbert Halpert near Morganton, North Carolina, April 19, 1939.
Track 5 recorded by Frank Clyde Brown in Sugar Grove, North Carolina, July 24, 1939.
Tracks 6, 9 and 13 recorded by Derek Piotr in Banner Elk, North Carolina, July 14, 2020.
Track 10 recorded by Derek Piotr in Elk Park, North Carolina, February 8, 2021.
Tracks 14 and 15 recorded by Marshall Ward in Banner Elk, ca. 1979, transferred from analogue tape by Derek Piotr.
Curated by Derek Piotr.
Photograph of Mrs. Nicola "Aunt Nicky" Pritchard (Turbyfill) by Derek Piotr.