Jeff Goehring was born into a musical Missouri family in 1957 and raised near Columbus, Ohio. As a teenager his fiddling was greatly influenced by Ward Jarvis (FRC401), whom Jeff often visited in southern Ohio. Jeff also sought out and learned from a number of other Ohio fiddlers, and from both young and old musicians […]
Born in 1914 in Gallia, Lawrence County, near the Ohio River in southern Ohio, Arnold earned his living as a dairy farmer near Jackson, Ohio. His grandfather, “Fiddling Andy” Sharp, came to Lawrence County from England in the mid-19th century. Arnold’s father, George Sharp, was also a dance fiddler as well as an accordion and […]
John Hannah was born in Mingo County, West Virginia in 1920. His grandfather, Isaac, and his father, Wallace, were both fiddlers. His mother, Rebecca, played claw-hammer style banjo. John’s first instrument was the fretless banjo, which he took up at the age of six. When he began playing fiddle, he performed with his brother in […]
These recordings feature Cecil Plum on fiddle and Jeff Goehring on guitar, and were made in 1983 at Cecil’s home in Massillon, Ohio. Cecil was born in 1913 in Tunnellton, West Virginia where he learned to play music from his parents, his uncle, and numerous musicians in his community. Beginning in the late 1930s, Cecil […]
These mid-1980s recordings feature Lonnie Seymour on fiddle, Jeff Goehring on guitar, and Tony Ellis on banjo. Lonnie was born in Chillicothe, Ohio in 1922. His playing was influenced by a variety of local Chillicothe fiddlers, including his father, uncle and grandfather; and by country music he heard on the radio, most notably that of […]
These recordings feature Ward Jarvis on fiddle, Dana Loomis on banjo, and Jeff Goehring on guitar, and were made at Ward’s home in Stewart, Ohio in 1977. James Ward Jarvis, born in 1894, moved to Athens County, Ohio from Calhoun County, West Virginia in the late 1940s to work in the timber industry. Ward’s repertoire […]
These recordings feature Jimmy Wheeler on fiddle and Jeff Goehring on guitar, and were made at Jimmy’s home in Portsmouth, Ohio in the mid 1980s when Jimmy was in his late 60s. Jimmy’s fiddling was typical of a very articulate, melodic style prevalent in northern Kentucky and southern Ohio. Some of the older fiddlers Jimmy […]
Since FRC started in 2004, we have made available the recordings of many collectors of traditional music. To date these include (with CDs they contributed to):
Excerpts from the November 2003 Banjo Newsletter interview with Ray Alden BN: Did you grow up with Appalachian music? RA: Mountain music wasn’t exactly the rage with the southern Italians from my Bronx neighborhood. Do-wop was the music I grew up with. Just ahead of me in school were Dion and the Belmonts. A guy […]
Jimmy Wheeler (FRC401) by Jeff Goehring Oct. 5, 1982 – First recording session with Jimmy Wheeler in Portsmouth, Ohio Arrived approx. 2 p.m. unexpectedly. Found Jimmy and two of three sisters sitting under awning between house and shop/garage, smoking cigarettes and drinking Old Milwaukee in red and white cans, a welcoming wave. Jimmy didn’t remember my […]
The Ross County Farmers – 1948 Radio Shows (FRC307) By Betty Seymour Phone conversation w/ Betty Seymour 2/27/07 (Sue Goehring) Visit w/ Betty Seymour 03-08-07 (Lynn Frederick)
Robert Lee “Strawberry” McCloud – Bloomington Breakdown – FRC749 By Teri Klassen Fiddler/bass fiddler/heavy equipment operator Robert Lee “Bob” or “Strawberry” McCloud (1907-80) spent his first 30 years in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, just west of the eastern Mountain region. Both areas were rich in old-time music, but the Bluegrass was more populated and […]