North Carolina-born Bascom Lamar Lunsford was a multi-talented musician and folklorist with an extensive repertoire of Appalachian music. So extensive, in fact, that he is credited with contributing more material to the Archive of Folk Song than any other performer. Equally important as the breadth and depth of his repertoire, though, is Lunsford’s skill as a performer. He is an engaging and energetic vocalist and musician, and his recorded performances are consistently excellent.

This piece, recorded in Ashland, Kentucky, for the Brunswick label in 1928, is a fine example of Lunsford’s relaxed, idiosyncratic vocal style. He takes liberties with phrase lengths, as is common in old-time music, and often places his vocal accents in unusual places. The galloping sixteenth-note banjo accompaniment serves the vocal well, and gives the performance a good deal of energy.

There is a worthwhile collection of Lunsford’s material on the Folkways record Ballads, Banjo Tunes, and Sacred Songs of Western North Carolina.

Dry Bones (MP3)
Courtesy of Archive.org

Earlier posts:
Bascom Lamar Lunsford plays Lost John Dean
Bascom Lamar Lunsford plays I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground
Bascom Lamar Lunsford plays Little Turtle Dove