All of the old pickers on my father’s side of the family are gone. From my grandmother (who died before I was born) and all of her children…all gone.
I knew there existed some tapes of this stuff. I had heard that my aunt (by marriage) had them. Outside of funerals that would be the only time we’d ever see my uncle and his family for about 35 years. This uncle passed away a few years ago and none of his kids play music, so I felt it time to reach out and see about those recordings.
Took a bit of doing, a cord, and some help from the local library (In Ohio I am in TN) over the past week or so but I’ve got hours and hours of this stuff coming from my aunt. She’s recording it all over the next few days and sending me digital copies! All recorded in 1964 and was only my grandmother and her kids.
It’s like Christmas to me! Here’s a sample she sent me today by recording with her phone just to let me know we had got everything figured out and that now she was recording it all!
Edit to add: That’s my father singing. I had never heard him play or sing that tune before. He passed away 12 years ago.