Bill Withers - WV Music Hall of Fame Inductee 2007

singer/songwriter
Born in 1938, Slab Fork, Raleigh County
WV's most successful songwriter, Withers composed some of the best known hits of the '70s including "Lean On Me," "Use Me" and "Ain't No Sunshine." His songs are played (and sampled) today. Artists who have recorded his songs include Mick Jagger, Crystal Gale, Nancy Wilson, Carmen McCrae, Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, Liza Minnelli, Aretha Franklin, Tom Jones, Linda Ronstadt, Joe Cocker and Johnny Mathis. "Lean On Me" has become a standard with hit covers by U.K. rock bands Mud and Club Nouveau, and was the title theme of a 1989 movie starting Morgan Freeman.

Clark Kessinger - WV Music Hall of Fame Inductee 2007

Oldtime fiddler
Kanawha County
Kessinger was one of the greatest old time fiddlers still active in the early 1970s. As the Kessinger Brothers, Clark and his nephew Luches recorded more than 70 sides in the late 1920s. Clark remained an excellent fiddle player throughout his life and won many awards including first prize as the World's Champion Fiddler at the 47th Annual Union Grove Old Time Fiddlers Convention. His recordings can be found at Rounder Records, County Sales, and many Smithsonian Institute Folkways projects.

Leon "Chu" Berry - WV Music Hall of Fame Inductee 2007

jazz saxophonist
1910-1941 • Born in Wheeling, Ohio County
Berry was a Wheeling native and attended WV Colored Institute (WV State University) before locating to NYC, where he based the remainder of his career playing with such renowned bandleaders as Benny Carter, Fletcher Henderson, County Basie and Cab Calloway. Berry was considered one of the top tenor saxophonists of the 1930s, just below Coleman Hawkins (his main influence), Lester Young and Ben Webster. Berry might have become a pivotal force if he had not died in an auto accident in 1941.

Blind Alfred Reed - WV Music Hall of Fame Inductee 2007

singer/songwriter
Born in 1880 in Floyd, VA; Died in 1956;Lived most of his life in Princeton, Mercer County
Blind Alfred Reed was a unique and accomplished musician and songwriter who was first "discovered" by Ralph Peer in the 1920s on Peer's legendary trip to Bristol, TN, where he also discovered the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers. Ultimately, Reed was one of the first West Virginians to be recorded and his authentic Appalachian music spread around the world. Various musicians have recorded his music including Ry Cooder (in the 1970s) and Bruce Springsteen (2006).

Little Jimmy Dickens - WV Music Hall of Fame Inductee 2007

country singer/entertainer
Born in 1925, Bolt, Raleigh County
In 1949, Dickens became a permanent member of the Grand Ole Opry and signed with Columbia Records. He would go on to have hits in every decade from the '40s to the '70s. Dubbed the "King of the Novelty Song," his tunes included "Take an Old Cold Tater and Wait," "A-Sleeping' at the Foot of the Bed," "Out Behind the Barn" and the Top 10 hit, "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose."
In 1964 he was the first country artist to tour around the world. Little Jimmy Dickens has been in the music business for over 50 years. He is in the Country Music Hall of Fame, has been a member of the Grand Old Opry since 1949, and still performs and hosts on the Opry on a regular basis.

Molly O'Day - WV Music Hall of Fame Inductee 2007

country singer
1923-1987 • Born in Pike County, KY;
O'Day helped redefine the role of the female country singer and was known for her impassioned performances. None other than Hank Williams taught her "Tramp on the Street," which became her signature song. Many consider her to be the greatest female country singer who ever lived. O'Day and her husband, guitarist Lynn Davis recorded for Columbia Records in the mid-1940's. After suffering a nervous breakdown, O'Day Davis hosted a gospel radio program in Huntington.

Johnnie Johnson - WV Music Hall of Fame Inductee 2007

rock 'n' roll pianist
1924-2005 • Born in Fairmont, Marion County
The only West Virginian to be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, Johnson is considered by many to be the father of rock 'n' roll piano. He actually hired Chuck Berry in 1953 and subsequently played on most of Berry's hits including "Maybellene," "School Days" and "Roll Over Beethoven." Johnson was also the inspiration for the classic hit "Johnnie B. Goode." In 1987 Johnson appeared with Berry in the movie "Hail Hail Rock & Roll" at Keith Richard's request.

Hazel Dickens - WV Music Hall of Fame Inductee 2007

singer
Born in 1935, Mercer County
Combining elements of country and bluegrass, Dickens sings about the plight of non-unionized mineworkers and feminism. She formed a band with Mike Seeger (younger brother of folk legend Pete Seeger) and, over the next decade, was active in the folk/bluegrass movement in the Baltimore/D.C. area. Her group the Greenbriar Boys toured with Joan Baez in the '60s.
Dickens and Seeger's wife Alice Gerrard researched feminist songs at the Library of Congress and incorporated them into their repertoire. In 1973, Dickens recorded four songs for the soundtrack to the Academy Award®-winning documentary about coal mining, "Harlan County, USA." Her three solo albums for Rounder include old-time country along with protest songs and songs in a more contemporary country style.

Billy Edd Wheeler - WV Music Hall of Fame Inductee 2007

singer/songwriter
Born in 1932, Whitesville, Boone County
An extremely successful songwriter who penned "The Reverend Mr. Black," "Ode to the Little Brown Shack Out Back," "Jackson," "Coward of the County, "Coal Tattoo," "Ain't Going Home Soon" and "They Can't Put It Back." Elvis Presley had a hit with his "It's Midnight" while Kenny Rogers hit No. 1 with Wheeler's "Coward of the County."
Also a successful writer of plays, joke books, children's books and a folk opera. Inducted in the Nashville Songwriters Foundation Hall of Fame. Attended Yale as a drama student.

George Crumb - WV Music Hall of Fame Inductee 2007

classical composer
Born in 1929, Charleston, Kanawha County
Internationally famous composer George Crumb has written music for chamber ensembles and orchestras and has been commissioned by some of the most prestigious ensembles in the world. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for "Echoes of Time and the River" which draws from his Kanawha Valley heritage.
Crumb is recognized the world over as one of the 20th Century's most unique voices in concert music. Crumb studied at various schools in the Midwest as well as the Berlin Hochschule as a Fulbright Scholar. He eventually joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, where he composed and taught for three decades.

Tom Adams MP3 of CSN&Y "Ohio"

I just came across this incredible MP3 on the Banjo Newsletter site. Tom Adams never ceases to impress when it comes to taking popular songs that one would never associate with the banjo and presenting them in an entirely new way. Check this link out!

Live Show at Tamarack Nov 13th 6PM

Dr. Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, Robin & Linda Williams, Crooked Still, The Missing Person Soup Kitchen Gospel Quartet, Bob Webb and Heidi Muller are to perform at Tamarack on November 13th at 6PM. Check the Mountain Stage web site for ticket details.

Clodhoppers Music Now Offering Morgan Monroe Instruments

In our efforts to continue offering a wide selection of quality banjos, mandolins, guitars, dobros and other quality stringed instruments, Clodhoppers Music is now offering the full line of Morgan Monroe instruments.

Order from Clodhoppers Music today and get FREE SHIPPING and a FREE CASE!!!

Does the banjo have limits?

Does the banjo have limits? Fortunately for banjo lovers everywhere, Leon Hunt doesn't have that view. Leon, a former student of Bela Fleck, isn't one to limit the banjo to any particular style. He views American bluegrass very much within the Scotch-Irish immigrant tradition that created it. If Leon's treatment of American Jazz, Bluegrass, Celtic and traditional music doesn't excite you to play, nothing will! Check out his fine site with lots of great audio downloads. There is a terrific video clip of him performing "The Silver Spire" that is sure to send shivers down your spine.

Leon Hunt Official Site