Larry Sigmon: Unique Sound of the Mountains
I was particularly excited to do an interview and article with Larry Sigmon. I grew up listening to Larry & Barbara play festivals and dances throughout the mountains. They performed several places with my parents' band when I was a kid, and so I got to dance to them a lot. They were one of my favorite bands and still are. -Martha Spencer
Larry Sigmon was born in Callaway, Virginia on September 2nd, 1947. His father, Lewis Eldridge Sigmon, was a banjo player and fiddle player. Larry started off on the harmonica at a young age, easily picking up tunes. Then he moved on to the guitar, learning to play by backing up his father. He finally took up the banjo around age 15, which later became his main instrument. He was known for his good driving, dance rhythm and full sound on the banjo. His first band was with the Sugar Hill Ramblers, a six-piece group that played for a lot of dances, performing old time tunes to old country numbers. The band played together for six years. Then Larry went on to play with Carl Scott and then Richard Bowman for a year.
In the late 80s, Larry met Barbara Poole at a fiddlers' convention. Impressed with her bass playing style, they began performing together in 1989. They backed each other up in contests, winning countless ribbons in the banjo, bass and folk song competitions. Then, they began performing out at festivals, dances and other concert venues. Their "unique sound" with just the banjo, bass and Larry's distinct singing attracted a lot of attention and gained them quite a following. Their shows always drew big crowds, and they were a favorite among flatfooters because of their strong rhythm dance beat. Dancers would follow them wherever they played and the floors would always be full. Larry & Barbara drew upon a wide variety of repertoire of old time and bluegrass songs from Charlie Poole to Wade Mainer to Jimmy Martin to Stringbean or Bill Monroe, whilst putting their own spin on the songs with Larry's strong vocals, and Barbara's double-slap bass. Throughout their 18 year career, they performed at such places as the Carter Family Fold, the Grand Ole Opry, Lebanon Banjo Gathering, and bluegrass and mountain music festivals all throughout Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee. Larry & Barbara were one of the most popular bands in the Blue Ridge Mountains throughout the 90s-2000s. They played together until Barbara passed away in 2008 after a long battle with cancer. Larry hasn't performed out much since then. He keeps busy on his farm in Callaway with his wife, Linda.
Larry Sigmon & Barbara Poole recorded 7 albums together, which got a lot of airplay on the radio with numbers like "Frankie and Johnny", "Girl from Tennessee", "Run Little Rabbit Run", "Seven Cent Cotton", "Stray Dog Joe", and "Pretty Little Widow". Their cds are available through Larry or Linda Sigmon (email lsigmon@centurylink.net or call # 540-483-0791) or at County Sales.
Special thanks to Larry & Linda Sigmon for doing the interview and providing photos and video clips through the years. And thanks to Chris Testerman and Jackson Cunningham for assisting in filming, and Chris Testerman for taking some of the photos below. Also, thanks to Thornton and Emily Spencer for help during the editing process, and to Jojo Godfrey for assistance with photos.
Johnny Miller: Master Musician
Johnny Miller was born in 1929 to a musical family of Ashe County, NC. His father, uncle, cousins and brother were all fiddlers, banjo pickers and such. Johnny's family moved up to Pennsylvania when he was about 8 years old for work. As Johnny got older, he learned to play fiddle, dobro, steel guitar, lead guitar and bass. As a teenager, he started performing and traveling with different bands such as Roma Jackson and the Tennessee Pals, Slim the Lone Cowboy, and then joined up with his cousins, the North Carolina Ridgerunners. He played several years with them, and worked at Mt. Gretna Park, where they booked and worked with acts like Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters, Chet Atkins, Jimmy Wakely and Curly Fox.
After the NC Ridgerunners split up, Johnny joined up with Ola Belle and Bud Reed to play in their group and helped them get New River Ranch started. Johnny was a member of the house band at New River Ranch for several years, and played with such acts as Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Wanda Jackson, Ray Price, Carl Smith, and Little Jimmy Dickens. Johnny also played stints with several bluegrass groups like Ted Lundy, Charlie Monroe, Don Reno, Mac Wiseman, and others.
After Johnny's brother, Sonny, returned from the army, he gave him his job back, working with Ola Belle's band. Sonny was also a very talented fiddler, who performed with many bluegrass groups.
Then Johnny went to New Jersey, and worked a while with a lot of bluegrass and country groups. He then joined Sunset Park and worked there for several years.
During the late 60's and early 70's, Johnny worked again with Ola Belle, Bud Reed, and her son, David, performing at colleges all through the country. They recorded an album together on Rounder Records, "High on a Mountain".
In addition to playing music, Johnny worked as a first class sheet rocker and hanger all through the Northeast. In the early 70's, "tired of the rat race", he decided to move back home. He moved to Troutdale in Grayson County, VA (bordering Ashe Co, NC) and still makes it his home today.
There, he joined the High County Ramblers with Wayne Henderson, Larry Pennington, Raymond Pennington, Paul Gentle, and Herb Key. They played festivals all through the area and won many fiddlers conventions until the band split in the late 70's. Johnny has a large share of ribbons he won at competitions through the years.
Johnny still judges fiddlers conventions, and plays at the Ola Belle Reed Festival and Albert Hash Festival as a master fiddler.
Audrey Hash Ham: fiddle maker
Born in Grayson County, Virginia, Audrey Hash Ham has made her home in Ashe County for many years. She learned to make dulcimers, then fiddles, from her father, Albert Hash. Audrey says that she followed her father around from the time she was about three years old, watching the way he worked. She made her first dulcimer around 1966 and continued making them for years, working beside her father while he made fiddles.
Eventually, with the guidance of her father, she decided to try making a fiddle. "I got the fiddle done, and I was so nervous when it was done. I knew it wouldn't play. I just knew it wouldn't. I handed it to daddy, and it played. I gave the fiddle to daddy for his birthday, and he said, "I'd rather have that than a brand new Cadillac."
Today, Audrey Ham's shop is located beside her house, and she spends part of each day working there on instruments. The music itself, which has always been part of her life, moves easily with her between shop and home. She enjoys singing folk songs around the house, and she and her daughter like to harmonize with each other. "All the old folk songs, we used to sing them cooking and, I mean, that's all we ever knew was to sing," she says.
Audrey makes fiddles and other string instruments, and her work has received public acclaim. She has worked with Archie Powers, who also apprenticed under Albert Hash, and has helped a number of people get started making instruments, including Archie's son Carl. Audrey has made fiddles that have sold for as much as $13,000. She particularly enjoys carving figures in the peghead of her fiddles. Audrey has been featured in books, magazines and documentaries including CMT, Folkways and the Travel Channel.
Martha Spencer,
Erika Godfrey,
Jackson Cunningham &
Chris Testerman