Across the Blue Ridge; Fred Cockerham Special program

Hello, everyone, I'm Paul Brown, and this is Across the Blue Ridge with a musical tribute to the late Fred Cockerham of Surry County, North Carolina. Fred was an outstanding banjo picker, singer and fiddler. His banjo custom made by Kyle Creed of Galax, Virginia, another legendary musician, was placed in the Smithsonian Institution's permanent collection this spring. Fred was one of three North Carolina musicians honored this way at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., in June. The others were Fred's contemporary and fellow musician, the late Tommy Jarrel and the late Elizabeth Cotten of Chapel Hill. Here's Fred Cockerham fiddling cider mill with the remarkable old time band, the Camp Creek Boys, from a county record of the 1960s. This record and others on the county and heritage labels helped spread Fred's reputation nationwide, attracting young, aspiring musicians to his modest home in Logan. Fred Cockerham was born in 1905 and Surry County, North Carolina, and he lived there most

of his life. Anyone who knew him will tell you that he loved music from an early age, exposed to the old time fiddle and banjo tunes of the counties around section. He grew up into an unusually strong community dance music tradition, one which is holding on with remarkable strength. Even today, Fred played throughout his adult life. And so the early traditional styles he learned as a young boy were supplemented by newer music that was coming around from musicians such as fiddling Arthur Smith and his Dixie liners on the Grand Ole Opry to Charlie Poole, a banjo picker and singer from the Rockingham County area, and many more. Fred's fiddling shows both its old time roots and these newer influences. Here he is fiddling with the Camp Creek boys again, this time on San Antone Rose, a tune we might more readily associate with Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. For example, Fred was able to play a longbox style nearly reminiscent of the newer bluegrass music, as well as a style more akin to the old bow rocking technique of his own forebears and contemporaries in Surrey County. Two quite different fiddle styles from Fred Cockerham on Cider Mill and San Antonio

rose on the banjo, Fred was very traditional and also very strong. He played an old time fretless banjo, mostly in the clawhammer style, which involves strumming and picking downwards on the strings rather than picking up as on a finger picking guitar or bluegrass banjo. Yeah, he could finger pick as well. Mack Snow, a guitar player and singer who played with Fred for years, described what he felt was special about Fred Cockerham, an outstanding banjo picker in an area already known for its powerful banjo music. I think his slide notes a lot of that used in the way he had boxset thing with his thumb finger down and the clawhammer style. Yeah, I don't know. He'd start out some tunes, he'd start out kind of a thing and picking and he'd come at, you know, Clutterham and boy, that really set you know, when he commented Clellan, you know. Yeah, yeah. Like Obledo Rubin he'd usually start off fingerpicking

and finger and then he and then just take off and he'd go to Clallam though. Fred used to be real good on that banjo too. Yeah. I mean, how can come down here to you to be 100 by

going down along long time, but we don't get too much? You'll be by for me, you do you think do they do you can you do the way they do to the girl on the bed? And so I rewrote my train and.

I just got there, my dear man. If you go back and read, I'm sorry, I. I could about you. I got you out of my brain. Your grandchildren continue to

my 900. The late Fred Cockerham singing and playing Ruben in the 1960s, recording on county records, the revival of interest in Southern traditional music brought folklorists, collectors, students and plain old music enthusiasts and listeners to Fred Cockerham store all through the 1970s. Maximo remembers those days and said there was somebody at Fred Cockroach's or Tommy Jerrold's house all the time. But he said that for the most part, Fred and Tommy genuinely enjoyed the company. They finally got to making some albums of Fred and Tom and Oscar Jenkins themselves, Old-Time musicians, and they got and spread out at the country at North Rame. And these young people won't learn that kind of music, get hold of these albums list. And then they want to come and see him in person, say.

So a lot of people come from up north down here, they would hitchhike and catch a ride to get to Tom and Prince Place. To get to play a a more or less modern play. How did that strike you when that first started happening? Surprisingly, it was surprising, you know, to know that the music had got it. But for now, the countertop is played. And then they didn't get out around the. I am not.

From Hollywood, Brad. Fred Cockerham on the Clawhammer Banjo with Tommy Jarell on the Fiddle playing John Brown's Dream, a popular dance tune recorded here by collector and musician Ray Aldan. In the early 1970s, Fred played dances, parties, working's fiddlers, conventions and show dates over the years with several professional bands and

with friends who were available here. He tells Railgun about the old time school breakings the last day of school, when musicians would come to a schoolhouse for a little ceremony with the students and it after school break. And you know, I'm old school marches. I was a child of his own now. Well, I never heard of that. What's a school break? And the last day of school, you know, they have music. You know, I want to do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do. And they look behind me on all kids, students get behind as much by that tune. There were traveling Christmas parties of sorts back in Fred's early days in Surrey County and a popular tune called Breaking Up Christmas celebrates the holiday spirit. Here's Fred Cockerham singing and fiddling with Kyle Creed on the banjo, Verlan Clifton

on mandolin, and Paul Sutphin on guitar from a 45 rpm record, The Camp Creek Boys, released in 1967. I mean.

The Camp Creek boys who were a real force to be reckoned with at fiddlers conventions

through the 1960s included some of the area's best known and most talented musicians at different times Kyle Creed, Paul Sutfin, Verlan, Clifton, Ronald Collins and Ernest East, as well as Fred Cockerham. Fred is on the banjo here. Paul Sutfin singing Kyle Creed on the Fiddle with Lonesome Road Blues. At the ceremony in Washington, D.C., when Freds Banjo was placed in the Smithsonian

collection, one of Fred's many students played Reuben on Fred's banjo. He was Blanton on a folklorist now living in Nevada, who spent years in the Blue Ridge Mountain area documenting music traditions. He shares a couple of observations with Paul Sutfin and the assembled crowd. After this, we'll hear Let Me Fall, played by Blanton with Fiedler's Richard Bowman and Kirk Sutfin, guitar and singing from Paul Sutphen and mandolin from Ralph Rinzler of the Smithsonian Institution. Of course, not all the fiddle, not all the tunes they were playing were, you know, just on the fiddle or just songs or or just banjo or just duets. Fred played a whole lot of as did Tommy. Fred played a lot of tunes that were just on the banjo pretty much. And I thought I'd. OK, try one here. There are lots of tunes, you know, little satchel, long steel rail, all those tunes that we have to be blunt, I think anybody would try to play them just like Fred would be crazy

because there's no way I've listened to him when I got when I was talking to Gary Sturm about coming and participating in this. Event, listen to a bunch of those tapes and records from several years ago and gauley. Yeah, it's just a joke. Paul, there's no way that a normal person can play those two men in the best way. But Fred played one, it called Ruben that I thought I try to play here, it's only one of the few I would attempt those people. You've heard that. Go down the line with us.

I never thought I'd see it on that call. I know. Before.

I'd just like to say what a wonderful reception that we received here, daddy, when he was here, always talked about how nice people were, how warm they were to him. He never got over being up here, having such a great time. They talk about it a lot and he clambered around a lot. Most of you know, Paul set in and I remember him conquering most of all, playing anytime you could get together. That's what they did. And this is a great honor for the family of Fred Cockerham to be here and being having some part in this tribute to the museum. And I just like to thank each one of you is a great honor for me to be here and do this tonight. Thank you. Juanita Tyson, Fred Cochran's daughter, presenting Fred's banjo to the Smithsonian.

Our thanks to Gary Sturm and the Smithsonian Institution for allowing us to make recordings at the presentation ceremony. Also, thanks to the musicians and to Fred Cochran's family, Fred's banjo is on view at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.. This has been a tribute to Surry County, North Carolina, traditional musician Fred Cockerham, an outstanding fiddler, banjo picker and singer who was an inspiration to thousands of younger musicians around the United States and abroad. I'm Paul Brown. Thanks for joining me on across the Blue Ridge.