Folklorist, born in Mars Hill, North Carolina, USA. He was a North Carolina lawyer and farmer who, though he lacked formal musical training, became well known for collecting, recording, and performing Appalachian folk music. His commercial and archival recordings eventually numbered 3000 items. He founded among other festivals the annual Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, Asheville, NC (1928).
Bascom Lamar Lunsford (March 21, 1882 - September 4, 1972) was a lawyer, folklorist, and performer of traditional (folk and country) music from western North Carolina.
Early life
Bascom Lamar Lunsford was born at Mars Hill College, Madison County, North Carolina in 1882. His father James Bassett Lunsford was a self-taught teacher and his mother Luarta Leah Buckner often sang old ballads and religious songs. When he became a fruit tree salesman he visited isolated farms and there exchanged songs and tunes with the customers.
North Carolina folklore
He gave lectures on folklore poetry and songs. Brown, a song collector, recorded 32 items on wax cylinders from Bascom. In 1924 he recorded "Jesse James" and "I Wish I was a Mole in the Ground" for the General Phonograph Company for commercial release. He played in a style from Western North Carolina, which had a rhythmic up-stroke brushing the strings. He occasionally played fiddle for dance tunes such as "Rye Straw". His repertoire included Child Ballads, negro spirituals and parlor songs.
The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival
In 1927 the Asheville Chamber of Commerce organized a rhododendron festival to encourage tourism. 1928 was the first year of the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, often claimed as the first event to be described as a "Folk Festival".
Politics and fame
Bascom was involved in the politics of the Democratic Party. He managed the campaign for Congressman Zebulan Weaver for North Carolina. From 1931 to 1934 he was a reading clerk of the North Carolina House of Representatives.
He died on 4th September 1973.
His fame today rests on his performances, several of which have been preserved on records, and are also available on compact disc.
His most famous recording is "I Wish I Was a Mole In The Ground," which is discussed at length in Greil Marcus' The Old Weird America. It is called Ballads, Banjo Tunes, and Sacred Songs of Western North Carolina.
Lunsford's original recording of "Old Mountain Dew" was used as the first advertising theme for the newly created Mountain Dew soda.
User Comments Add a comment…