This is my blog where I write about music, and myself. Vaudeville, burlesque, blues, jazz, novelties, and whatever else I feel like posting. Mostly from my own LPs and 78s. Comments and feedback always appreciated. Please do not link directly to mp3s. It's rude.

Blind Alfred Reed
Explosion in the Fairmount Mines (1927)

Blind Alfred Reed was a fiddler who lived most of his life in West Virginia. This song is included on a compilation of "Old-Time Music of West Virginia." It's actually one of the less interesting songs on the CD. I prefer his great song "Sweet Bird," performed with the "West Virginia Night Owls." I also really enjoy some of the songs of Dick Justice, even though they mostly sound the same. (Go to this site to hear Justice's really weird song "Cocaine.")
I always thought it was peculiar in "Explosion in the Fairmount Mines" that a miner would decide to take a day off work. I watched Matewan this weekend, and it supported that idea. That was a pretty cool movie. Apparently I'm related to Sid Hatfield in some distant way. My uncle's aunt something something.
The plight of miners and the history of the coal mining industry is a sad and fascinating part of American history, with a lasting cultural impact. I definitely plan on reading more about this stuff.
Before reading about the actual mining industry, I think I'll read about songs about mining. I had done some research to find out if there was a horrible explosion in the Fairmount mines (There was an explosion, which inspired Reed to adapt this song from another earlier ballad), and I found out about this book, "Only a Miner: Studies in Recorded Coal-Mining Songs," by Archie Green. I'm all over that!
I don't have a good picture of Blind Alfred Reed. None really exist. In searching, I came across another great site with a bunch of mp3s: The Roots Music Listening Room.
Hooray for the internet.

Labels: country

Posted by: Kara Mae 1/29/2007