A friend recently sent me a video he shot of some neighbors of his near Cullowhee, North Carolina, in the west N.C. Appalachian mountains. They're called the Queen Family, they're a family of old-timey pickers and singers, they're mighty hot players, and they are THE REAL THING.

Particularly the matriarch, Mary Jane Queen, age 84. When the boys take a break, she sings unaccompanied versions of "Pretty Saro", with the opening line "When first into this country", and "William Riley". Every time I watch this, my eyes mist up because here is something most of us are far removed from: a person who has received the songs through an unbroken chain of oral transmission... she probably got `em from her grandma! It's quite awesome...

The reason I'm bringing this up is because my friend is going to write to the state government to help get a grant for these musicians to record their legacy, and he asked me to come up with good reasons for tax money to support this.

I'm calling on the Mudcat community to supply some good reasons.

Cheers,
Michael