The Mary Sands Project

Subject: Folklore: The Mary Sands Project
From: peregrina
Date: 01 Jan 12 - 04:11 PM

I posted this at Footstompin and thought it deserved a mention here as well.

Joe Penland is a traditional singer from North Carolina whose ancestors came from Scotland and brought the old ballads with them; he also learned songs on the porch of Lee and Berzilla Wallin. (If you've listened to the Folkways CD Dark Holler, or seen the John Cohen Movie 'End of an Old Song' you've seen or heard music music of the Wallins and their kin, the Nortons, Chandlers, and others. And if you've heard David Ferrard sing 'Pretty Saro' you've heard Joe's, and the Wallin's, and their predecessors influence and tradition.)

Joe is raising funds at Indiegogo for a project researching and recording the songs of his ancestor Mary Sands, who was recorded by by Cecil Sharp.

It is a great project. Here's a link:
http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Mary-Sands-Project

(For an article by Mike Yates on Madison county ballad singers, Mary Sands, Scots origins, et al, see
http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/m_sands.htm )

... by the 2oth century, apparently only Dillard Chandler still new that the Clyde (as mentioned in a ballad) was a river in Scotland...That's a long time to preserve the name of a river that most people couldn't place.

Subject: RE: The Mary Sands Project
From: peregrina
Date: 02 Jan 12 - 08:37 AM

refreshing this

with a link to

Mike Yates's note about it

on the Musical Traditions website:

here

Subject: RE: Ballads Mary Sands sang to Cecil Sharp:project
From: peregrina
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 12:58 PM

Since there's some interest in Cecil Sharp in the Appalachians in other threads, I thought I'd give this one more chance with a new blue clicky:

here

Subject: RE: The Mary Sands Project
From: Brian Peters
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 02:28 PM

A very interesting and worthwhile project. I've met Joe Penland and enjoyed his singing and company. This does indeed tie in with the work Jeff Davis and myself are currently doing on Sharp's Appalachian collection - and Mary Sands sang some very fine songs to him.

The clicky to the Mike Yates article doesn't seem to be pointing to the right place, though.

Subject: RE: The Mary Sands Project
From: Brian Peters
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 02:33 PM

A couple of new clickies:

Mike Yates article - already referenced above.

wikipedia on the Wallin family

Subject: RE: The Mary Sands Project
From: peregrina
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 06:45 PM

Thanks for the links Brian. That Mike Yates article is great.

I was trying to link to Mike's note about the Mary Sands project posted in the short news section, but it seems there's no way to isolate a small section of the page.

Looking forward to your own CS project too.