This week's broadcast of Mountain Stage is a special episode featuring songs that represent the four seasons of the year. You'll hear live performances by Doc Watson, Bruce Hornsby, Susan Werner, Molly Tuttle, Taj Mahal, Norah Jones and many more.
95-year-old Elmer Rich, a famous old-time fiddler, died this past June 20th, West Virginia Day, at his home in Westover, West Virginia. He’ll be missed throughout these old hills.
He was born in December of 1919 and grew up just outside a coal community near Morgantown. His father was a miner; his mother was a telephone switchboard operator. Elmer was one of six kids and they all played music. It was 1936 when he and his family played for Eleanor Roosevelt out in Arthurdale.
Elmer Rich was 16 and playing the mandolin for Eleanor. He spent the next 70 years competing at various fiddle competitions, winning trophies and prizes.
A recording of the music and thoughts of Elmer Rich, recorded in August 2014 at an informal after-lunch concert during Old Time Week at the Augusta Heritage Center. He’s accompanied by Mark Crabtree on guitar and Tom Gibson on mandolin.
***Audio Courtesy of Andrew Carroll and the Augusta Heritage Center.
This week's broadcast of Mountain Stage is a special episode featuring songs that represent the four seasons of the year. You'll hear live performances by Doc Watson, Bruce Hornsby, Susan Werner, Molly Tuttle, Taj Mahal, Norah Jones and many more.
Across the nation, more than 390,000 children rely on foster care. However, a shortage of licensed foster homes is creating a national crisis. While official foster care cases are carefully tracked, many informal examples of kinship care aren’t part of the data. For this Us & Them episode, we hear the experiences of those who’ve been part of the foster care system.
Stock car racing’s roots run deep in Appalachia. Our twisty roads and dark hollers were home to moonshiners — and moonshine runners, who became known for their driving skills. And they became some of NASCAR’s first stars when it formed in 1948. But NASCAR’s oldest continuous racing team had nothing to do with moonshine.
WVPB's Matt Jackfert speaks with harper, composer and producer Maeve Gilchrist. They discuss her compositions, the Silkroad Ensemble and the group's upcoming performance.