My fiddle player friend Darin sent me this documentary about GB Grayson, which I enjoyed:
The documentary talks about how very few people even recognize the name despite all of recorded tunes essentially becoming standards in today’s folk/bluegrass/old-time world and having been covered by extraordinarily huge artists. That’s true for me! I absolutely had never heard of him before this.
Gilliam Banmon Grayson (1887-1930) was a blind fiddler from one of the most isolated regions on the East Coast (East Tennessee). Largely unknown, he may be one of the most influential musicians in the history of bluegrass and country music. His music has been recorded and performed by world-famous musicians including Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Doc Watson, Dr. Ralph Stanly, and the Kingston Trio, among many others. Yet, very few people have an inkling of who G.B. Grayson was and what he accomplished in only two years of professional recording
It was also clear that he recorded 32 songs. I’d love to know that complete list someday. Modern streaming services have these 15 on a compilation, but clearly I’ll have to dig a lot harder than that.