Bristol, Tennessee and Bristol, Virginia
Growing up, one of my favorite boy scout songs was “The Titanic” which must have been popular because as a teenager you got to sing about death and tragedy (look up the lyrics). What I didn’t know was that it was written by Ernest Stoneman, one of the original country musicians (or folk, blue grass, hillbilly -they didn’t have a name for the genre yet) that were recorded in 1927 in Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia. This famous week-long recording session, which included the Carter Family and several other groups, has Bristol on the map as the “Birthplace of Country Music.”
We spent an afternoon in the museum by the same name and were impressed by how much this music from Appalachia (App-uh-latch-uh) combined gospel, African American, Irish, Scottish and other cultures to create this distinctive sound. I am not a music historian, but it was impressive to see how much these original songs and styles have influenced and continue to impact modern musicians.
When the Carter Family – Sara Carter, her husband A. P. Carter, and her sister-in-law Maybelle Carter – recorded their distinctive style gospel song, “Will the Circle, be Unbroken (bye and bye)” they probably had no idea that it would be the iconic country song that every country singer knows and is now used to induct musicians into the country hall of fame. The song is a ballad of a family mourning the loss of their mother and wondering how they will move on without her. It has been sung by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Dolly Parton, among many others, as a testament that the circle of country music, and all music, does continue on.
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We are visiting a Peace Corps friend of Siri’s that we had lost touch with after our weddings and kids. When we finally arrived, all of us were giddy with excitement to share stories and catch each other up. It was like those many years had just disappeared.
It is amazing the similarities between Siri and her friend, both started and supported drama programs because their oldest daughter had been involved at an early age, both are extremely active in their communities (we found out her friend was receiving a proclamation from the city council the same time we were showing up, so we came to the council meeting to cheer her achievement), both continued to work in public health and traveled overseas, and the list continued on. It was truly inspiring to reconnect with such a great friend and her family and wonder why we had not done better to stay in touch over the years.
I was inspired by her friend’s commitment and passion to the arts. She is the executive director of Theater Bristol, a 60 year-old community theater that continues to support the community through plays, education and opportunities to be part of their service. At last count she had produced over 80 (!) shows. And her family has continued in this tradition, with her kids and husband who direct, act, sing, dance, create sets, and produce elaborate costumes. She just helped purchase a 500-sear former vaudeville theater that is over 100 years old. We wish we had planned our dates better to catch a show.
She handed us the two books she wrote about the founder of Theater Bristol, Cathy DeCaterina, how she is still inspired by her legacy and how she is committed to keeping it alive. With the purchase of the theater (!), she is already thinking about new programs to support kids and families, how to bring back and expand the summer acting program, and then get more grants, and the ideas keep flowing…
I know this circle is still unbroken.
There are a few stories about where the word “Hillbilly” came from, most likely it was just a local singing group, but shows the power of a name and the bias that comes with them. I was thinking of “The Beverley Hillbillies” and how that influenced my view of the word and Appalachia
Siri and David Adventures 