Music traditions from the New American South. A collection of old -time banjo and fiddle tunes accompanied by the voice of North Carolinian Eddie McGee. Esther Haynes sings and plays guitar on the Ralph Stanley tune, "Who Will Sing For Me", and others.

17 MP3 Songs in this album (58:36) !
Related styles: COUNTRY: Bluegrass, FOLK: Traditional Folk



Details:
In 1998, Eddie McGee, native North Carolinian, made this album, a collection of traditional Appalachian music. It features old time banjo, acoustic guitar, and Eddie's southern vocals. In addition, he enlisted a smattering of local musicians, featuring the bodhran (Irish drums), fiddle, string bass, erhu, and piano. Esther Haynes, native Virginian, sings and plays guitar on the title track, a Ralph Stanley tune entitled "Who Will Sing for Me", which she learned from friends while attending Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. She also sings "Someday My Prince Will Come" and background vocals on the Townes Van Zandt tune, "Like a Summer Thursday." In addition to singing, Eddie plays the banjo, guitar, and piano. Also included is one track entitled "Bird Language", featuring Lu Tain Hua on the erhu. The album was featured on local radio and received good press.

Eddie is an English as a Second Language teacher and friend of mine (Esther). (We both teach ESL!) He is currently living abroad teaching English at a University. I did a web search and found this link to an old site, with this information on his recording. However, he doesn't live in North Carolina at this time - he's in Azarbajan...however you spell it...he also lived in China for 2 years! That's why he has the Asian musician on his cd! I actually don't know how many copies he has left. I had two, and sent them both to CD Baby.

To contact eddie, the latest email address I have is: Eddie McGee, maqi3@yahoo.com (2005).

Eddie McGee and Tim Wells
Tim and Eddie are folk musicians playing the old time music of Appalachia, as well as blues gospel and jazz standards. We play school programs, festivals, clubs, private parties, and weddings. Eddie has a new CD "Who Will Sing For Me" which includes fiddle and banjo tunes, gospel and jazz, two songs written by Townes van Zandt, Appalachian ballads, and an origianal piano piece.

"Need good music for your trek along the Blue Ridge Parkway this summer? On Who Will Sing for Me? by Durham's own Eddie McGee, you'll find mountain music for every leg of the trip: high-stepping jigs for the rapid rises and descents, bluesy ballads for the slow stretches when the forest opens up and the road smoothes out, and downright mystical numbers for those breathtaking vistas, when the whole world seems to drop away and you swear you can see infinity. McGee sings like a young Doc Watson, but from the well-worn opener, "Shady Grove," through the final, original, "Water Waft," his banjo takes center stage, though he plays classical guitar and piano as well. Jon Newlin bows a sweet and sassy fiddle, Tim Wells sings backup vocals and takes a turn on fiddle, Rob VanVeld and Fan Ming Ji ad an otherworldly touch on bodhran and erhu, respectively, while Leo Lorenzoni fills out the bottom with the string bass. This ensemble recorded under the able guidance of local musical guru Chris Stamey, who also plunks the bass on one tune. And it turns out the answer to the title question is Esther Haynes, whose old fashioned, mountain-laurel voice is the highlight of your summer soundtrack.
- L.D. Russell, Durham Independent, June 23, 1999