Addie Graham - Been A Long Time Traveling (JA020)
- Description
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Addie Graham was born prior to 1900 at the headwaters of the Red River in Wolfe County, Kentucky. She sang ballads which trace back to the British Isles, others composed in America, frolic songs and ditties, and religious songs in the Old Regular Baptist tradition. While the Old Baptist belief of her parents forbade the use of musical instruments, she became an accomplished singer in the complex, highly ornamented style of Kentucky's oral tradition. Graham’s repertoire included several extremely common songs, including “We're Stole and Sold From Africa,” an anti-slavery song which seems to have originated in the antebellum Abolitionist movement. She also sang a number of songs of African American origin, many of which she learned from black railroad builders. She married Amos Graham, a native of Wolfe County, KY, and lived for many years in Breathitt County, KY. Eventually the family moved to Cynthianolyano, Harrison County, KY, where she died April 1, 1978, on April's Fools Day.
Recordings were made in 1978 by Addie Graham's grandson, Rich Kirby, on Nagra IV and Stellavox recorders. The finished release, JA020, Been A Long Time Traveling, was produced by Rich Kirby and Barbar Edwards for Appalseed Field Recording Project. In 2008, June Appal Recordings re-released JA020 on CD and added previously unreleased tracks. The CD was mastered by Doug Dorschug and produced by Rich Kirby.
This audio collection consists of ¼-inch production masters and ¼-inch preservation masters.