JA066 (Morgan Sexton - Shady Grove)
- Description
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Morgan Sexton was 77 years old when he made his first public appearance as a banjo player, performing in 1988 at the Appalachian music festival Seedtime on the Cumberland. Born in southeastern Kentucky in 1911, Sexton grew up in a musical family and learned to play the banjo as a child. Working for much of his life as a coal miner, he returned in his later years to his music, playing for community gatherings before gaining wider exposure. Following his 1988 debut, Sexton received almost immediate national attention and commenced a remarkable if brief career, performing at festivals, teaching banjo workshops, and recording a small body of traditional ballads and tunes. In 1989, Sexton's first recording, Rock Dust, appeared on the June Appal label; in 1991, the National Endowment for the Arts presented Sexton with a National Heritage Fellowship in recognition of his contributions to regional traditions. Following his death later that year, June Appal released another album of songs which Sexton had recorded since his discovery; that release, entitled Shady Grove, included several tracks from Rock Dust in addition to previously unissued material. Morgan Sexton died of cancer on January 30th, 1992, two days over 81 years old.
Recordings for JA066, Shady Grove, were recorded by Doug Dorshug on December 1, 1988, and by Dennis Gregory White on June 30, 1989 and May 15, 1990 in the Appalshop Studio. The release was engineered by Doug Dorschug and remixed and edited at Cloudlands, Mountain City, Tennessee. The release was produced by Nancy Adams. Musicians included Morgan Sexton on banjo and vocals, and Lee "Boy" Sexton on fiddle. Many selections on the release appeared on the previous June Appal recording JA055, Rock Dust.
No materials are held in this collection.