Masters of Old-Time Country Autoharp

The autoharp was invented in the 1870s as a sort of automated zither and initially was popular as a parlor instrument. It took hold in the Appalachians in the early 1900s thanks to its mail-order affordability, and local musicians quickly adapted it to an assortment of , , and fiddle tunes. The autoharp required frequent retunings, however, which kept it from being featured very prominently in the tradition of the Southern mountains, although played one on several of the early recordings, and began featuring an autoharp at her shows in the 1950s, proving to be every bit as innovative on the instrument as she had been on the guitar. This delightful set of made by in the 1950s and very early '60s features four masters of the Appalachian autoharp style, Virginian (who made his first commercial autoharp recording in 1924), North Carolina father-and-son duo , and the left-handed of Virginia (later in his life he made his home in Pennsylvania). Several of these tracks were originally released in 1962 on an LP called , and has here expanded the number of cuts from that release (substituting alternate takes in some cases) to make a generous survey of these unique players. plays harmonica and sings to the accompaniment of the autoharp, turning himself into a one-man on songs like the banjo standard and 's turn in a wonderful autoharp duet on originally recorded by in 1927, while son goes solo on impressive versions of But the clear maestro here is , a left-handed player whose autoharp playing literally explodes into chiming, drag-note runs on an instrumental on the pretty (recorded by both in 1954), and on an amazing version of the comic fiddle tune Fast-paced, gentle, and sounding as bright as the first day of spring, is a complete delight. ~ Steve Leggett