Clarence Ashley

Clarence "Tom" Ashley (born Clarence Earl McCurry; September 29, 1895 – June 2, 1967) was an American musician and singer, who played the clawhammer banjo and the guitar. He began performing at medicine shows in the Southern Appalachian region as early as 1911, and gained initial fame during the late 1920s as both a solo recording artist and as a member of various string bands. After his "rediscovery" during the folk revival of the 1960s, Ashley spent the last years of his life playing at folk music concerts, including appearances at Carnegie Hall in New York and at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island.

Biography

Early life Ashley was born Clarence Earl McCurry in Bristol, Tennessee in 1895, the only child of George McCurry and Rose-Belle Ashley. Those who knew George McCurry described him variously as a "one-eyed fiddler, hell-raiser, and big talker." Shortly before Clarence was born, Rose-Belle's father, Enoch Ashley, discovered that his son-in-law George was an adulterer. George was forced to leave town. Rose-Belle moved back in with her father, and around 1900, the family relocated to Shouns, Tennessee, a crossroads just south of Mountain City, where Enoch ran a boarding house. When Clarence was very young, he was nicknamed "Tommy Tiddy Waddy" (after a nursery rhyme) by his grandfather Enoch, and thus became known to friends and acquaintances as 'Tom'. As he was raised by the parents of his mother, the name "McCurry" was dropped in favor of "Ashley". From infancy, Tom was acquainted with musicians. His grandfather bought him a banjo when he was eight years old, and his mother and aunts taught him to play traditional Appalachian folk songs and ballads. He learned a number of songs and techniques from itinerant lumberjacks and railroad workers lodging at his grandfather's boarding house. In 1911, Tom joined a medicine show that happened to be passing through Mountain City. He played banjo and guitar, and performed blackface comedy. Tom would play with medicine shows every summer until the early 1940s. During winters, he organized local concerts at rural schools. He would also play for money at coal camps and rayon mills, often accompanied by influential Johnson County fiddler G. B. Grayson.

In March 2013, the Library of Congress announced that the album, Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's, would be added to the National Recording Registry. The album consists of a series of early-1960s recordings by Ralph Rinzler of folk songs performed by Ashley and bandmates Doc Watson, Clint Howard, Fred Price, Gaither Carlton and Tommy Moore.

Repertoire and influence Ashley learned much of his repertoire from his grandfather and aunts and itinerant musicians lodging at his grandfather's boarding house in the early 1900s.

During the folk revival years of the 1960s, Ashley and his band helped to popularize the 18th century English, Southern hymn, "Amazing Grace."

Several notable musicians cite Ashley as an important influence. Roy Acuff once worked medicine shows with Ashley, and Ashley probably taught him "House of the Rising Sun" (which Acuff recorded during 1938) and "Greenback Dollar." Guitarist and singer Doc Watson began his recording career with Ashley in 1960 and played in Ashley's band for several years. Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia once said in an interview that he learned clawhammer picking from "listening to Clarence Ashley". Other folk musicians influenced by Ashley include Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and Jean Ritchie.

Discography Play And Sing American Folk Music (with Tex Isley) (Folkways 2350) Live And In Person: Greenwich Village 1963 (Jalopy Records 170131, JALOPY004, 16-0247, 27223, 27523)