Clarence Ashley

Clarence Ashley

Source: Herb Museum

Born on 29 September 1895 in Bristol, Tennessee, guitarist, Clarence Ashley, joins such as the Carter Family and yodeling Jimmie Rodgers at the avant-garde of country folk recording. Clarence got moved to Shouns, Tennesee, at age five, after which his grandfather bought him a banjo at age eight on which he learned traditional Appalachian folk songs. Growing up in an environment of lumberjacks and miners, as his grandfather ran a boarding house, he joined his first medicine show in 1911.

Otherwise performing at places like factories, Ashley was with banjo player, Dwight Bell, to record his first tracks as Thomas Ashley in Richmond, TN, on February 2, 1928. Two titles went unissued: 'Ohio Lovers' and 'Drunkard's Dream'. 'You're a Little Too Small' / 'Four Night's Experience' saw release on Gennett 6404.

'You're a Little Too Small'   Thomas Ashley (guitar)

Recorded 2 Feb 1928 at the Gennett Studio in Richmond IN

First recording issued   Gennett 6404 / Champion 15525 / Challenge 391

Composition: Al Haynes

Ashley next joined the Carolina Tar Heels with Dock Walsh on banjo and Gwen Foster as Garley Foster on guitar and harmonica. Tracks from October 11 of 1928 to April 4 of 1929 witnessed such as 'There's a Man Goin' Around Takin' Names' / 'I Don't Like the Blues No How' (Victor 40053) and 'Hand in Hand We Have Walked Along Together' / 'The Old Grey Goose' (Victor 40177), et al. On 11 October 1928 the Carolina Tar Heels recorded 'Can't You Remember When Your Heart Was Mine?' which is said to be a version of the 'The Daemon Lover' aka 'James Harris' that is Child Ballad 243 [refs below]. The Child Ballads are an anthology of 305 traditional ballads of England and Scotland with American variants. These were gathered by Francis James Child in his five-volume 'The English and Scottish Popular Ballads' of 1882-1898.

'The Daemon Lover' is said to have been published in a broadside of 1657 and composed by Laurence Price subtitled 'A Warning for Married Women'. Wikipedia finds it to be a Scottish version of Price's original 'A Warning for Married Women' Child 243 A (1657?). The English Broadside Ballad Archive at the University of California houses a broadside of 'A Warning for Married Women' printed possibly as early as 1650. Any broadside published in 1657 would probably be black letter, so this particular broadside of 'A Warning for Married Women' (Roud 14) in roman typeface probably reflects a date more at sometime 1711-32 (as stated). It is paired to the tune, 'Fair Maid of Bristol', 'Bateman" or 'John True'. Child 243 B is an anonymous version titled 'The Distressed Ship Carpenter'. It is from this that Ashley is thought to have derived his solo with banjo version in 1930 titled 'The 'House Carpenter' (below). Howsoever the pieces of this puzzle fit together, the daddy of all versions was written by Price for a 1657 broadside if not before. See Child Ballad #243 for a synopsis of the story of 'The Daemon Lover'.

'Can't You Remember When Your Heart Was Mine?'   Thomas Ashley w the Carolina Tar Heels

Recorded 11 Oct 1928 in Atlanta   Victor 400219

Banjo: Dock Walsh   Guitar: Garley Foster   Guitar: Ashley

Version of 'The Daemon Lover'   Laurence Price 1657?

Ashley recorded banjo solos in his real name, Clarence, on October 23, 1929, in Johnson City, TN: 'Dark Holler Blues' / 'The Coo-Coo Bird' (Columbia 15489-D) and 'little Sadie' / 'Naomi Wise' (Columbia 15522-D). More solos followed on April 14 of 1930 in Atlanta, two of six tracks issued: 'The House Carpenter' / 'Old John Handy' (Columbia 15654-D). As mentioned, it is thought that 'House Carpenter' is a version of the anonymous 'The Distressed Ship Carpenter' which is a version of Laurence Price's 'A Warning for Married Women'.

'Dark Holler' aka 'East Virginia (Blues)'   Clarence Ashley (banjo)

Recorded 23 Oct 1929 in Johnson City TN   Columbia 15489

Version of 'East Virginia'   Anon traditional early 17th century

Following Tony Russell's 'Country Music Records' (CMR), Clarence next recorded as Tom Ashley in a string of configurations lumped together for convenience as the Blue Ridge Mountain Entertainers, from November 30, 1931, to December 2, 1931. Ashley's accompaniment is unknown for the first session of that grouping on November 30, 1931, resulting in 'There will Come a Time' unissued. Among titles released from that date were 'Penitentiary Bound' (Conqueror 8249) and 'Baby All Night Long' (Vocalion 02780). Those were with Clarence Greene at fiddle and Gwen Foster at harmonica. December 1 and 2 saw such as 'Cincinnati Breakdown' / 'Honeysuckle Rag' (Banner 32432) and 'Corrina Corrina' (Banner 32427).

Come titles with Gwen Foster at harmonica on September 6-8 of 1933 for such as 'Sideline Blues' (Vocalion 02611) and 'Frankie Silvers' (Vocalion 02647). Among those was the first known recording of 'The House Of the Rising Sun' as 'Rising Sun Blues' on September 6 (Vocalion 02576). Texas Alexander's 1928 'The Rising Sun' is an entirely different song. The confusion may arise of Roy Acuff's version of the song in 1938 being titled 'Rising Sun'. The title was changed altogether to 'Rounder's Luck' by the Callahan Brothers. Recorded by numerous big names, perhaps the most famous version of 'The House of the Rising Sun' was by the British Invasion band, Eric Burdon & the Animals in 1964. Ashley himself claimed he learned the song from his maternal grandfather. The final track of Ashley's early recording career went down with Foster on the 8th unissued: 'My Mother Scolds Me for Flirting'. He wouldn't scratch another record for 27 years.

'Rising Sun Blues' aka 'House of the Rising Sun'   Clarence Ashley (guitar)

Recorded 6 Sep 1933 in NYC   Vocalion 02576 / JSP 77186

Harmonica: Gwen Foster   Anon traditional prob sometime 19th century

During the years of the Great Depression Ashley worked at various jobs including his own trucking business in Mountain City, Tennessee, begun in 1937. He also worked as a comedian with the Stanley Brothers and ran a band called the Tennessee Merrymakers. Praguefrank's has him recording again circa September of 1960 for four tracks to be found on 'Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's' (Folkways FA 2355) in 1961. Those included his first titles with Doc Watson: 'Honey Babe Blues' and 'God's Gonna Ease My Troubling Mind'. Ashley and Watson would hold several sessions together with various collaborators to latter July of 1963 at the Newport Folk Festival. Praguefrank's loses track him up at Newport, listing his final recording as 'Amazing Grace' with Jean Ritchie at vocals. Those last tracks were issued in 1964 as 'Old Time Music at Newport' on Vanguard 9147 mono and 79147 stereo. Recordings by Ashley with Watson have otherwise been documented per 'Original Folkways Recordings: 1960-1962' issued in 1994.

'God's Gonna Ease My Troublin' Mind'   Clarence Ashley w Doc Watson (guitar)

Recorded Sep 1960   Folkways Records FA 2355

Composition: Ashley

'Skillet Good and Greasy'   Doc Watson (banjo) w Ralph Rinzler (guitar) (Ashley out)

Recorded Sep 1960   Folkways Records FA 2355

Composition: Uncle Dave Macon   1924 ('Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy')

'Shady Grove'   Clarence Ashley (guitar) w Jack Burchett (banjo)

Recorded 1 July 1961   Folkways Records FA 2359

Assumed to be w Doc Watson by multiple sources

It is w Burchett per Praguefrank's

Burchett also credited at Discogs on Smithsonian Folkways SF 40029/30

Composition: Anon Appalachian traditional of eastern Kentucky c 1900

Melody poss from a version of 'Matty Groves'

'The Banks of the Ohio'   Clarence Ashley w Doc Watson (guitar)   Film

Recorded April 1962 at the apartment of Alan Lomax in Greenwich Village NYC

Fiddle: Fred Price   Guitar: Clint Howard

Composition: Anon traditional

See 'Ballads, Blues & Bluegrass: a film by Alan Lomax' (Cultural Equity / 2012)

'Amazing Grace'   Clarence Ashley   Last known recording

Recorded 28 July 1963 at the Newport Folk Festival Rhode Island

A cappella w Doc Watson / Clint Howard / Fred Price / Jean Ritchie

Text: John Newton 1772

Melody: 'New Britain' pub in William Walker's 'Southern Harmony' in 1847

Ashley spent the remaining years of his life touring during the folk revival in the sixties from Carnegie Hall in New York City to California to England in 1966 and 1967. He died on June 2 of 1967 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.