The Artist: I was raised on top of Town Mountain in Hazard, Kentucky. My father Faron played guitar for The Cornerstones, which was a top-ten gospel group. At thirteen, he taught me to play guitar. His father Ernest was the front man for “The Kentucky Hilltoppers,” which was a traditional country string band. My mother Linda Campbell Sparkman played piano throughout my childhood. Although she played mostly by ear, she could read music when necessary. My aunt Maxi Reynolds is a great singer, and I learned to sing harmony by listening to her.

No one had played banjo or fiddle in my family for 90 years. Despite being raised in Eastern Kentucky, I was not exposed to this kind of music. To put it into prospective, most of the old East Kentucky ballads and fiddle tunes started to diminish after World War II. By the time I was born, (1978) only a handful of families were keeping these musical traditions alive. Therefore, I was much older when I discovered this music. Like many in my generation, I was familiar with Bluegrass and was attracted to the more mountain-influenced artist such as the Stanley Brothers. I was unaware there was a style of music that predated Bluegrass. Today this style is generically referred to as “Old Time”.

It was at this point in my life that I sought out banjo lessons. In addition to learning specific regional techniques, I also tried to soak up as much of the musical history as possible. I was blessed to be able to learn form some of the greatest traditional Kentucky musicians!

The Music: When I first began listening to “Old Time,” the music seemed abrasive and monotonous. My ears were conditioned to modern commercial styles, which stressed improvisation, and short verse/course lyric format. The more I listened and learned, the more I appreciated Old Time. I have a particular connection with the songs on this recording as many of the master performers are from my home county. Most of the songs were learned by listening to old field-recordings. In keeping true to that style, no special effects were utilized and songs were recorded with a single mike in a “one take” session.

The Interviews: The interviews started off as a side project. I asked my grandparents if any of our family played Old Time music. Surprisingly, I learned that my great grandmother Elizabeth Amburgey Sparkman played banjo and sang. She is featured on this recording. The Amburgey family was well known as talented Knott County musicians. Several of her brothers and sisters played fiddle and banjo.

My grandparents did homework by kerosene lantern, brought home-cooked meals to field laborers, attended square dances and plowed fields with mule-pulled sleds. Yet later in life, they learned to fly aircraft, became radio personalities, invested in stocks, owned businesses, traveled abroad and talked on cell phones. This album features the early years, and the music harkens back to that time and place.