Music... ahhh, with charms to soothe the savage breast..

or, something similar doth the saying go. I snatch these tidbits from the nebulous regions and dank corridors of my mind (which if you know me explains a lot re: syntax sins, grammatical gaffes, playing loose with the facts, etc.)

But I'm drifting... The point is that music helps to define any people and culture. Here in Oliver Springs and surrounding environs musical expression has played a vital role in helping both make us who we are, and allowing us to express ourselves in the musical note. Looking back at my life growing up around here, I could not even begin to imagine my life apart from the music that helped shape me, even to this day.Coming from a musical family, my childhood was a montage of back porch picking, family reunions where my dad and all our kinfolks would break out the guitars, fiddles, mandolins, spoons, and sing and rejoice into the wee hours.. Many, many times. Around about the age of ten or eleven I began to earn to plink out chords on my daddy's old guitar, and musical expression has been one of my defining constants ever since. (I just sat the guitar down to write this, in fact) If this sounds a lot like your youth, I am not at all surprised. It seems a fairly common thread to many of us who grew up around here.

I said that was the point.. fact is, that weren't the point at all, as Barney might have said, but the background leading up to the point.   Point is, over the years we in the Historical Society have been trying to help preserve our legacy in many facets, not the least of which is the musical legacy and tradition of our town. We have had many recordings donated to us, several of which reside down at the Historic Depot... old 78's, 33 1/3's, etc. Well, that's all fine and dandy, as Wanda Brown might say, but LOOKING at a record does precious little to a body if'n you can't hear it.. know what I'm saying? So, I set out to design a listening station for visitors coming into our archives, where they could actually LISTEN to these artists as they read about their lives and times.

Suffice to say that there don't seem to be any plans available for actually building such a critter, so I went out in my workshop and 'sperimented a little. Hope you like it....

(click to enlarge)

I had some quilted cherry given to me by my friends at R&R Lumber out in Coalfield.. I had been saving it for a special project, so here it is..... (Thanks to Dolman, Randy, Carolyn, and Tommy Roberts at R&R as this is far from the first benevolent deed to come forth from that family... good people, indeed.. and, although some might not admit it when football season rolls around, but Coalfield and Oliver Springs are forever linked past, present, and future.. many of our stalwart citizens have deep roots in that community, and vice versa)

As far as the listening station goes, it has a compilation of songs recorded by artists from here... folks like Mac and Bob, nationally known artists from the twenties and thirties...

Hugh Cross,      (shown with banjo)who was born in 1904 in Oliver Springs in 1904. Hugh Cross made his first records with his wife for Columbia Records in the late 1920's, embarking on a singing career that found him well known nationally and beyond. He worked with the Skillet Lickers Band, recorded a duet on "Red River Valley with Riley Puckett and joined the National Barn Dance in 1930 on clear channel megastation WLS out of Chicago, working as a mamber of the Cumberland Ridge Runners. Moving to WWVA   (click on wwva to check out the history of that station) in 1935, he teamed up with Shug Fisher for a successful Jamboree act known as Hugh and Shug's Radio Pals. the team recorded for Decca and later moved the act to WLW in Cincinnatti. Hugh Cross wrote, recorded and worked in radio until his death in the mid-60's. (source: "Mountaineer Jamboree", by Ivan Tribe)

Johnny Duncan,

(click on images to enlarge)

who left Windrock Mountain for the U.S. Army, ending up in England, where he recorded "Last Train to San Fernando", a skiffle song that was a huge success in Europe, launching him on a megacareer that lasted well into the 90's, and took him to heights of fame everywhere BUT here in the States where, inexplicably his music was never promoted...

Luke Brandon and Howell Duncan, artists who toured the United States for many years, always coming back home when the tour was over.

Here is a picture of Luke with a much younger Jimmy Dickens.

Luke ended up playing for a veritable "Who's Who" of country and pop stars. Trini Lopez, Cowboy Copas, Michael Landon, stints on the Grand Ole Opry, a much sought after session guitar player who appeared on numerous country and pop hits ...

Luke is in my considered opinion the finest guitar player to EVER come from this area. Luke still performs almost daily, and is in big demand for session work. Still with that rich timbre and pipes from which emanate luscious notes like molten quicksilver.

Howell, or "Hal", as we all call him, is blessed with a fine pure gift of harmony. Hal has been off the road for many years now, but he may have been responsible for making and capturing more music than anyone else. He has been the proprietor and chief producer at Cumberland Sound, a recording studio located right here in Oliver Springs that has produced albums for literally thousands of artists. I love to spend time down at Cumberland Sound... just soaking up the good music...

I am trying (with help from Carolyn Kally and a couple of the usual good soldiers) to assemble a book to go along with the listening station so folks can check out pictures and info on these fine artists as they listen to them.

Coming down to the Historic Depot?? Be sure and give yourself some time to listen to your roots....

Oh, by the way.... there's more to this story... just hang on, we'll get it to you....

Well, the showing of "In the Shadow of the Steeple- The Pine Hill Murders" this past April was a huge success. I feel a little bashful about mentioning it at this late date, but I have been reeeaallly busy, and as a consequence this page has not been updated in a timely manner. (What have I been so busy with, you ask?.... working with a group to produce a television show featuring a mix of talent from the present and regional and national stars of years past.. kinda with its feet in historical roots but showcasing some stars of today) (Thanks for asking.. you are just the sweetest thing..)

Anyhow, back to the movie... the ladies at the Oliver Springs Church of Christ really went all out to receive us, with a full blown dinner of 1890's style vittles, served by folks in authentic period costume. Pictures were taken, and I know where they are... just give me a little time and I'll get them here to show to you.

The Richards Sisters murders could be titled "The Murder story that Won't Go Away" (not that we want it to.. shucks, many of us in the Society are busy turning over rocks and poking the shrubbery with sharp sticks trying to glean clues that may have been overlooked in the hours and days following February 8th, 1940. There continues to be a steady groundswell of interest based on the emails and other comments I get on a regular basis. I have been intent on updating our information on this site to include what we know at this time, which is certainly much more than we did a few years ago. One thing I do NOT intend to do is to malign any person or persons based on spotty, incomplete, or otherwise dubious "facts", especially since most if not all the players, both documented and suspected, are long dead and not available for rebuttal.

Having said that, I still think there is room for a lot of discussion on the case. As I have followed the "Keystone Kops" approach to the Natalee Holloway case, I have been reminded that botched investigations are not as rare as we would like to think, and one can but imagine what Sheriff Anderson thought upon arriving at the Richards Mansion to find sisters Ann and Margaret dead along with ostensible killer Leonard "Powder" Brown, and having to retrieve the murder weapon from the gathered crowd where it had been passed about for possibly over an hour, thereby dashing any hope for fingerprint matching. I have spoken at length with many people about events of that infamous day, and most are like me... they find it hard to believe that protection of a crime scene such as this one would be so poorly understood or observed. even in 1940. By published accounts of the day, the Anderson County sherriff arrived to find not only the gun having been handled by probably half the men in town,  but the house open and persons wandering through it apparently at will. As Kay Scarpetta might say, "There go the forensics!!" Of course, we must remind ourselves that the sciences and disciplines that make up modern forensics were far less advanced in those days.. although there were many mature facets of crime scene investigation in use at that time, such as powder residue testing, ballistics testing, fingerprinting, some chemical analysis.

Talk amongst yourselves... let me know if you come up with anything.....

Coming to Oliver Springs? Be sure and stop by the Historic Depot. Inside you will find a splendid array of pictures, artifacts, displays, etc., from our proud past. Bringing a group? Let us know and we might be able to arrange for someone to guide you in your sightseeing.

contact robbieu41@comcast.net

More to come....

Home