Birth name Roscoe Halcomb Role Singer Name Roscoe Holcomb | Years active 1958–1978 Died February 1, 1981 | |
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Born September 5, 1912 ( 1912-09-05 ) Albums The High Lonesome Sound, An Untamed Sense of Control, Close To Home, San Diego Folk Festival 1972 Genres Folk music, Bluegrass, Country, Gospel music, Old-time music Similar People Wade Ward, Jean Ritchie, Alan Lomax, George Pickow | ||
Roscoe holcomb pt 1
Roscoe Holcomb, (born as Roscoe Halcomb September 5, 1912 – died February 1, 1981) was an American singer, banjo player, and guitarist from Daisy, Kentucky. A prominent figure in Appalachian folk music, Holcomb was the inspiration for the term "high, lonesome sound," coined by folklorist and friend John Cohen. The "high lonesome sound" term is now used to describe bluegrass singing, although Holcomb was not, strictly speaking, a bluegrass performer.
Contents
Two Songs by Roscoe Holcomb
Life and performance style
Holcomb's repertoire included old-time music, hymns, traditional music and blues ballads. In addition to playing the banjo and guitar, he was a competent harmonica and fiddle player, and sang many of his most memorable songs a cappella.
Holcomb sang in a falsetto deeply informed by the Old Regular Baptist vocal tradition. Bob Dylan, a fan of Holcomb, described his singing as possessing "an untamed sense of control." He was also admired by the Stanley Brothers, and Eric Clapton cited Holcomb as his favorite country musician.
A coal miner, construction laborer and farmer for much of his life, Holcomb was not recorded until 1958, after which his career as a professional musician was bolstered by the folk revival in the 1960s. Holcomb gave his last live performance in 1978. Due to what he described as injuries he sustained during his long career as a laborer, Holcomb was eventually unable to work for more than short periods, and his later income came primarily from his music. Suffering from asthma and emphysema as a result of working in coal mines, he died in a nursing home in 1981, at the age of 68.
Holcomb is buried at the Arch Halcomb Cemetery in Leatherwood, Kentucky. His tombstone bears his given name of Halcomb rather than Holcomb.
Discography
Holcomb's discography includes:
