Alan Lomax Archive | Jilson Setters: The Blind Man's Lament (1937) @AlanLomaxArchive | Uploaded April 2020 | Updated October 2024, 14 hours ago.
J.W. Day (a.k.a. Blind Bill Day, a.k.a Jilson Setters), fiddle and vocal, performing one of his own compositions. Recorded by John A. Lomax at the home of Jean Thomas – who offers commentary after the song – in Ashland, Kentucky, June 29, 1937. Thomas, who called herself "The Traipsin' Woman," was, among other pursuits, a song collector and the founder of the American Folk Song Festival. She arranged this 1937 session for John Lomax, featuring some of her Eastern Kentucky "discoveries," which included Day. Thomas worked as Day's manager, rechristening him "Jilson Setters" and calling him "The Singin' Fiddler of Lost Hope Hollow." Day recorded several records of Kentucky fiddle tunes for the Victor company in the late '20s, and was the subject of two of Thomas' books. Their partnership is a fascinating case study in the ethical complications involved in presenting and promoting "authenticity."
For more on Day, visit: appalachianhistory.net/2017/01/singin-fiddler-of-lost-hope-hollow.html. For more on Thomas: appalachianhistory.net/2019/08/jean-thomas-kentuckys-traipsin-woman.html. For more on John and Alan Lomax and their collections, visit culturalequity.org. [1018B]
J.W. Day (a.k.a. Blind Bill Day, a.k.a Jilson Setters), fiddle and vocal, performing one of his own compositions. Recorded by John A. Lomax at the home of Jean Thomas – who offers commentary after the song – in Ashland, Kentucky, June 29, 1937. Thomas, who called herself "The Traipsin' Woman," was, among other pursuits, a song collector and the founder of the American Folk Song Festival. She arranged this 1937 session for John Lomax, featuring some of her Eastern Kentucky "discoveries," which included Day. Thomas worked as Day's manager, rechristening him "Jilson Setters" and calling him "The Singin' Fiddler of Lost Hope Hollow." Day recorded several records of Kentucky fiddle tunes for the Victor company in the late '20s, and was the subject of two of Thomas' books. Their partnership is a fascinating case study in the ethical complications involved in presenting and promoting "authenticity."
For more on Day, visit: appalachianhistory.net/2017/01/singin-fiddler-of-lost-hope-hollow.html. For more on Thomas: appalachianhistory.net/2019/08/jean-thomas-kentuckys-traipsin-woman.html. For more on John and Alan Lomax and their collections, visit culturalequity.org. [1018B]
