OLD TIME MUSIC HERITAGE HALL

Open daily, year-round
Exhibit Hours:
  Monday - Friday from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
  Saturday WPAQ Merry-Go-Round and exhbits from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
  Sunday from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Located inside the Historic Earle Theatre:
142 Main Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030

Admission:
$8 plus tax which also includes admission to the Andy Griffith Museum, and Exhibits of the Siamese Twins, Betty Lynn, and Mount Airy to Mayberry all located within walking distance at the Andy Griffith Playhouse at 218 Rockford Street.

For an additional $2 you get an easy-to-use audio guide.

  • EXHIBITS AT THE EARLE

    The Old-Time Music Heritage Hall provides an opportunity for visitors and residents to learn more about the musicians whose powerful art brought thousands to Surry County to learn - and set the stage for the lively old-time scene that continues today. The lobby of the Old-Time Music Heritage Hall houses artifacts from Surry County’s old-time music icons. Portraits and storyboards line the walls. Biographies of the old-time musicians featured in the hall were compiled by folklife specialist, Trish Kilby Fore. Folkways: Music of Surry County plays continuously in the Hall. This UNC-TV Folkways documentary reveals why the intense, bluesy, fiddle-driven Surry County sound has become synonymous around the world with American old-time music. “FOLKWAYS: Music of Surry County” was produced by Jim Bramlett, hosted by David Holt, and written by Michael Sheehan. This Surry Arts Council project was funded by the North Carolina Arts Council Folklife Division and the Mount Airy Tourism Development Authority.

  • SURRY COUNTY MUSIC

    Here in Surry County, old-time music is mostly instrumental, based around fiddle and banjo, and it’s intense and driving. Since American old-time music was “discovered” in the 1970’s, it has been adopted and played enthusiastically around the world. It’s the intense, bluesy, fiddle-driven Surry County sound that has become synonymous around the world with American old-time music.

    If you are listening to a string band from Tokyo or from Oslo, you are probably listening to the Surry County sound… From Folkways:

    This project was supported by a grant from the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership, which works to preserve, interpret, and promote the heritage of the North Carolina mountains and foothills.

  • UNC-TV DOCUMENTARY "Music of Surry County"

    Watch the UNC-TV documentary "Music of Surry County" online along with other Folkways episode hosted by David Holt.

    Other documentaries and photos are shown in the mezzanine of the EARLE as the mood strikes! The EARLE hosts ongoing events that serve to preserve, promote, and protect Surry County’s musical heritage.

TOMMMY JARRELL

Tommy Jarrell
March 1, 1901 – January 28, 1985
Photo Credit: David Holt

Thomas Jefferson "Tommy" Jarrell was born on March 1, 1901, in the Round Peak section of Surry County. When Tommy was seven years old, he began learning the banjo from Baugie Cockerham, and when he was thirteen, he began playing his father’s fiddle. Like his father, Ben Jarrell, who was a member of Da Costa Woltz’s Southern Broadcasters, Tommy played the fiddle in a short-bow style, and used different tunings to play in different keys. Tommy also learned several unaccompanied fiddle tunes such as "Sail Away Ladies," "Flatwoods," and "The Drunken Hiccups" from Civil War veter­ans in the community. Tommy established his fiddle style prior to the influence of commercial recordings and radio, thus he preserved a much older style of fiddling. His main influence on the banjo was Charlie Lowe, and Tommy picked up many stylistic techniques from him.

Tommy was also an accomplished singer and sang many of the old-time Primitive Baptist hymns. One that he performed often was entitled "When Sorrows Encompass Me Round."

In the early 1920s, Tommy went to work for the North Carolina Department of Transportation driving a motor grader, which left little time for his music. After his retirement he became very active in playing, recording, and performing music again.

Tommy recorded many albums for the County Records label and traveled outside of Surry County to perform at folk festivals and colleges. He often played with Fred Cockerham, Kyle Creed, Bobby Patterson and Chester McMillian. He was a wonder­ful storyteller and was known for his generosity and good sense of humor. Young people from all over the world made visits to his home and sometimes stayed for several days at a time to learn whatever they could from him. In 1981, he received the Brown-Hudson Folklore Award from the North Carolina Folklore Society, and in 1982, he received a National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endow­ment for the Arts. Tommy passed away on January 28, 1985. In 1988, his fiddle was donated to the Smithsonian Institution.

FRED COKERHAM


November 3, 1905 – July 8, 1980
Photo Credit: David Holt

Born on November 3, 1905, Fred Cockerham was raised in the Lowgap community of Surry County and later lived in Belews Creek near the Stokes-Rockingham County line. Fred probably started play­ing the banjo around 1912, and was heavily influenced by Charlie Lowe, who also influenced Tommy Jarrell’s banjo playing style. Fred always played a fretless banjo and in a bluesy style. The absence of frets on the banjo enabled him to more closely match the notes the fid­dler was playing, and capture those notes that were "in-between" frets. Fred’s signature tune on the banjo was "Roustabout," which highlight­ed his double noting technique. Fred played with Tommy Jarrell, was a member of the Camp Creek Boys, and also had his own band called the Virginia-Carolina Ramblers.

Fred was also quite well-known for his fiddle playing, which was more modern than Tommy Jarrell’s. Fred’s fiddling was highly influ­enced by Arthur Smith, a fiddler who made many commercial record­ings and played on the Grand Old Opry, which was broadcast over WSM from Nashville, Tennessee. Fred used a long-bow fiddle style and his fiddling had a bluegrass flavor; he played with both old-time banjo players as well as bluegrass banjo players.

For much of his life, Fred made a living making music with vari­ous groups on area radio shows and programs throughout southwest Virginia and the North Carolina piedmont. For a short time during World War II he traveled with Kyle Creed and Paul Sutphin to Nor­folk, Virginia, to build Quonset huts for the Navy.

In addition to appearing on the Camp Creek Boy’s recordings, Fred’s music is documented on several recordings released on the County and Heritage record labels. Fred’s banjo was donated to the Smithsonian Institution at the same time as Tommy Jarrell’s fiddle in 1988. Fred passed away at age 74, on July 8, 1980.

PAUL SUTPHIN


October 1, 1918 – August 26, 2003
Photo Credit: Bill Bamberger

Paul Elbert Sutphin was born on October 1, 1918, in the Round Peak section of Surry County. Paul was helped early on with his guitar playing by his sister, Helen, a neighbor, Ella Snow, and also Oscar Jarrell. His guitar playing style was very powerful, and he used a thumb pick and a finger pick to play in what could be described as a "clawhammer" guitar lick. Paul was a member of several bands including the Camp Creek Boys and the Smokey Valley Boys. His strong guitar rhythm and singing were extreme­ly popular. Three of Paul’s signature tunes were "Let Me Fall," "Lonesome Road Blues," and "Nobody’s Business." Paul always had a smile on his face and exuded a happy spirit both on and off the stage.

Paul worked as manager of Surry Concrete and later got into the home improve­ments business. No matter what, Paul always had a story to tell and loved to talk about his experiences playing music. In 1996, Paul received the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award. He passed away on August 26, 2003.

EARNEST EAST


July 8, 1916 – January 8, 2000
Photo Credit: Rob Amberg

Fiddle and banjo player Earnest E. East was born in Surry County on July 8, 1916. Like Tommy Jarrell and Fred Cockerham, Earnest spent a good deal of time at Charlie Lowe’s house and developed much of his musical talent there. Earnest raised tobacco and also worked at Spencer’s Apparel and Clothing in Mount Airy. He was a member of the Camp Creek Boys, and later founded his own band, the Pine Ridge Boys; it in­cluded his son, Scotty East on guitar, Gilmer Woodruff on banjo, Mac Snow on guitar and, later, Scotty’s wife, Patsy, on bass. The Pine Ridge Boys was a hard-driving in­strumental band, and Scotty, Mac and Patsy were gifted singers as well. Earnest played the fiddle in a unique, long-bow chording style that expressed the melody of the tunes he played in a straightforward manner.

In keeping with the Breaking Up Christmas tradi­tion, Earnest and his family had a New Year’s square dance and music party in the community. Since Ear­nest passed away on January 8, 2000, Mac Snow has been integral in keeping this tradition alive.

In 1988, Earnest received the Brown-Hudson Folklore Award given by the North Carolina Folklore Society, and in 1990, he was presented with a North Carolina Folk Heritage Award.

BENTON FLIPPEN


July 18, 1920 – June 28, 2011
Photo Credit: Hobart Jones

James Benton Flippen was born on July 18, 1920, in northern Surry County. In addition to his family, Benton’s primary musical influence was Esker Hutchens. Benton plays the banjo in a two-finger picking style, and plays the fiddle in a more modern long-bow style. Benton is noted for having a very limber wrist that gives him great control over the bow. Benton’s fiddling was heavily influenced by Arthur Smith, Tommy Jackson and other fiddlers he heard broadcast over the radio. In 1948, Benton, with Glen McPeak and the Green Valley Boys, helped Ralph Epperson test out his equipment at WPAQ, and were one of the first groups to play on the legendary station on February 2, 1948. When WPAQ began broadcasting on the Internet on April 5, 2007, Benton, along with Kevin and Trish Fore, played the first tune to be broadcast from WPAQ on the worldwide web. The tune they played was "Bile Them Cabbage Down."

For several years Benton played with the Camp Creek Boys, but he went on to form his own band, the Smokey Valley Boys, and then for a time played with the Dry Hill Draggers from Ferrum, Virginia. Benton’s strong fiddling led these bands to win awards and trophies at area fiddlers’ conventions. Some of Benton’s signature tunes are "Cricket on the Hearth," "Whistling Rufus," and "Polecat Blues." Over his musi­cal career Benton has also composed several fiddle tunes including "Benton’s Dream," "Haystack Hoedown," "Sally in the Turnip Patch" "Flippen’s Waltz" and "Benton’s Hay­stack Blues." Even now, at age 89, Benton continues to learn new tunes by listening to recordings.

Benton farmed for a while, and later went to work at the Oakdale Knitting Company in Mount Airy, where he was employed for thir­ty-seven years. Now retired, Benton spends much of his time playing the fiddle at fiddlers' conventions, square dances, and at festivals across the country. In 1990, he received the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award.

RALPH EPPERSON


April 5, 1921 – May 31, 2006

Ralph Deward Epperson was born on April 5, 1921, in "The Hollows," a community more commonly known as Ararat, Virginia. Although Ralph did not play a musical instrument, he played a tremendous role in preserving Surry County’s old-time, bluegrass and gospel music. Growing up he recorded his family and neighbors on lacquer discs. Ralph’s mother, Lula Watson Epperson, wanted him to become a preacher, but as he leaned to­ward radio broadcasting he thought about spreading the gospel to many elderly and shut-in people in the north­west North Carolina and southwest Virginia area.

After college at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and working at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., he came home to Ararat with plans to build a radio station to reflect the values and music of the area. With the help of his father, Harry A. Epperson, he built the first radio station in Surry County, WPAQ. When asked why he played the mountain music of the area, Ralph explained, "When there are 25 stations doing the same thing up and down the dial, why should I be number 26?" On February 2, 1948, WPAQ hit the airwaves and came into listeners’ homes and hearts.

Over the years, musicians such as Charlie and Bill Monroe, Roy Acuff, Grandpa Jones, Mac Wiseman, Jim Eanes, Mother Maybelle Carter and June Carter, and Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs performed on WPAQ. Even though more commercial recordings were becom­ing available for broadcasting, Ralph used his recording equipment to record local groups’ programs and segments for later airplay on WPAQ. Over the years Ralph built an extensive music library by recording performances at the station, including Blue Ridge Spotlight performances and Merry-Go-Round performances, local fiddlers’ conventions, the Autumn Leaves Festival, and local bluegrass festivals and camp meetings. Today, many of Ralph’s recordings are housed at the UNC’s Southern Folklife Collection in Chapel Hill.

Over the course of his broadcasting career, Ralph was presented with many awards. Two of the honors Ralph earned in 1991, were the Brown-Hudson Folklore Award from the North Carolina Folklore Society and the International Bluegrass Music Association Merit Award. In 1998, he received A Rose While You Live Award from the National Council from the Tra­ditional Arts. Then, in 2006, he was inducted into the North Carolina Association of Broad­casters Hall of Fame, and in 2008, he was inducted into the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame.

Ralph was a marvelous storyteller and his programs on WPAQ were always uplifting and educational. Not only did Ralph play Surry County’s local music on WPAQ, but he also told the story behind the music and preserved it as well. In 1999, Paul Brown produced a CD from Ralph’s personal recording collection on the Rounder Records label. WPAQ: The Voice of the Blue Ridge Mountains provides an excellent sampling of every genre of music native to the area, from black gospel quartets to old-time to early country and bluegrass music. After Ralph’s death on May 31, 2006, Ralph’s son, Kelly, and his wife, Jennifer, as well as the WPAQ staff are carrying on Ralph’s work playing the local old-time, bluegrass, and gospel music of Surry County and the surrounding area.

VERLEN CLIFTON


February 22, 1928 -
Photo Credit: Hobart Jones

Verlen Conduff Clifton was born on February 22, 1928, in Surry County. All of Verlen’s neighbors in Round Peak played music and he naturally learned from them. Although most well-known for his mandolin playing, Verlen started out picking the banjo and playing the guitar. Verlen was one of the original members of the Camp Creek Boys and was voted to play the mandolin because the band already had guitar and banjo players. When asked how he learned to play the mandolin, Verlen smiled and said, "I just learned the chords and started playing it." Verlen’s distinctive man­dolin lick added a unique element to the Camp Creek Boys’ sound that other old-time bands at that time did not have.

In addition to playing with the Camp Creek Boys, Verlen also played with G.F. (Ronald) Collins and the Blue Ridge Entertainers, Benton Flippen and the Smokey Valley Boys and the Toast String Stretchers. When Verlen did not have an instrument in his hands, he worked for the Gulf Oil Company and later went into the lumber business.

In 1996, Verlen received the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award. He continues to play to play at shows, festivals and fiddlers’ conventions. Verlen notes that he has really enjoyed his experiences playing music.

CLYDE JOHNSON


January 18, 1931 – July 27, 2007
Photo Credit: Hobart Jones

Joseph Clyde Johnson was born on January 18, 1931, and began play­ing the guitar and singing when he was about twelve years old. When he was just learning to play Clyde ordered an Earnest Tubb songbook for twenty-five cents and learned the chords to "She’ll Be Coming ’Round the Mountain." He and Harvey Hiatt, a banjo player, often played for dances at empty pack houses and tobacco barns. Clyde’s singing style was greatly influenced by country music singers such as George Jones and Hank Wil­liams. Through his years of playing guitar Clyde had the opportunity to play with nationally known musicians. For a time Clyde worked with Don Reno and the Tennessee Cut-Ups, filling in for Red Smiley who was in the hospital with pneumonia. He also performed some with Charlie and Ira Louvin and Mac Wiseman, but Clyde really got his start with Uncle Joe Johnson on the Merry-Go-Round.

The Merry-Go-Round began as a live program on WPAQ in 1948 and is currently the second-longest running live radio show featuring old-time, bluegrass and gospel music in the nation. According to documents at WPAQ, "In the original application to the Federal Communications Com­mission a promise was made to set aside time each week devoted to the promotion of local talent. The Merry-Go-Round continues to fulfill that promise to this day." After Uncle Joe Johnson, the original host of the Merry-Go-Round, left in 1963, then-WPAQ station manager Dale Gal­limore believed Clyde could do the job, but Clyde was not so sure and reluctantly took over as the host. It was not too long until Clyde became known as the "amiable host" of the weekly program, sched­uling bands to perform, doing live advertisements for sponsors, and even filling in to perform if a group did not show up to play. Clyde had a gift of talking on the air and putting people new to performing on the radio at ease. In addition to hosting the Merry-Go-Round, Clyde also emceed the Autumn Leaves Festival and the Mount Airy Fiddlers’ Convention. The Saturday before Clyde passed away the Easter Broth­ers were featured on the Merry-Go-Round and he performed a few songs with them. He was very pleased they could be on the program due to their busy schedule.

Clyde helped make the Merry-Go-Round an enjoyable experience for all involved and ended the program each week with this piece of advice: "Good-bye, good luck, and God bless you, and don’t worry too awful much about nothing because everything won’t be alright no­how." Clyde Johnson passed away on July 27, 2007.

JIMMY VIPPERMAN


June 12, 1958 -
Photo Credit: Hobart Jones

Born June 12, 1958, James Preston "Jimmy" Vipperman started fiddling when he was eight years old and has been at it ever since. Jimmy first started taking violin lessons at the Fine Arts Center at the old North Main School in Mount Airy, and then he began learning tunes from his father, Johnny Vipperman, who played bass and mandolin. The first song Jimmy learned from his father was "Wreck of the Old 97." Jimmy was a quick study, learning by ear, and he began attending and winning area fiddlers’ conventions. In 1992, Jimmy started giving fiddle les­sons on his own, and in January 2001, he began teaching through the Surry Arts Council’s youth programs. North Carolina Arts Council funding supported traditional music lessons for youth free of charge. Jimmy has taught thousands of students, led educators in statewide workshops in teaching traditional music, and played with the masters. In 2009, Jimmy was presented the Brown-Hudson Folklore Award given by the North Carolina Folklore Society. Through the Surry Arts Council’s Traditional Arts Programs (TAPS), Jimmy teaches fiddle, banjo, guitar, and mandolin, encouraging his students to play the music and have fun with it just as he did growing up. When asked if there was anything else he would like to say, Jimmy replied, "The important thing is that the music survives."