UWG
News Item
Contact: University Communications & Marketing
Phone (678) 839-6464, FAX (678) 839-6645
ucm@westga.edu
Alton Stitcher and Friends Concert
January 14, 2004
CARROLLTON, GA - A new concert of regional music, “Alton Stitcher and Friends: An Evening of Old-time Country, Gospel, and Bluegrass Music,” will be held at the Townsend Center at the University of West Georgia on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 7:30 p.m. The concert is sponsored by UWG’s Center for Public History.
The
concert celebrates the release of the Center’s latest compact disc
of regional music. Headlining the concert will be Alton Stitcher, who’s
CD “I Hear a Sweet Voice Calling” was released this past November
by the Center for Public History. Also performing will be the Bluegrass
Five and the Gospel Expressions.
Born in Villa Rica in 1916, singer and songwriter Stitcher is a direct link to the early years of country music. During the 1930s, Stitcher began performing his repertoire of romantic ballads, traditional folk songs and gospel songs live on the radio in Griffin.
Between 1947 and 1962, his programs on Carrollton radio station WLBB delighted listeners who found comfort in his warm, relaxed singing style and old-time tunes. Four of Stitcher’s radio and home recordings from the late 1950s and early 60s were released in 2002 on the Center for Public History’s award-winning CD “Everybody’s Tuned to the Radio: Rural Music Traditions in West Georgia, 1947-1979.”
At the Townsend Center, Stitcher will be accompanied by fiddler James Bryan, guitarist Rachel Bryant and Russell McClanahan on mandolin, banjo, and harmonica. These three musicians can also be heard backing-up Alton on his CD. Also joining him on-stage for a series of vocal duets will be Donna Fuller, Pearl Gosdsin and Faye Marshall.
The Bluegrass Five was formed in Carrollton in 1963 by J.N. and Onie Baxter. For over 40 years, this husband-and-wife team and various band members have continued to entertain audiences at bluegrass festivals and other personal appearances throughout the Southeast. Most recently, the Baxter’s recording of the traditional folk song “Groundhog” has been receiving airplay overseas on the BBC.
Fronted by singer, guitarist and songwriter Faye Marshall, the Gospel Expressions are an offshoot of Bluegrass Expressions, one of the groups who performed this past spring at the “Everybody’s Tuned to the Radio” concerts at Carrollton’s Cultural Arts Center. Marshall got her start as a country musician during the late 1940s, when she and her brothers Eugene and Rayford Akers performed as the Radio Homefolks on WLBB. Rounding out the Gospel Expressions are Lamar Blanton (mandolin, vocals), James Knight (vocals) and Moose Wilder (bass, vocals).
Copies of the CDs “I Hear a Sweet Voice Calling” and “Everybody’s Tuned to the Radio” will be available for purchase the night of the concert and may also be purchased through the Center for Public History. Ordering instructions are available at www.westga.edu/~history. Several businesses in Carrollton and Villa Rica sell both CDs, including Horton’s Books and Gifts, Burson’s Feed and Seed, McWhorter’s Clayworks Gallery, Burrito Jones, all of which are around Adamson Square in Carrollton, and the office of the Villa Rica Voice.
The Center for Public History began its research into the region’s music heritage in early 2001. Over the past two years, the Center has interviewed many old-time musicians in the region, collected and archived the interviews and musical recordings, and produced two CDs. The archives are open for researchers during the Center’s business hours in Pafford 207 on the UWG campus. The Center is continuing to conduct interviews and to collect recordings of local musicians.
In addition, the Center is conducting concerts with Stitcher and the Baxters in the public schools, introducing middle-school students to the region’s rich musical heritage. Teachers interested in bringing these musicians into their schools should contact Erin Brasfield at the Center for Public History.
This concert and the music programs are sponsored by the Georgia Folklife Program. Funding comes from the Georgia Humanities Council and the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriation of the Georgia General Assembly. The Georgia Council for the Arts is a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
As part of the Georgia Folklife Grant, the Center is expanding its website to incorporate new research into musicians who have played in the Georgia Piedmont. The website is available at http://www.westga.edu/~history/center/music.htm.
Tickets for the concert are $5 each and can be purchased at the Townsend Center in person or by phone at 770-836-6694 beginning on Friday, Jan. 16.
For more information on the music program, please contact the Center for Public History at 770-838-3141.
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