Saturday 28 March 2020

Marion Sumner born 28 March 1920


Marion Sumner ( 28 March 1920, Florida, USA - 17 August 1997, USA) known as the “Fiddle King of The South,” or “Fiddling Marion” was an influential country and bluegrass fiddler who 
performed with some of country music’s legends such as Roy Acuff, Kitty Wells and Don Gibson.

Raised in Vicco, Kentucky, which is where his family moved when he was a baby, Sumner learned to play the violin as a child.  He played with the Payroll Boys and made his radio debut in 1936 at Station WCPO, in Cincinatti, playing with the Harvey Brothers. He won a fiddle contest during the 1937 Black Gold Festival in Hazrad and was later picked up by the bands Cousin Emmy and the Johnny & Jack Band. During World War II worked with Molly O’Day, Lynn Davis, Eddie Hill, Johnnie Wright and others and soon became known as the ‘Fiddle King of the South’.

Playing with flair and enthusiasm, Sumner lived up to his title and developed a following among fans of traditional country music. Among his recording sessions with other artists are those with country singers Preston Ward and Don Gibson and with banjo player Lee Sexton. On another date he was joined by banjo player Freddie Campbell, guitarist and vocalist Sonny Houston, and bass player Phil Sexton. He also recorded duo fiddle sets with Jesse McReynolds (of Jim And Jesse).

Sumner’s first professional recording “My Eyes Are Still Dry” with Preston Ward, was released by King Records in 1947. He was said to have been able to play anything on a fiddle, from bluegrass to country, but he had a passion for Western swing.

Marion and his wife 1985

He travelled extensively working the nightclub circuits of Cincinnati, Columbus and Knoxville but recorded very little.



Records by Sumner are hard to find, but perhaps his best-known song is ‘Lost Indian’, which appears on a number of compilations of recordings by similar artists.


He died at his Kentucky home from heart problems 17 August 1997 (age 77).

Marion Sumner’s influence as a fiddler upon others of his generation was notable, particularly on Kenny Baker, who won wide acclaim as a sideman for Bill Monroe over a long period.
  
(Edited from AllMusic, minuteoflistening.org & Kentucky media obit)
Here’s Appalshop Archive  containing nearly 45 minutes of  early Headwaters Television Collection outtakes, raw footage: Jack Wright as St. Nick; studio performances by Marion Sumner, Dennis Breeding, Nick Stump, and Jack Wright; Wright interviews Sumner and Breeding from 1980.

1 comment:

  1. For “Mountain Music of Kentucky - Various Artists”
    Smithsonian Folkways Recordings 1996 …go here;

    https://www.upload.ee/files/11355777/Kentucky_Mountain_Music.rar.html


    01 Old Age Pension Blues Bill Cornett 2:02
    02 Hook and Line Bill Cornett 1:04
    03 John Henry Bill Cornett 4:01
    04 Pretty Polly Bill Cornett 2:56
    05 Old Reuben Bill Cornett 1:42
    06 Spring of '65 J.D. Cornett 2:30
    07 Sally in the Garden J.D. Cornett 0:33
    08 Barbara Allen J.D. Cornett 0:32
    09 When We Shall Meet Old Regular Baptist Church (Ky.) 6:13
    10 Amazing Grace Old Regular Baptist Church (Ky.) 6:30
    11 Across the Rocky Mountain Roscoe Holcomb 3:45
    12 Graveyard Blues Roscoe Holcomb 2:28
    13 Cripple Creek Roscoe Holcomb 1:01
    14 True Love Roscoe Holcomb 3:47
    15 Sally in the Garden Marion Sumner 0:51
    16 Lost Indian Marion Sumner 0:54
    17 Hollow Poplar Marion Sumner 0:59
    18 The Death of the Blue Eagle George Davis 1:55
    19 Little Birdie Willie Chapman 1:21
    20 Lost Indian Willie Chapman 1:01
    21 Jaw Bone Willie Chapman 0:56
    22 Bunker's Hill Willie Chapman 0:42
    23 Cacklin' Hen Willie Chapman 0:51
    24 Julie Ann Willie Chapman 1:12
    25 Born in Old Kentucky Bill Cornett 2:24
    26 Buck Creek Girls Bill Cornett 1:03
    27 Sweet Willie Bill Cornett 1:56
    28 Cluck Old Hen Bill Cornett 1:25
    29 Coney Island (Coney Isle) Roscoe Holcomb 1:44
    30 Baby Let Your Hair Roll Down Roscoe Holcomb 2:06
    31 Wayfaring Stranger Roscoe Holcomb 3:09
    32 Stingy Woman Roscoe Holcomb 2:01

    Was trying to find the illusive “Fiddle Fantastic” album by Marion Sumner, but all I could find was a compilation 2cd album by Smithsonian Folkways records. Marion only has just under 3 minutes of recording time only on CD 1

    Originally issued as a single LP in 1960, Mountain Music of Kentucky was praised as "the greatest Kentucky record ever issued and one of the greatest records in the entire literature of American folk song" (San Francisco Chronicle 1960). This much expanded compilation features some of the outstanding traditional musicians of the twentieth century with some previously unreleased performances. "One of the greatest records in the entire literature of American folk song." — San Francisco Chronicle.

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