簡介： by Sandra BrennanBuell Kazee was a minister who played banjo and sang the ancient songs of his beloved Kentucky mountains during the 1920s. 更多>
by Sandra BrennanBuell Kazee was a minister who played banjo and sang the ancient songs of his beloved Kentucky mountains during the 1920s. Considered one of the very best folk singers in U.S. history, he was a master of the high, lonesome singing style of the Appalachian balladeer. Kazee was born in the foothill town of Burton Fork, KY, and learned most of his songs from his family. He began picking banjo at age five and often played during local gatherings. He prepared for the clergy even as a teen and after high school began studying English, Greek, and Latin at Georgetown College, KY. It was there that he began to understand the significance of his family and friends traditional songs. Kazee formally studied singing and music in order to transcribe the old songs and make them more contemporary. Following his graduation in 1925, he gave a folk music concert at the University of Kentucky. He wore a tie and tails while playing the banjo and piano, sang in his specially trained formal voice, and gave lectures about the history of the songs. The show was a great success, so he repeated it several times over the following years.In 1927, he was asked to record the songs for Brunswick in New York, and he was signed to the label on the condition that he sing using his high, tight mountain voice and forego his formal vocal training. Over the next two years, he recorded over 50 songs backed by New York musicians. Many were religious, but others ranged from traditional to popular ballads, including Lady Gay, The Sporting Bachelors, and The Orphan Girl. His biggest hit was a version of On Top of Old Smoky called Little Mohee, which sold over 15,000 copies. In the early 30s, the recently married Kazee lost interest in pursuing a music career and stopped touring to become the minister of a church in Morehead, KY. For the next 22 years, he only sang publicly at revival meetings. Much later, he began using folk themes to compose formal music, such as a cantata-based on the old Sacred Harp piece The White Pilgrim. During the folk revival of the early 60s, he made a comeback and was one of the first to appear at the Newport festivals. In addition to preaching and singing, Kazee also wrote three religious books and a book on banjo playing. He died in 1976.
