Addie Graham, my friend Rich Kirby's grandmother, grew up in Eastern Kentucky in the early 20th century. She was a storehouse of ballads old and new, old hymns, pop songs of the day, and even some blues songs she learned from workers when the railroad was built through her area. June Appal released an LP of recordings made by Rich, later reissued on CD. Other people began performing some of these songs, and June Appal also released a compilation of some of their versions. Here's one by the great West Virginia singer Ginny Hawker:
juneappalrecordings.bandcamp.c...ny-hawker
Recorded in Convocation Hall, Montreat Conference Center, Montreat, NC. Microphones: Audio Technica AT 3035, AKG C535EB. Mackie 1202VLZ mixer, Zoom H4n recorder.
You can hear Rich's original recordings of Addie Graham here:
juneappalrecordings.bandcamp.c...aveling-2
Sounds so fresh and live and clear, like she is in the room! LOvely song…
(I never heard of “Montreat" NC, will have to go map it!)
Edited by - NCnotes on 09/11/2026 18:03:01
NCnotes - Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. I've been wanting to post this for awhile, and yesterday seemed a good time.
You should Google "Montreat" - its an interesting place. The name is a modern combination of "mountain" and "retreat." Convocation Hall is a beautiful 60x40 foot room. I wish I'd captured more of the natural acoustic, but even though the mics were a couple feet away, Ginny's voice was so powerful that there isn't much.
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