Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 9.02 Migration
Presentation #1 Title
Circuit Rider of the Past: Dr. Ralph Stanley & the Appalachian Diaspora
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
This paper explores the cultural significance of Dr. Ralph Stanley by considering his published autobiography, stage performance persona and interactions with fans as well as his music in the context of Appalachian diaspora. It pays particular attention to the Appalachian migrant community in the Miami Valley of Ohio as one focal point of Stanley’s fan base. The experience of more than 28 million people who left Southern regions in the 20th century, many migrating from the Mountain South to the nation’s industrial heartland, has been much examined. Studies by James Gregory and Chad Berry specify the resilience of Appalachian identity in Midwestern migrant communities. For well over a half century and perhaps since the Stanley Brothers signed with Cincinnati’s King Records in 1958, Ralph Stanley has played regularly to this diaspora audience. His 2009 co-authored autobiography testifies to both his persistent mountain identity and to the extensive road life that took him north. Today his stage persona suggests convincing images of an authentic Appalachian past crafted by a practiced and devoted professional. At once a source musician deeply respected by artists and fans of bluegrass, Americana and roots music, Stanley is also an important “circuit rider of the past” whose appeal to Appalachian migrants and their descendants is an achievement deserving the attention of anyone intrigued by complexities of American life. This paper expands upon my presentation at ASA 2012 about diaspora themes in Stanley’s music.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Curt Ellison is Director of the Michael J. Colligan History Project at Miami University Hamilton and Professor of History & American Studies Emeritus. A native of North Alabama, his degrees are from the University of Alabama and University of Minnesota. He is the author of Country Music Culture: From Hard Times to Heaven (Mississippi, 1995), co-editor of Donald Davidson’s novel, The Big Ballad Jamboree (Mississippi, 1997), and editor of Miami University, 1809-2009: Bicentennial Perspectives (Ohio, 2009). He has taught “Appalachian Cultures & Music” and currently directs the Miami Hamilton Appalachian Studies Program. He is working on a book about the cultural significance of Dr. Ralph Stanley.
Circuit Rider of the Past: Dr. Ralph Stanley & the Appalachian Diaspora
This paper explores the cultural significance of Dr. Ralph Stanley by considering his published autobiography, stage performance persona and interactions with fans as well as his music in the context of Appalachian diaspora. It pays particular attention to the Appalachian migrant community in the Miami Valley of Ohio as one focal point of Stanley’s fan base. The experience of more than 28 million people who left Southern regions in the 20th century, many migrating from the Mountain South to the nation’s industrial heartland, has been much examined. Studies by James Gregory and Chad Berry specify the resilience of Appalachian identity in Midwestern migrant communities. For well over a half century and perhaps since the Stanley Brothers signed with Cincinnati’s King Records in 1958, Ralph Stanley has played regularly to this diaspora audience. His 2009 co-authored autobiography testifies to both his persistent mountain identity and to the extensive road life that took him north. Today his stage persona suggests convincing images of an authentic Appalachian past crafted by a practiced and devoted professional. At once a source musician deeply respected by artists and fans of bluegrass, Americana and roots music, Stanley is also an important “circuit rider of the past” whose appeal to Appalachian migrants and their descendants is an achievement deserving the attention of anyone intrigued by complexities of American life. This paper expands upon my presentation at ASA 2012 about diaspora themes in Stanley’s music.
