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George
Franklin Pegram, Jr. was born August 5, 1911 and raised near
Oak Ridge in Guilford County, the son of George (12/20/1881
or 1883-11/5/1955) and Phebe D. Henley Pegram (_1892-?).
This farming community in North Carolina's Piedmont region
was rich in stringband music.
Zack
Whitaker (2/9/1876-11/3/1950), who taught music at the Oak
Ridge Institute, was active in organizing area events.
Whitaker promoted fiddlers' conventions and dances
throughout George Pegram's upbringing, and, probably, it's
those conventions that George attended when growing up. One
of Zack Whitaker's musical compatriots was George's uncle,
fiddler Clyde Pegram. A lifelong bachelor, Clyde Pegram
lived at home with his mother and worked the family farm.
George claimed that Clyde helped start him in music and that
the two played together once George became musically
proficient. George Pegram tells several different stories of
acquiring his earliest instrument. Either his first banjo,
which he started playing around the age of nine, was one
discarded by his grandfather, or a cigar box banjo, which
George made. Pegram continues: "My grandma drew a pension
from the Civil War. I stayed with her, and she gave me a
patch for tobacco. I said the first thing I was going to do
when I sold my crop of tobacco, I'm going to buy me a banjo.
I went down to Winston-Salem to a music store and paid $15
for a banjo a Silvertone. "I got to watching other banjo
pickers. I'd pick it up. I'd go to school commencements,
where there would be playing, and to fiddling conventions.
I'd pick it up listening to others. "The first money I ever
made in my life was for pickin' a banjo all night. I was
just a barefoot kid and they gave me 15 cents. I tied it up
in the end of a handkerchief and took it and gave it to my
Momma." George evidently had fond memories of Oak Ridge. He
would return there each year to perform at the horse
show/fiddlers' convention that began in 1946. At the age of
twenty-six, George Pegram married Dorothy Louise Dick (b.
1920) of Guilford County and moved to Statesville. The
couple eventually had four children. Pegram professed to
having served in the Navy during World War II, and to losing
an eye in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. To support
his family, George worked in the tobacco fields, sawmills
and furniture factories of North Carolina and Virginia. "
never paid enough to live on, and Pegram moved his family
from job to job, from one small town to another, wherever he
could find work and 'play a little music,' " reported
the Winston-Salem Journal/Sentinel. The man who would change
Pegram's life was musician, folk song collector and festival
promoter Bascom Lamar Lunsford. Lunsford had founded the
Mountain Dance and Folk Festival in June of 1928 as a part
of Asheville's Rhododendron Festival. "In 1948," says Bascom
Lunsford's biographer Loyal Jones, "Lunsford was invited by
Dr. Ralph Steele Boggs of the English Department to start a
folk festival at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill which was held in June. In the same year Lunsford also
established a festival for the North Carolina State Fair in
Raleigh, in the month of August. Both of these festivals
became popular events and made it necessary for Lunsford to
locate new performers from places in North Carolina other
than his native mountains. He traveled the hot and dusty
roads of the Piedmont and Coastal Plain of the Old North
State, seeking talent for his new festivals." Pegram,
possibly living in Denton at the time, recalled his first
meeting with Lunsford: "The old man discovered me. Oh, it
was 1949, I believe it was. He came down there and he had
car trouble. He wanted to spend the night. I said yes I'd be
glad for him to. He didn't know that I was a banjo picker a
musician. He had one of these recording things to make
records. We eat supper and all. I asked him what his
business was. He said folk music. I told him that I played
the banjo a little bit once in a while. He said, 'Go get
your banjo then.' I got my banjo and played 'Cumberland Gap'
and different ones. He said, 'Why, that sounds just fine.
Just fine. Let me record that.' He did, and I was invited to
the festival." This account seems likely, although
some of its details aren't correct. Since Pegram appeared at
the first Festival, Lunsford must have visited George in
1948. Hoyle Bruton, publicity director for the 1948
festival, described talent scouting trips with Lunsford in
the spring, and thinks that Lunsford had heard about Pegram
before he went to see him. Arthur Palmer Hudson, reviewing
the 1948 Carolina Folk Festival in the Southern Folklore
Quarterly, mentions Pegram, "a broadaxe-finished mountaineer
under a ten-gallon hat" as vying "with Clegg Garner of
Randolph for honors as banjo soloist. George's 'Good Ol'
Mountain Dew' a 'special request' number on every program
after the first. A natural clown, with an excellent
repertory of banjo songs and solo dance numbers, and with an
inexhaustible fund of showmanship, George was the individual
star of the Festival." Pegram also played "John Henry." The
Asheboro Courier-Tribune reported that "One member of
Garner's band, tall and lanky George Pegram, brought down
the house with his rip-roaring rendition of 'Good Ol'
Mountain Dew,' a number written by Lunsford in the style of
the authentic folk songs. The large crowd, stacked up in the
north side of Kenan stadium to the back wall, city folk and
all, got the swing of folk music as George sang and whole
assembly was soon clapping and swaying in rhythm." This
event seems to be, outside of local community events, one of
Pegram's first appearances as a professional musician.
Although George Pegram would continue to work at a variety
of manual labor jobs, from this point on, he would attempt
to make a part of his living at music. Subsequent newspaper
photos and recollections of area residents show Pegram still
playing with Clegg Garner's band for dances at Denton
(Davidson County) and Farmer (Randolph County) in the 1950s.
And, a recording of the Okie Mountain Boys made at the 1948
event sounds like Pegram was also a member of that
aggregation. In the late 1940s, George Pegram additionally
performed with Corbett Bennett and His Mountain Dudes, both
in public appearances and over radio station WTNC-Thomasville.
Throughout his musical career, no matter what Pegram's band
affiliation, George was always straining to take the
spotlight. Pegram was such a singular performer, with his
own style, that it was hard to play and share the stage with
him.
The Pegram
family moved to Union Grove at Bascom Lunsford's instigation
around 1951, to a small white house off NC 115 near the
Wilkes County line. With some of Lunsford's relatives living
close by, Bascom may have been trying to take care of
George or to keep an eye on him. By that time, George
Pegram had become a favorite performer of Bascom Lamar
Lunsford, who used him on the many events he later organized
in the 1950s. Pegram played at the State Fair, the
Mountain Dance and Folk Festival and the Burlington
Centennial Festival (in 1949). He was a regular at the
Carolina Folk Festival until its demise in 1956. And
Lunsford subsequently put Pegram together with harmonica
player Red Parham. Walter "Red" Parham ran Bascom Lunsford's
farm and played at Bascom Lunsford's many events, including
the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival. Pegram and Parham had
begun performing together by 1955, when they appeared at the
Carolina Folk Festival. In 1957, Red and George were
recorded by Kenneth Goldstein for Riverside Records at
Lunsford's home in South Turkey Creek, Leicester, NC.
George Pegram and Red Parham also appeared on several
Riverside Records anthologies: Banjo Songs of the Southern
Mountains and Southern Mountain Folk Songs and Ballads. The
act ceased active performing when booking decreased, and
financial necessity caused Parham and Pegram to appear on
their own. No matter how much Lunsford valued George as a
performer, the latter's lack of constraint caused friction
between the two men. Loyal Jones relates that, "For a while,
he would not have George Pegram on the festival. Pegram
became so popular that the crowd would often break into
chants of 'We want George,' and Pegram, somewhat heady
over this popularity, might just come forward without
Lunsford's nod. This was the sort of thing that Lunsford,
creator and boss of the festival, would not tolerate.
However, Pegram held an affection and respect for Lunsford."
By the late 1950s, George became a fixture at both the
Galax, Virginia and Union Grove, North Carolina Fiddlers'
Conventions. At these events, he was often associated
with Wayne Johnson's Brushy Mountain Boys of North
Wilkesboro, featuring fiddler "Lost John" Ray
(_1917-?). Pegram's first award at the Galax came in
1959, when he won first prize for the "Novelty" category.
One of the pieces he played that year was "On Top of Old
Smokey." He took second prize on banjo in 1960, and
first in 1961, rendering "John Henry" for his first
place win. The Brushy Mountain Boys took third prize in the
band competition for 1960 and 1963, performing "Turkey in
the Straw" and "Hitchhiker's Blues" during the later year's
convention. In 1963, Pegram also played on the
program, executing "John Henry," "Arkansas Traveler," and
"Old Rattler." The Band possibly attended the 1966 event,
when George won "Outstanding Individual Performer," which he
won again in 1969. George's Galax performance of "John
Henry" from either 1961 or 1963 was recorded for the
Folkways Records' 1964 release, Galax, Virginia Old
Fiddlers' Convention . The Brushy Mountain Boys appeared at
the 1961 Union Grove Fiddlers' Convention as a seven-member
band. The band was included on the 1962 Folkways album The
37th Old Time Fiddlers' Convention At Union Grove North
Carolina, and were mentioned as "one of the wilder bands and
the winner of this year's (1961) band contest" in the
album's notes. It is unclear if Pegram was with the Brushy
Mountain Boys at this convention. Photos of the band, which
at least sometime included Wayne Johnson's sons, show a
different banjoist. However, the banjoist on the Folkways
recording of "Hitchhiker's Blues" closely resembles
George. George Pegram also appeared with fiddler Lost John
Ray at the 1967 Union Grove Convention. Wade Walker
financed the record, featuring George and Lost John, for his
"Wade" label. The issued tunes were "Mississippi Sawyer" on
one side of the record, backed with "Cumberland Gap" and
"Arkansas Traveler." Sometime in the mid-to-late
1950s, Wade Walker had became acquainted with Pegram at the
Farmer Grange dance, where George was playing. Pegram and
Walker became good friends, and George was a regular at Wade
Walker's music sessions from then on until George Pegram's
death. Beginning at this time, as Mark Walker, Wade's son
reports, "Pegram worked for the Southern Railroad as an
entertainer at their conferences and meetings, traveling all
over the country and even to Hawaii. They bought him a
banjo, one of the last ones that he had. But I think
he pawned it off when he got hurting for money. It was one
of the Earl Scruggs models. They'd buy him new clothes, you
know, before they'd take him on those trips. He wouldn't
even have decent clothes, you know, to take with him. And
when he'd come home, he might come into work at the sawmill
or somewhere with them good clothes on and they'd have to
buy new ones again then." By the late 1960s, the Pegram
family had migrated once again, living for several years
near Galax, Virginia. The following article appeared in the
Galax Gazette, July 24,1969, and aptly describes Pegram's
public appearances. "A perennial favorite at the convention
is George Pegram of nearby Fries, Virginia, located like
Galax, near the line separating Carroll and Grayson
Counties. "Pegram, grizzled and balding and with only one
good eye, is a virtuoso of the bluegrass banjo style. He is
a showman, too, likely to put aside his instrument and dance
into a loose-joined shuffle. "As he attacks the chorus
of 'Cumberland Gap,' his lean old body tilts backward from
the knees until his beaten black hat stands parallel to the
ground and he is face to face with the August moon. He
hoists his banjo high, fingers plucking louder and louder
around the melody and a guttural hum hurtles from his throat
into a piercing howl guaranteed to boil the blood: "'MmmmmYeoww!
Way down yonder in Cumberland Gap!'" David Holt, the
well-known banjoist and host of radio and television shows
(including Mountain Stage), also witnessed his first Pegram
performance that summer. "I will never forget the first time
I saw George Pegram play. It was 1969 at the Mountain Dance
and Folk Festival in Asheville, North Carolina. He came out
on stage grinning from ear to ear, eyes darting around the
auditorium like he was getting ready to play a hugh
practical joke. He was bowlegged and slightly stooped from
the weight of his banjo hanging around his neck. You sensed
right away this guy was the 'real thing.' "Harmonica player
Red Parham blew a couple of high, piercing notes to start
'Cindy.' George grabbed at the strings of his banjo as
though he were trying to catch up with Red. Then all of a
sudden they hooked into each others timing and were in
perfect sync. It felt like an electric current went through
the audience. Spontaneously the entire crowd began hollering
and hooting. The music was so raw, so real and so damn good,
you couldn't help it. They played through the tune like they
were trying to hold onto an out of control freight train. It
was one of the most exciting musical experiences I've ever
had. And to this day, every time I play 'Cindy' I think of
how George Pegram made that song come alive." The
recordings heard on this compact disc were made by Charles
Faurot (called "Farout" in the original album notes), well
known for his tapes for County Records of Carolina/Virginia
stringband music. Originally offered to Ken Davidson's
Kanawha label for release, this became the first record on
the fledgling Rounder label in 1971. Ken Irwin and Bill
Nowlin, two of the three current partners in Rounder, had
become interested in traditional music during the early
1960s through the recordings of Pete Seeger and the Kingston
Trio. As undergraduate roommates, they followed music in the
Boston area, often attending shows at the Club 47 in
Cambridge. In 1966, their senior year in college, they both
began attending the southern fiddler's conventions at Union
Grove and Galax. After one such Galax event, Irwin was
picked up hitchhiking (those were the days!) by Ken
Davidson. He spent a few days at Davidson's home in West
Virginia, visiting area musicians. Davidson's Kanawha
operation made a favorable impression, and, upon his return
to Boston, Irwin commented to Nowlin that they, too, should
start a record label. In 1969, in the company of the third
Rounder, then Marian Leighton, Ken again visited Ken
Davidson, now relocated to Florida. Davidson played the tape
of George Pegram heard here, and mentioned that he wasn't
going to put it out. Since Irwin and Leighton were familiar
with Pegram from his earlier lp with Parham and his star
status at Union Grove, they jumped at the chance to acquire
the tapes for their new record label (for $125!). Fred
Cockerham (11/3/1905-7/8/1980), at the time living in Low
Gap, North Carolina, is the best known of the musicians
accompanying George Pegram on this disc. A fiddler and
banjoist famous through his association with Tommy Jarrell
and Kyle Creed, Fred can be heard on many County releases.
Jack Bryant, nineteen years old when these recordings were
made, was an auto body repairman from Galax, Virginia. Clyde
Isaacs, a musical compatriot of Fred Cockerham in the
Virginia-Carolina Ramblers, and a retired painter from
Galax, was sixty-seven years old on the occasion of these
sessions. Around the fall of 1969, the Pegrams relocated to
Cedar Grove Township outside of Asheboro, North Carolina.
The move took George closer to his friend and patron Wade
Walker, and to a job with the State Dept of Transportation,
overseeing gravel spreading crews for Randolph County. About
this time, George Pegram reunited with Red Parham, and the
duo played the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, Berea
College and the Union Grove Fiddlers' Convention. One of
George's last appearances was with Parham at the Asheville
Folk Festival, in August of 1974. A late 1973/early 1974
show by Pegram at Gardner-Webb College is described by Mark
Walker: "He played before the Mission Mountain Wood Band.
But George just put on a real good show and I remember after
the show there, he went down one side of the bleachers there
and I believe he kissed or hugged every girl on that one
side down there. And the crowd really did like him." "But
just, you know, sitting in the living room playing, I mean,
he was a different person, almost, the way he'd play. But he
would put on the dog in front of a crowd, especially if they
got to hollerin' some for him and all. That just egged him
on then." George Pegram died September 12, 1974, of bone
cancer. He is buried at the Back Creek Church in Randolph
County. "Wade" relates his son Mark, "went to a lot of
people that we would invite when was at our place a playin',
and so many enjoyed hearing him play and went to all these
people and asked them if they would give a little donation
toward buying George's stone and some of Wade's family, they
all give a donation and pretty soon, why, they had enough to
buy it." "He was just, you know, one of the best
entertainers, I guess. About anywhere he would go, he would
just make a crowd go wild."
Source:
Excerpts from liner notes by Bob Carlin, Lexington,
NC, 9/15/94
With permission of the author
and Rounder Records; From the CD notes to Rounder 001. |
