Songmaker of the Catskills

Grant lived in Walton, New York, where he used to play fiddle for local square dances and sing his often home-made songs for whatever audience he could find. He worked on construction jobs and as a stone-cutter in Catskill quarries, not the most gentle kind of work for a musician's fingers. His musical influences ranged from swapping songs and tunes with local singers and fiddlers to listening to Bradley Kincaid and Don Messer and his Islanders on the radio. But Grant was also a folksong maker, patterning his original songs after those of his regional tradition. This recording represents what we believe to be part of a "continuing tradition." Good songs, some humorous, old and new.

-Sandy Paton, Folk-Legacy Records