Joseph Able Trivett, Butler, Tennessee

Recorded at the age of 80 in 1962, Joseph Able Trivett was a farmer and laborer from the mountain town of Butler, Tennessee. On this recording, made by Sandy Paton as the second release from Folk-Legacy Records, Trivett sings unaccompanied ballads. The selections here are both familiar and rare, including Child ballads and tales of the 1849 Gold Rush, and even songs originally penned by Trivett himself. Having learned many of these songs during his youth in the last years of the 19th century, Trivett sings them straightforwardly and with confidence, reflecting a lifetime of singing within his community. In this field recording conducted in Trivett’s home, one can hear his ticking clocks and clucking chickens, offering an engrossing and transportive experience of rural Appalachia as it was in the early 1960s.

Track Listing

101	The Nowhere Road	Joseph Able Trivett	02:25
102	Lord Thomas And Fair Ellender (Child 73)	Joseph Able Trivett	05:25
103	Joe Bowers	Joseph Able Trivett	01:47
104	The Golden Willow Tree (Child 286)	Joseph Able Trivett	03:02
105	Go Away From Me, Young Man	Joseph Able Trivett	02:53
106	The Car That Died (Spoken Word)	Joseph Able Trivett	02:29
107	Mother In Law	Joseph Able Trivett	01:54
108	Fair And Tender Ladies	Joseph Able Trivett	02:04
109	The Rolling Store	Joseph Able Trivett	02:49
110	The Little Mohee	Joseph Able Trivett	02:53
111	Frank James	Joseph Able Trivett	03:40
112	The Courting Case	Joseph Able Trivett	02:30
113	Mathy Grove (Child 81)	Joseph Able Trivett	05:33
114	Black Jack David (Child 200)	Joseph Able Trivett	02:14
115	That Bloody War	Joseph Able Trivett	01:43