Skip to main content

Uncle Wade: A Memorial to Wade Ward, Old Time Virginia Banjo Picker 1892-1971

Wade Ward
Uncle Wade: A Memorial to Wade Ward, Old Time Virginia Banjo Picker 1892-1971

This selection of recordings features Wade Ward, a banjo and fiddle player from Independence, Virginia whose repertoire remained close to the tunes he learned in his youth. Clips of interviews with the musician and members of his family augment this collection of recordings from the early 1960s, when Ward was in his early 70s.

*Content Advisory: The title of track 201 contains derogatory language. While it is offensive to us, we have chosen for the song titles to remain as published and interpreted in the time period in which they were written. We believe that to do otherwise would be to change a historical document. The “n word” was commonplace for a time in history, especially during the era of Jim Crow. Its circulation and popularization through blackface minstrelsy became associated with the identity of Black people in a white supremacist society.
For our policy on controversial recordings, please see our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Track Listing

icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
101
Conversation with Granny Porter / Cluck Old Hen Granny Porter 01:28
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
102
Western Country / Katy Hill's Reminiscences About Old Time Dances / Old Jimmy Sutton Wade and Fields Ward 07:43
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
103
Black Mountain Rag Wade Ward 02:02
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
104
Polly Put the Kettle on Wade Ward 00:55
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
105
Ida Red Wade Ward 01:21
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
106
John Lover Is Gone Wade Ward 02:25
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
107
Conversation Between Wade Ward and Glen Smith / Arkansas Traveler / Katy Hill's Recollections of the Fiddler's Convention Wade Ward 03:55
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
108
Foxchase Wade Ward 01:21
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
109
Chilly Winds Wade Ward 01:06
201
Half-Shaved Nigger* Wade Ward 01:06  
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
202
Old Reuben Wade Ward 01:12
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
203
June Apple Wade Ward 00:55
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
204
Mississippi Sawyer Wade Ward 01:25
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
205
Katy Hill Describes Wade Learning to Play Music / Billy in the Lowground Wade Ward 03:06
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
206
Nancy Blevins Wade Ward 01:21
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
207
Sourwood Mountain Wade Ward 01:52
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
208
Chicken Reel Wade Ward 01:44
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
209
Ragtime Annie Wade Ward 02:24
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
210
Katy Hill’s Reminiscences about One of Wade’s Escapades / Sally Goodin' Katy Hill 03:28
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
211
Sally Ann Wade Ward 02:00
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
212
Old Joe Clark / Katy Hill's Reminiscences / Peach Bottom Creek Wade Ward 04:39
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
213
Lone Prairie Wade Ward 00:55