"Brightest and Best", is a Christian hymn written in 1811 by the Anglican bishop Reginald Heber to be sung at the feast of Epiphany, which American folk music singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player, from Kentucky, often sang it?
4c6e51a9d8a966dd7432a0eaf63bda20
Brightest and Best "Brightest and Best" (occasionally rendered by its first line, "Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning") is a Christian hymn written in 1811 by the Anglican bishop Reginald Heber to be sung at the feast of Epiphany. It appeared in Heber's widow's compilation of hymns entitled "Hymns Written and Adapted to the Weekly Service of the Church Year" in 1827. It can be sung to a number of tunes, including "Morning Star" by James P. Harding, "Epiphany" by Joseph Thrupp, and "Star in the East" by William Walker. It appears in "The Lutheran Hymnal", and appeared in the 1966 Methodist hymnal. It has been recorded by a number of artists, including Glen Campbell, Joanne Hogg and Kathy Mattea (on her album "Good News"). The Kentucky traditional singer Jean Ritchie often sang this and told of her childhood memory of her grandmother sitting by the fire and singing it quietly to herself on Twelfth Night; the Library of Congress collected it from her in 1951.
61524baae2c20a9897e4006626d970b9
Jean Ritchie Jean Ritchie (December 8, 1922 – June 1, 2015) was an American folk music singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player. Her career formed a kind of bridge between the traditional and modern forms of folk music: in her youth she learned folksongs in the traditional way (orally, from her family and members of her community); and in adulthood she became a successful modern folksinger, promulgating songs in public through concerts and recordings. She was called by some the "Mother of Folk".
bf4b8cb0929394947d02e6c4cbec6026
Jessie Mae Hemphill Jessie Mae Hemphill (October 18, 1923 – July 22, 2006) was an American electric guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist specializing in the North Mississippi hill country blues traditions of her family and regional heritage.
32873478a949a8660e0e4fcc08095430
Cleland Boyd McAfee Cleland Boyd McAfee (September 25, 1866 – February 4, 1944) was an American theologian, Presbyterian minister and hymn writer, best known for penning the gospel hymn, "Near to the Heart of God," and its tune called "McAfee". He wrote the song after the concurrent deaths of two of his young nieces, caused by diphtheria. He also is believed to be the creator of the acronym TULIP, which represents the Five Points of Calvinism.
e00cffa390fdac22e1f5c589ff06af34
Jingle Bells "Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857. It has been claimed that it was originally written to be sung by a Sunday school choir; however, historians dispute this, stating that it was much too "racy" (and secular) to be sung by a children's church choir in the days it was written.
c389b56b7792b8dfe4ebde80bab4903c
Cumberland Gap (folk song) "Cumberland Gap" is an Appalachian folk song that likely dates to the latter half of the 19th century and was first recorded in 1924. The song is typically played on banjo or fiddle, and well-known versions of the song include instrumental versions as well as versions with lyrics. A version of the song appeared in the 1934 book, "American Ballads and Folk Songs", by folk song collector John Lomax. Woody Guthrie recorded a version of the song at his Folkways sessions in the mid-1940s, and the song saw a resurgence in popularity with the rise of bluegrass and the American folk music revival in the 1950s. In 1957, the British musician Lonnie Donegan had a No. 1 UK hit with a skiffle version of "Cumberland Gap".
c14bbcb5e656559f2b97555b2d8c6a8f
Bascom Lamar Lunsford Bascom Lamar Lunsford (March 21, 1882 – September 4, 1973) was a lawyer, folklorist, and performer of traditional (folk and country) music from western North Carolina. He was often known by the nickname "Minstrel of the Appalachians."
c268b2696301e5a0f845c2b81a0a4919
Garfield Thomas Haywood Garfield Thomas Haywood (July 15, 1880 – April 12, 1931) was an African-American pastor and song writer who served as Presiding Bishop of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World from 1925 to 1931.
ba22b0aa90f44354cc663f9f5e403e6b
Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson's flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music were highly regarded. He performed with his son, guitarist Merle Watson, for over 15 years until Merle's death in 1985 in an accident on the family farm.
662448b0d66769443d2536ec27537225
In the Pines "In the Pines", also known as "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" and "Black Girl", is a traditional American folk song originating from two songs, "In the Pines" and "The Longest Train", both of which whose authorship is unknown and date back to at least the 1870s. (Some contend an older, Irish history) The songs originated in the Southern Appalachian area of the United States in the contiguous areas of Eastern Tennessee and Kentucky, Western North Carolina and Northern Georgia.
f645c298833f8776ac012c0679e096bd
G. B. Grayson Gilliam Banmon Grayson (November 11, 1887 – August 16, 1930) was an American Old-time fiddle player and singer. Mostly blind from infancy, Grayson is chiefly remembered for a series of sides recorded with guitarist Henry Whitter between 1927 and 1930 that would later influence numerous country, bluegrass, and rock musicians. Grayson wrote much of his own material, but was also instrumental in adapting several traditional Appalachian ballads to fiddle and guitar formats. His music has been recorded or performed by musicians such as Bob Dylan, Doc Watson, Mick Jagger, the Kingston Trio, and dozens of bluegrass artists, including the Stanley Brothers and Mac Wiseman.
3087944c87effe091c6ed56b02da62ba
Dudley Connell Dudley Connell is an American singer in the bluegrass tradition. He is best known for his work with the Johnson Mountain Boys, Longview, and The Seldom Scene.
111307d89748cbce466888b33c995030
Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (November 2, 1734 [O.S. October 22] September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer, explorer, woodsman, and frontiersman, whose frontier exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now Kentucky, which was then part of Virginia but on the other side of the mountains from the settled areas. As a young adult, Boone supplemented his farm income by hunting and trapping game, and selling their pelts in the fur market. Through this occupational interest, Boone first learned the easy routes to the area. Despite some resistance from American Indian tribes such as the Shawnee, in 1775, Boone blazed his Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap in the Appalachian Mountains from North Carolina and Tennessee into Kentucky. There, he founded the village of Boonesborough, Kentucky, one of the first American settlements west of the Appalachians. Before the end of the 18th century, more than 200,000 Americans migrated to Kentucky/Virginia by following the route marked by Boone.
0fa95d3a80259dd2ae7c002ccfa06653
Emry Arthur Emry Paul Arthur (September 17, 1902 – August 22, 1967) was an American Old-time musician. Arthur played an early version of the song Man of Constant Sorrow in 1928.
e7ee29daf0865bfd1a9c856cf7933933
Alex Beaton Alex Beaton is a Scottish, guitar-playing folksinger who makes more than 35 concert appearances annually at various events across the United States (primarily highland games). Beaton appears annually at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in North Carolina, and the Stone Mountain Highland Games in Atlanta, Georgia, two of the largest highland games events in the United States. Beaton has been called "probably the country's most popular Scottish folk singer." He has a baritone voice.
8f1c0d83cd0d7485de3c3ac3215cea4a
Man of Constant Sorrow "Man of Constant Sorrow" (also known as "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow") is a traditional American folk song first published by Dick Burnett, a partially blind fiddler from Kentucky. The song was originally titled "Farewell Song" in a songbook by Burnett dated to around 1913. An early version was recorded by Emry Arthur in 1928, which gave the song its current titles.
9b42db45e57222cfbdcea3c3f499415f
Ron Kenoly Ron Kenoly (born December 6, 1944) is an American Christian worship leader, singer, and songwriter whose expressed mission is "to create an environment for the manifest presence of God". His musical style is one of jubilant praise and individual excellence on musical instruments. Although Kenoly himself only plays on one of his recordings, he leads comfortably with his voice and is always backed up by musicians and a large choir.
43144e10e60cc504fee4ca4e66eb87d6
Richard Hillert Richard Hillert was a noted Lutheran composer. He was Distinguished Professor of Music Emeritus at Concordia University Chicago, River Forest, Ill. He was best known for his work as a composer and teacher of composition. Among his most frequently performed liturgical works for congregation is "Worthy Is Christ", with its antiphon, “This is the Feast of Victory” which was written as an alternate Song of Praise for inclusion in "Setting One of the Holy Communion" in "Lutheran Book of Worship" (1978) and "Lutheran Worship" (1982). "This is the Feast" is now widely published in more than 20 recent worship books of many denominations, most recently in "Lutheran Service Book" (2006) and "Evangelical Lutheran Worship" (2006). Other major liturgical works include a setting of "Evening Prayer" (1984) and a "Eucharistic Festival Liturgy" (1983), which was first performed at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. He wrote liturgical pieces and hymns and served as music editor for "Worship Supplement" (1969) and "Lutheran Book of Worship" (1978). His compositions and publications include an array of pieces of liturgical music for congregation, choral motets, hymns and hymn anthems, psalm settings and organ works, concertatos, and cantatas, including settings of "The Christmas Story According to Saint Luke" and "The Passion According to Saint John". He edited eleven volumes of the "Concordia Hymn Prelude Series."
a6373b60098fadc3784e68c5c68ba479
Annie Hawks Annie Sherwood Hawks (May 28, 1836 - January 3, 1918) was an American poet and hymnist who wrote a number of hymns with her pastor, Robert Lowry. She contributed to several popular Sunday School hymnbooks, and wrote the lyrics to a number of well-known hymns including: "I Need Thee Every Hour"; "Thine, Most Gracious Lord"; "Why Weepest Thou? Who Seekest Thou?"; "Full and Free Salvation" and "My Soul Is Anchored".
5830e851f74dcbf9ba59e28708caca8b
Tim O'Brien (musician) Tim O'Brien (born March 16, 1954 in Wheeling, West Virginia) is an American country and bluegrass musician. In addition to singing, he plays guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, bouzouki and mandocello. He has released more than ten studio albums, in addition to charting a duet with Kathy Mattea entitled "The Battle Hymn of Love", a No. 9 hit on the "Billboard" Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts in 1990. In November 2013 he was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.
b76b7c3ce14c57a700ff1520a5691509
Old Joe Clark Old Joe Clark is a US folk song, a mountain ballad that was "sung during World War I and later by soldiers from eastern Kentucky." Its lyrics refer to a real person named Joseph Clark, a Kentucky mountaineer who was born in 1839 and murdered in 1885. The "playful and sometimes outlandish verses" have led to the conjecture that it first spread as a children's song and via play parties. There are about 90 stanzas in various versions of the song. The tune is in the Mixolydian mode.
ff045e0daebf075341d260e2f8d7674c
Stephen Bishop (singer) Earl Stephen Bishop (born November 14, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and guitarist. His biggest hits include "On and On", "It Might Be You" and "Save It for a Rainy Day". He has appeared in and contributed musically to many motion pictures including "National Lampoon's Animal House".