Halloween Countdown, Day 28
Today I have a special treat for you! My wonderful husband, Larry, is a son of the Blue Ridge Mountains, an Appalachian man, and during the Halloween season he swears by the melancholy tales of death, hauntings, and mystery told via bluegrass music (or should I say "boograss" music?). As with all of bluegrass, some of these songs trace their ancestry back to older traditional ballads.
This year, he's shared with me his countdown of the spookiest, eeriest, most atmospheric "boograss" songs. (NOTE: All links go to YouTube videos for your listening/viewing pleasure.)
Larry's "Unlucky Thirteen" Best "Boograss" Songs
1. "Bringing Mary Home"
as performed by The Country Gentlemen or Mac Wiseman
2. "Knoxville Boy"
as performed by Larry Stephenson
3. "Long Black Veil"
as performed by Seldom Scene or Bill Monroe
4. "Eli Renfro" (a.k.a. "The Ghost of Eli Renfro")
as performed by Del McCoury Band or Nashville Bluegrass Band
5. "O Death"
as performed by Ralph Stanley
6. "I’ve Come to Take You Home"
as performed by Seldom Scene
7. "Brown Mountain Light"
as performed by Charlie Moore or Tony Rice or The Country Gentlemen
8. "Ghost of Norma Jean"
as performed by Steep Canyon Rangers
9. "It’s Just the Night"
as performed by Del McCoury Band
10. "Little Margaret"
as performed by The Knitters or Sheila Kay Adams
11. "He Had a Long Chain On"
as performed by Tim O'Brien or The Knitters or Jimmy Driftwood
12. "The Ballad of Sarah Malone"
as performed by David Davis and the Warrior River Boys
13. "Caleb Meyer"
as performed by The Greencards or Gillian Welch
Honorable Mentions
* "The Ballad of Maudie Dawson"
as performed by Longview
* "Between Midnight and the Dawn"
as performed by Steep Canyon Rangers
* "The Biggest Whatever (that Anybody Ever Saw)"
as performed by The Dillards
* "Blackadder's Cove"
as performed by NewFound Road
* "Blackbirds and the Crows"
as performed by Nashville Bluegrass Band and Don Humphries
* "Blackjack County Chain"
as performed by Del McCoury Band and The Rank Strangers
* "Blackbeard"
as performed by Donna Hughes Band
* "Bluestone Mountain"
as performed by Don Rigsby or Bluestone County Bluegrass Band
* "Black Cat"
as performed by Mitch Harrell
* "Burying Ground"
as performed by Kathy Kallick
* "Clinch Mountain Mystery"
as performed by Larry Stephenson
* "Dark Shadows of the Night"
as performed by Nashville Bluegrass Band
* "Dead March"
as performed by Bill Monroe
* "Deal with the Devil"
as performed by Peter Rowan
* "Death Came Creeping in My Room"
as performed by The VW Boys
* "Devil's Den"
as performed by Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain
* "Devil's Road"
as performed by Grasstowne
* "Down in the Willow Garden"
as performed by The Osborn Brothers or Charlie Monroe or Tim O’Brien
* "Footsteps So Near"
as performed by Hot Rize
* "Friend of the Devil"
as performed by Knoxville Grass
* "Ghost"
as performed by South Austin Jug Band
* "Ghost Bound Train"
as performed by Dale Ann Bradley
* "Ghost Riders"
as performed by Heights of Grass or Alan Munde and Sam Bush
* "The Ghost Train" (instrumental)
as performed by James Alan Shelton
* "Ghosts of Mississippi"
as performed by The SteelDrivers
* "Gravestone"
as performed by New Vintage
* "Graveyard Blues"
as performed by Roscoe Holcomb
* "He's All Around Us"
as performed by Blue Moon Rising
* "Hillbillies in a Haunted House"
as performed by Austin Lounge Lizards
* "In the Pines"
as performed by Bill Monroe
* "Knoxville Girl"
as performed by Louvin Brothers, Jim and Jessie, or The Osborn Brothers
* "Luckett’s Ghost"
as performed by Dean Sapp
* "Oh, the Wind and Rain"
as performed by Jody Stecher or Gillian Welch
* "Old Tom’s Restless Bones"
as performed by Sally Love and Gary Ferguson
* "Polly Vaughn"
as performed by The Dillards
* "Pretty Polly"
as performed by Ralph Stanley and Friends or The Dillards
* "Pumpkin Patch"
as performed by Foggy Hogtown Boys
* "Sad Wind Sighs"
as performed by The Grascals
* "Sasquatch"
as performed by California Traveler
* "Silent Ground"
as performed by Front Range
* "Simon Crutchfield's Grave"
as performed by The Rarely Herd or The McPeak Brothers or Carolina Blue
* "Simpson’s Holler"
as performed by Valerie Smith
* "Spooky Lane"
as performed by Sam Bush
* "The Devil’s Tramping Ground"
as performed by Russell Johnson
* "The Ghosts of the Ridge"
as performed by Jim Lauderdale
* "The Ghost of Jack McCline"
as performed Randy Kohrs
* "The Lantern"
as performed by Front Range or Baucom, Bibey, Graham and Haley
* "The Unquiet Grave"
as performed by Kay Justice and Ginny Hawker
* "Widow Janie"
as performed by The Fox Family or The Hazel River Band
* "Witches of Harlan"
as performed by Breaking Glass
Well, many say they've seen him,
His hands all red with blood.
But he gets off: his daddy's rich
And his grandpa is the judge.
Townfolk up and lynched him,
But 'til this very day,
Although they hung the Knoxville boy,
He won't stay in his grave.
When the fog rolls into Knoxville
And the river is on the rise,
Don't go near the Knoxville boy --
There's murder in his eyes.
- "Knoxville Boy," Larry Stephenson
This year, he's shared with me his countdown of the spookiest, eeriest, most atmospheric "boograss" songs. (NOTE: All links go to YouTube videos for your listening/viewing pleasure.)
Larry's "Unlucky Thirteen" Best "Boograss" Songs
1. "Bringing Mary Home"
as performed by The Country Gentlemen or Mac Wiseman
2. "Knoxville Boy"
as performed by Larry Stephenson
3. "Long Black Veil"
as performed by Seldom Scene or Bill Monroe
4. "Eli Renfro" (a.k.a. "The Ghost of Eli Renfro")
as performed by Del McCoury Band or Nashville Bluegrass Band
5. "O Death"
as performed by Ralph Stanley
6. "I’ve Come to Take You Home"
as performed by Seldom Scene
7. "Brown Mountain Light"
as performed by Charlie Moore or Tony Rice or The Country Gentlemen
8. "Ghost of Norma Jean"
as performed by Steep Canyon Rangers
9. "It’s Just the Night"
as performed by Del McCoury Band
10. "Little Margaret"
as performed by The Knitters or Sheila Kay Adams
11. "He Had a Long Chain On"
as performed by Tim O'Brien or The Knitters or Jimmy Driftwood
12. "The Ballad of Sarah Malone"
as performed by David Davis and the Warrior River Boys
13. "Caleb Meyer"
as performed by The Greencards or Gillian Welch
Honorable Mentions
* "The Ballad of Maudie Dawson"
as performed by Longview
* "Between Midnight and the Dawn"
as performed by Steep Canyon Rangers
* "The Biggest Whatever (that Anybody Ever Saw)"
as performed by The Dillards
* "Blackadder's Cove"
as performed by NewFound Road
* "Blackbirds and the Crows"
as performed by Nashville Bluegrass Band and Don Humphries
* "Blackjack County Chain"
as performed by Del McCoury Band and The Rank Strangers
* "Blackbeard"
as performed by Donna Hughes Band
* "Bluestone Mountain"
as performed by Don Rigsby or Bluestone County Bluegrass Band
* "Black Cat"
as performed by Mitch Harrell
* "Burying Ground"
as performed by Kathy Kallick
* "Clinch Mountain Mystery"
as performed by Larry Stephenson
* "Dark Shadows of the Night"
as performed by Nashville Bluegrass Band
* "Dead March"
as performed by Bill Monroe
* "Deal with the Devil"
as performed by Peter Rowan
* "Death Came Creeping in My Room"
as performed by The VW Boys
* "Devil's Den"
as performed by Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain
* "Devil's Road"
as performed by Grasstowne
* "Down in the Willow Garden"
as performed by The Osborn Brothers or Charlie Monroe or Tim O’Brien
* "Footsteps So Near"
as performed by Hot Rize
* "Friend of the Devil"
as performed by Knoxville Grass
* "Ghost"
as performed by South Austin Jug Band
* "Ghost Bound Train"
as performed by Dale Ann Bradley
* "Ghost Riders"
as performed by Heights of Grass or Alan Munde and Sam Bush
* "The Ghost Train" (instrumental)
as performed by James Alan Shelton
* "Ghosts of Mississippi"
as performed by The SteelDrivers
* "Gravestone"
as performed by New Vintage
* "Graveyard Blues"
as performed by Roscoe Holcomb
* "He's All Around Us"
as performed by Blue Moon Rising
* "Hillbillies in a Haunted House"
as performed by Austin Lounge Lizards
* "In the Pines"
as performed by Bill Monroe
* "Knoxville Girl"
as performed by Louvin Brothers, Jim and Jessie, or The Osborn Brothers
* "Luckett’s Ghost"
as performed by Dean Sapp
* "Oh, the Wind and Rain"
as performed by Jody Stecher or Gillian Welch
* "Old Tom’s Restless Bones"
as performed by Sally Love and Gary Ferguson
* "Polly Vaughn"
as performed by The Dillards
* "Pretty Polly"
as performed by Ralph Stanley and Friends or The Dillards
* "Pumpkin Patch"
as performed by Foggy Hogtown Boys
* "Sad Wind Sighs"
as performed by The Grascals
* "Sasquatch"
as performed by California Traveler
* "Silent Ground"
as performed by Front Range
* "Simon Crutchfield's Grave"
as performed by The Rarely Herd or The McPeak Brothers or Carolina Blue
* "Simpson’s Holler"
as performed by Valerie Smith
* "Spooky Lane"
as performed by Sam Bush
* "The Devil’s Tramping Ground"
as performed by Russell Johnson
* "The Ghosts of the Ridge"
as performed by Jim Lauderdale
* "The Ghost of Jack McCline"
as performed Randy Kohrs
* "The Lantern"
as performed by Front Range or Baucom, Bibey, Graham and Haley
* "The Unquiet Grave"
as performed by Kay Justice and Ginny Hawker
* "Widow Janie"
as performed by The Fox Family or The Hazel River Band
* "Witches of Harlan"
as performed by Breaking Glass
Well, many say they've seen him,
His hands all red with blood.
But he gets off: his daddy's rich
And his grandpa is the judge.
Townfolk up and lynched him,
But 'til this very day,
Although they hung the Knoxville boy,
He won't stay in his grave.
When the fog rolls into Knoxville
And the river is on the rise,
Don't go near the Knoxville boy --
There's murder in his eyes.
- "Knoxville Boy," Larry Stephenson