The music of Frank Newsome comes straight out of the heart of Appalachia’s Old Regular Baptist country and traditional a capella gospel singing with no instrumentation (it is in-line with the Old Regular Baptists belief that instrumental accompaniment in Church is sacrilegious because the New Testament does not mention musical instruments). Newsome started out working as a coal miner until the age of 41 when he contracted black lung and a few rock slide injuries left him disabled and unable to work. Too addled to do anything else, Newsome took solace in becoming a preacher. One of 22 children and the son of a miner, Newsome’s life has been one of hardship, and the emotions heard in these songs are authentic, sometimes raw but always stunning. Newsome gave the eulogy at his friend Ralph Stanley’s funeral, and this is where attendee Jim Lauderdale got the idea to record Newsome’s music. So, Lauderdale joined-up with state folklorist/director of the Virginia Folklife Program Jon Lohman and Free Dirt Records to chronicle some of Newsome’s pure and soulful takes on gospel songs and hymns, resulting in performances that seem untouched by time. Recorded live a capella style at the Little David Church in Haysi, VA in 2006, Gone Away with a Friend covers traditional hymns like “The Long Black Train”, “When I Heard”, and “Beulah Land”, and a stunning cover of Vince Gill’s “Go Rest High on that Mountain.” This rare recording holds cultural significance in its preservation of an over one hundred year musical tradition of an Appalachian Baptist sect while making the music more accessible to people. – Written by JFelton
SIMILAR |
The Dixie Hummingbirds, The Holmes Brothers, Ralph Stanley, The War and Treaty