June Hicks Gentry; A Singer Among Singers

Lexington, KY: The University of Kentucky Press, 1998. First Printing [Stated]. Trade paperback. Good. xiv, 226 pages. Foreword by Cecelia Conway. Illustrations. A Note on the Song Transcriptions (includes music and lyrics). Song Listings in the Sharp and Bronson Collections. Discography of Maud Gentry Long. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Some minor wear and creasing at bottom edge. Inscribed and dated by the author on the title page. Jane Hicks Gentry (December 18, 1863 - May 25, 1925) was an Appalachian folklorist and singer, born in Watauga County, North Carolina. She was known for her riddles and the "Jack, Will and Tom Tales", in addition to the songs she recorded for Cecil Sharp. All were believed to have originated in England, Scotland or Germany, and passed down through Jane's family to her. English musician Cecil Sharp and his assistant Maud Karpeles were invited to Appalachia by American folklorist Olive Dame Campbell in 1916 to collect English folk songs. Gentry gave Sharp 70 songs. Holgar Nygard, Professor at Duke University, believed Scotland was a more likely origin. When Englishman Cecil Sharp traveled through the South gathering material for his famous English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, his most generous informant was Jane Hicks Gentry. But despite her importance in Sharp's collection, Gentry has remained only a name on his pages. Now Betty Smith, herself a folksinger, brings to life this artist and her songs and tales. Jane Hicks Gentry lived her entire life in the remote, mountainous northwest corner of North Carolina and was descended from old Appalachian families in which singing and storytelling were part of everyday life. Gentry took this tradition to heart, and her legacy includes ballads, songs, stories, and riddles. Smith provides a full biography of this vibrant woman and the tradition into which she was born, presenting seventy of Gentry's songs and fifteen of the "Jack" tales she learned from her grandfather.