And an interesting little tie in from this morning's Courier-Journal!
- Henry MILES, Jug Band Violinist
- Musician Henry Miles died in Louisville on this day in 1984 at age 78. He was the last member of the Ballard Chefs, one of the most popular jug bands in the history of the genre, which has deep ties to Louisville and the African-American community.
- A native of Nelson County, Miles came to Louisville at age 17 and was playing with the Ballard Chefs by his early 20s. Sponsored by the Ballard Flour Co. from 1929 to 1932 and headed by renowned jug player Earl McDonald, the band toured the South in limousines and played on radio stations and live in front of crowds of thousands.
- Miles played guitar and mandolin, but became a violinist because, as he told The Courier-Journal in 1978, "Violin players were scarce. A lot of musicians are scared of violins. A violin'll tell on you." He started the Henry Miles Jug Band in 1942, which played at the World's Fair in New York in 1965 and at the Smithsonian's Festival of American Folklife in 1974.
I also read in the paper the other day that Florence Henderson is getting inducted into the KY Music Hall of Fame?!?! Yet we have had no luck with our bid to get Earl McDonald inducted. Strange indeed!
