This week, before emancipation, Appalachia provided pathways to freedom for enslaved people trying to escape bondage. A new project identifies more than two dozen previously unknown underground railroad sites. Also, the Fly Around Music & Arts Festival in North Carolina was inspired by the hard work that followed Hurricane Helene. And, a ballad about floods recorded a generation ago still provides solace for people today.
Interview Highlights with West Virginia Music Hall of Famer Melvin Goins
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The 2013 West Virginia Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place November 16 at Charleston’s Culture Center Theater. This 5th class of inductees included The Goins Brothers, Melvin and his late brother Ray. Melvin Goins sat down at the recent Hall of Fame induction ceremony and shared some thoughts…
Melvin Goins has been involved in the music since the mid-1950s when he joined the legendary Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, an outfit that helped launch the careers of other bluegrass notables like Paul Williams, Bobby Osborne, Charlie Cline and Curly Ray Cline. He worked for a time afterwards with The Stanley Brothers, but made his largest mark with his younger brother Ray as The Goins Brothers over 35 years. When a heart attack took Ray off the road in ’94, Melvin continued on as Melvin Goins & Windy Mountain, a show he fronts to this day.
Goins was born in 1933 on Sinai Mountain, close to the coal mining town of Goodwill in Mercer County. The WV Music Hall of Fame makes the third he’s been inducted into. He was recognized by the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame in 2011 for his contributions as a resident of the Commonwealth, and the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2000.
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This week, before emancipation, Appalachia provided pathways to freedom for enslaved people trying to escape bondage. A new project identifies more than two dozen previously unknown underground railroad sites. Also, the Fly Around Music & Arts Festival in North Carolina was inspired by the hard work that followed Hurricane Helene. And, a ballad about floods recorded a generation ago still provides solace for people today.
On this West Virginia Morning, not much has been known about Appalachia’s contributions to the Underground Railroad, but a Marshall University historian is documenting that history.
Many West Virginians have trouble with their teeth. In fact, there’s a big gap between the folks who can reliably access an affordable dentist and those who can’t.
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