Charlie Higgins (February 26, 1878 - November 25, 1967) was an American
old time fiddle player from
Galax, Virginia
Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,720.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Galax with neighboring Carroll County for statistic ...
. Higgins said that he was influenced by other old-time fiddlers including Emmett Lundy and
Fiddlin' Arthur Smith
Fiddlin' Arthur Smith (April 10, 1898 – February 28, 1971) was an American old time fiddler and a major influence on the old time and bluegrass music genres.
Biography
Smith was born and raised on a farm near Bold Springs, Tennessee, U ...
. His style of playing was said to be very innovative and creative. Higgins played regularly with
Wade Ward
Wade Ward (1892–1971) was an American old-time music banjo player and fiddler from Independence, Virginia. He was widely known playing the clawhammer banjo and frequently won the Galax, Virginia Old Time Fiddler's Convention. His instrument ...
, Dale Poe and other old-time musicians in the Galax area. Recordings of Charlie Higgins are few, and limited to field recordings made between 1959 and 1961 by folklorists
Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a musician himself, as well as a folklorist, archivist, writer, s ...
, Peter Hoover and
John Cohen. At the time of these recordings Higgins was over eighty years of age, and apparently was not recorded during his prime. However, he was still good enough at age 82 to win first place at the 1960 Galax Old Fiddler's Convention. Higgins died in 1967 and is buried with his wife Mallie at the Coal Creek Community Church in Galax, Virginia.
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Discography
See also
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Old-time music
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combinati ...
References
External links
Audio sample of "Blackberry Blossom" (1961)MP3 Audio sample of "Charlie's Breakdown" (1959)
American fiddlers
People from Galax, Virginia
1878 births
1967 deaths
Musicians from Virginia
Old-time fiddlers
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