Ambrose Gaines "Uncle Am" Stuart (1853–1926) was an American Old-time fiddle player. After winning various fiddle contests across the Southern

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

n region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Stuart made several recordings in June 1924 that would later prove influential in the development of early

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

.Uncle Am Records
Uncle Am Stuart – Biography
2005. Retrieved: 1 August 2009. Stuart was born near

Morristown, Tennessee Morristown is a city in and the county seat of Hamblen County, Tennessee, United States. Morristown also extends into Jefferson County on the western and southern ends. The city lies within the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, Ridge and Valley regi ...

in 1853. He learned to play fiddle at a young age, picking up a number of tunes from

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

soldiers who passed through the area in the 1860s, and learning techniques while wandering through post-Civil War

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

camps. His later style represented a fusion of Civil War tunes and

Appalachian folk music Appalachian music is the music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. Traditional Appalachian music is derived from various influences, including the ballads, hymns and fiddle music of the British Isles (particularly Scotland), ...

. By the time he had gained regional fame as a fiddle player in the early 1900s, Stuart was working as a safe and vault salesman. Noting the success of the

Okeh OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

recordings of

Fiddlin' John Carson "Fiddlin'" John Carson (March 23, 1868 – December 11, 1949) was an American musician and singer who is widely considered to be one of the early pioneers of country music. Early life Carson was born near McCaysville in Fannin County, Georgia. ...

in 1923,

Vocalion Records Vocalion Records is an American record label, originally founded by the Aeolian Company, a piano and organ manufacturer before being bought out by Brunswick in 1924. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pi ...

sought to recruit its own Southern mountain musicians, and the following year invited several Southern Appalachian musicians to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

to record, among them Uncle Am Stuart. The 14 sides Stuart recorded included the first known recordings of the Appalachian folk songs

Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a Mountain pass, pass in the Eastern United States, eastern United States through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains and near the tripoint of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. At&n ...

Robert Waltz and David Engle
Cumberland Gap
. ''The Ballad Index''. Retrieved: 8 June 2009. and "Forked Deer," early renditions of the oft-played fiddle tunes "Grey Eagle" and "Old Granny Rattletrap," and early renderings of later bluegrass staples "Sallie Gooden" and "Old Liza Jane." In 1925, Stuart attended the Fiddlers' Convention in

Mountain City, Tennessee Mountain City is a town in and the county seat of Johnson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,415 at the 2020 census. It is the northeasternmost county seat in Tennessee. In addition, at an elevation of , it has the distinctio ...

, where he competed in a now-legendary fiddle contest against rival fiddlers such as

Charlie Bowman Charles Thomas Bowman (July 30, 1889 – May 20, 1962) was an American old-time fiddle player and string band leader. He was a major influence on the distinctive fiddle sound that helped shape and develop early Country music in the 1920s and 193 ...

, G. B. Grayson, Dudley Vance, and

. Accounts vary as to the contest's results, although at least one account placed Stuart in third place.Mark Freed,
The Johnson County Fiddlers' Convention at Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee
." ''The Old-Time Herald'', Vol. 10, no. 10 (c. 2006). Retrieved: 9 June 2009.Bob Cox and James Bowman,

. Retrieved: 11 December 2008. In the early 1930s, Stuart's Vocalion recordings were among those a young

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...

sought to emulate while learning to play the fiddle.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, Uncle Am 19th-century American fiddlers 20th-century American fiddlers Musicians from Tennessee Southern old-time fiddlers People from Morristown, Tennessee Vocalion Records artists 1853 births 1926 deaths Appalachian old-time fiddlers