Archives Collection

---

ROGER HOWELL MEMORY COLLECTION 07-014

Copies of sound recordings and papers

Physical Description:

.2 linear feet manuscripts (photocopies)

14 CDs (1 commercial ; 13 copies of CD-Rs)

Dates:

2003-2007

RESTRICTIONS:

These recordings only for research purposes. Research copies can be made at discretion of archivist or director.

Provenance:

These materials were donated to the Center by the Ramsey Center for Regional Studies in Mars Hill, North Carolina on December 4, 2007. Originals reside at Mars Hill College.

Agency History/biographical sketch:

Roger Howell was born in Mars Hill, North Carolina in 1949. At the age of six he moved with his family to Banjo Branch on Bailey Mountain. He began playing guitar at age ten, and later banjo and fiddle. His musical interests are regional and traditional mountain music. Howell won numerous contests in various southern states and has played with many local and regional fiddlers, such as Vernon Riddle and Arvil Freeman. He has played on 26 recordings, as well as producing his own. Howell is also regarded as a historian of fiddle tunes, has documented field recordings of local fiddlers and restores violins.

Scope and Content:

This collection consists of thirteen CD-Rs containing over 350 recorded fiddle tunes by Roger Howell of Madison County, North Carolina. Howell is influenced by traditional fiddling styles from the South as well as other parts of the country. Log sheets of the tunes listed on the CD-Rs are available. Other materials include a biography of Howell, an article written by him in 1997 titled “The Traditions Continue: A History of Music in Madison County, North Carolina.” The commercial CD by Howell from Bearwallow Music is titled Hills & Heroes: A Tribute to My Musical Heroes from Southern Appalachia, and Elsewhere. Liner notes, written by Howell, explain where and from whom he learned tunes, including the keys and tunings and the recording dates. The Roger Howell Memory Collection represents the repertoire of a contemporary Appalachian fiddler from the Madison County, North Carolina region.

Location:

This collection, including the deposited CD-Rs, is located on the mezzanine with other manuscript materials by accession number. The commercial CD is filed with other commercial recordings. All are searchable in InMagic. Research copies of the CDs are located with the other copied materials (CDD-245-A/M).

Related Materials:

The Center has numerous materials, both secondary and primary regarding traditional fiddling. Reading Room materials may be searched in the Voyager catalog. Fiddle tunes may be found in manuscript music, sheet music, sound recordings and rare books. All special collection categories are searchable through the InMagic databases.

Folder/box list:

Box # Folder # Description

Box 1 Folder 1 Papers

Folder 2 Log sheets

Folder 3 CD-Rs of Memory Collection

LPC February 2008