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Artist
Dellie Norton
12+ albums
folkUSAamerican folkAllhollers
about
Dellie Norton sang the old, unaccompanied ballads and love songs passed down from her family and other members of her Blue Ridge Mountain community; in her own 91 years, she helped spread the songs to younger generations and gained national recognition as a ballad singer. Her singing style featured elaborate and spontaneous ornamentation, highlighted by vocal hiccups and elongated notes; her repertoire consisted largely of English and Scottish ballads like "The House Carpenter" and "The Silk Merchant's Daughter." Though she is best remembered for her singing, her long life embraced many aspects of traditional mountain living, making her a favorite among folklorists. Not only a singer, she was a banjo player, a quilter, a weaver, and an herbal healer. Norton was born in North Carolina's Madison County, an area well-known for its vocal and instrumental heritage. Her own extended family included the Wallins (Berzilla, Doug, and Jack), the Chandlers (Lloyd and Dillard), and fiddler Byard Ray, all of whom were acclaimed performers of traditional music. In 1917 and 1919, British folklorist Cecil Sharp combed the region for its retention of ancient ballads and published the results in his English Folksongs of the Southern Appalachians; in an often-quoted passage, he proclaimed singing as universal as speaking in Madison County. A young woman, Dellie Norton offered to sing for Sharp, but he was more interested in the elders of the community. In the years to come, however, Norton wou
top songs
1
The Silk Merchant's Daughter
6642Young Emily
6513Early, Early in the Spring
4004When I Wore My Apron Low
2295Pretty Fair Miss In Her Garden
1486When I Wore My Apron Low [a fragment of "Love Has Brought Me to Dispair"]
477Young Emily [aka "Young Edmond in the Lowland Low" and "The Driver Boy"]
468Pretty Fair Miss In Her Garden [aka "The Broken Token"]
459Little Honey
1010Little Sparrow
7albums
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Dark Holler: Old Love Songs And Ballads
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Back Roads to Cold Mountain
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High Atmosphere: Ballads And Banjo Tunes From Virginia And North Carolina
High Atmosphere
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50 Years: Where Do You Come From? Where Do You Go?
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Dark Holler: Old Love Songs An
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High Atmosphere: Ballads & Banjo Tunes From Virginia & North Carolina
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High Atmosphere: Ballads and Banjo Tunes from Virginia and North Carolina, Collected by John Cohen in November of 1965
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Sodom Laurel Album: Appalachian Ballads From Madison County, North Carolina
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High Atmosphere (collected by John Cohen in 1965)
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High Atmosphere-Ballads And Banjo Tunes From Virginia And North Carolina
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Dark Holler - Old Love Songs and Ballads