Up on Leland's Porch, by Leland Hall

Up on Leland's Porch

by Leland Hall

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	1.	Fire on the Mountain 04:12
	2.	Cripple Creek 03:09
	3.	Icy Mountain 00:48
	4.	Blue Eyed Gal 03:18
	5.	Casey Jones 00:47
	6.	Gray Eagle 04:06
	7.	Rickett's Hornpipe 00:51
	8.	Sally Goodin 02:43
	9.	Roundtown Gals 01:40
	10.	Sourwood Mountain 02:35
	11.	Turkey in the Straw 01:09
	12.	Jimmy Johnson 04:42

about

It was a hot August day in 1998 when Scott and I drove from his folks’ house in Elkins down to Gassaway to visit Leland Hall. Leland was an 83-year-old fiddler known for his idiosyncratic style. He and his wife had a small house up on a hill overlooking the Elk River, the perfect place for an afternoon of old time music on the front porch.

Leland Hall was born in Braxton County, West Virginia in 1915. He spent his life doing carpentry and working in the mills. Fiddlers Ward Jarvis and Scott Bailey were his main influences when starting out. Mike Seeger declared Leland the crookedest fiddler alive.

Although the cicadas were deafening and the humidity suffocating, a great time was had trying to follow Leland's unusual timing and unique interpretations of classic tunes. Leland was full of surprises. When asked where he learned his distinctive version of Fire on the Mountain, Leland replied, "That feller on the radio, what's his name, Clayton McMichen?"

Leland loved to tinker with old fiddles, making unorthodox adjustments to get a sound he liked. He was also dead set on trading one of his old cheap fiddles for one of ours but we managed to stave him off. Leland seemed very pleased to have some young folks interested in his music. We had the impression that he didn’t get to play with others very much, at least nobody sympathetic to his style. He invited us to come back again which we did the following week.

Recently I mentioned to Scott that I still listen to the cassette recording we made that day and when he replied that he did too we decided it'd be fun to share with other West Virginia fiddle aficionados.

Leland passed away on September 30, 2002.

- David Murray, 2023

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO THE AUGUSTA HERITAGE CENTER, WEST VIRGINIA

credits

released September 4, 2023

Leland Hall - fiddle
Scott Prouty - guitar
David Murray -banjo

Photo by Scott Prouty
Recorded on cassette in Gassaway, West Virginia in August of 1998.

Fuzzy Mind Records (FM012)

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