By Dr. Barry Lee Pearson
“The guitarist came in and taught Daddy the “Carolina Breakdown” and then Daddy taught that to me.”
Etta Baker (1913-2006) was born in Collettesville, North Carolina, but moved to Chase City, Virginia, where she was raised from age three to her teenage years when the family returned to Collettesville. As a child she learned to play guitar and banjo from her father, Boone Reid, a highly accomplished musician. Both her sister Cora Phillips and her mother also played guitar and other instruments. In 1936 she married Lee Baker and worked in a textile mill. In 1956 Paul Clayton recorded her for Tradition label. She also recorded for Rounder and Folkways, toured on the folk and blues festival circuit. Considered an outstanding Piedmont style guitarist, she was named a National Heritage Fellow in 1991.
Recorded at the Bluebird Blues Festival in Largo, Maryland, September 19, 1993.
“Well, I lacked two months of being three years old and my mother and father never did have to say: “Etta, it’s time to get up.”
I was awakened with my daddy on the banjo or either the guitar. So that’s all it took to get me out of bed. And I would get up at four o’clock, four-thirty, and sit and listen to my dad. And I was such a nuisance to him until he would take time to show me the different chords on the guitar. I would follow him around and I’d stand up between his knees and come up between him and guitar and watch over the top. And before I was large enough to hold the guitar, I could make the basic chords. But I couldn’t hold the guitar, so he’d sit me up in the bed, lay it across and I could note the three basic chords from the top. And he knew I was in the right place but I wasn’t getting very much sound to it. But he was real patient-able. When I got large enough, then he bought me a little small Stella guitar. And so I had one in the home ever since. But that’s all the lessons that I ever had about music was from my father.
My mother played harmonica. She also played Jew’s harp and guitar, but her favorite was the harmonica. I think more women played when I was growing up. My aunt played guitar and banjo. But when the family played together, mother had the harmonica, daddy had banjo, I had the violin, and sister Cora (Phillips) had the guitar. This was in Chase City, Virginia. My dad had a friend that left Carolina and went to Virginia and when we first arrived in Virginia this band came down to serenade and make us welcome to Virginia and they was playing. And the guitarist came in and taught daddy the “Carolina Breakdown” and then daddy taught that to me. So after we moved to Chase City, Virginia, that’s where I learned “Carolina Breakdown.” That was my first blues.
Well, we played for entertainment. There wasn’t any clubs and I never did hear the name juke joint back when I was growing up. It was all “entertainments” and a few home parties with dances. It was always in the fall of the year in harvesting time, everybody would sit a corn shucking and they had big dinners, good home cooked food, and then after the dinner at night after all the shucking was over, then they had this big dinner, then after that was over, everybody played music and danced until daylight. So it had really been a happy life with me as far back as I can remember.
They done buck dancing and what they call the sixteen hands up which is a reel. And each one would come up with different steps. But nobody then knew anything about this late dancing, clogging and things like that.
Daddy Edwards always called the figures and he would say “Seven hands up circle to the right, drag your partner with great delight” – and then from there everybody starts. I never did care for dancing. In fact, I never did have very much of a chance to dance because I was furnishing the music for someone else to dance. And I have played for my daddy and I know he has danced three and four hours at a time. He was just that smooth with his dancing. He didn’t tire out.
Back then the rooms was large, great big rooms and they didn’t have too much moving around to do because they already had lots and lots of space and it was really great. Of course the supper was cooking while they was shuckin the corn and then they would get a gallon jar of good apple brandy or corn whiskey and set it in the middle of the corn pile where they’d just sit in the middle and whoever got through shuckin corn would get the first drink.
They had parties for quilting, making apple butter – they called that apple butter making days. They would have set times for that. That was about the most that they would do, you know, to have a gathering, and have a party afterwards. Well, the corn shuckings and the bean stringings was the most where they had to get out. Oh, that was just almost every week that’s the way mostly we rested up and had fun.
Some Saturday night we were raising money for our church and so they put on a nice entertainment at the school near the church. And that’s our way that we had raising money to help the church. Well, they, the church, felt like it was one honest way of making money so they had no regrets of the type of music that was being played. And I’ve been asked how I felt about the blues. I said, “Well, it’s a sad blues and a happy blues.” I said, “We find happiness in blues by always singing and playing about people that’s in trouble. Well, you’re happy you’ve never come to that point. And so I find happiness in all blues. It’s never sad to me.”
“One Dime Blues” I learned from a friend of mine who lived in Lenoir. He went away from North Carolina and nobody knew where he was for a long time. And he had gone to West Virginia. He got out there, wanted to come home. He didn’t have any money so he went on the sidewalk and put this “One Dime Blues” together. And he said everybody was coming up all around donating for the song that he had played for them. So he came home and taught me the “One Dime Blues.”
But mostly my father inspired me. I love other players’ music, but I feel that it’s unfair to play and take their style of music. What I do is what I learned from my father. And then I dream a lot of my chords. I played at the World’s Fair. And when I hear music constantly I don’t sleep what you would say real sound. I can hear different chords, and I got up a quarter to three, went out on the porch. Slipped my sister’s guitar out from under her bed and went out there all alone. And I put the chords together. It reminds me of a crossword puzzle. Every little piece that fit, I’d put it in. And I played over this song several times. I went back to bed. I got up the next morning, went over on the stage and I told them I had a brand new song. They says: Play it and we’ll name it. And that was the “Knoxville Rag.” That’s what they named it.
“Railroad Bill” is one of my favorites. I never did sing it. My daddy just was not a singer and I guess I took that back after him. But I’m sure there’s bound to be words to that song, but I just never heard anyone sing it. I try to make myself sing. I really don’t care for it.
I play “John Henry” with slide in what my daddy called “K.C.” and the others just open tuning and Spanish. I love the sound, Spanish Fandango, K.C. That’s all that I heard my daddy call it. That’s what he would play “John Henry” with the slide.
And a few years ago I was in West Virginia and had the chance to go to this tunnel where they said John Henry “laid down his hammer and he died.” And I picked up some spikes out of that tunnel. It was wonderful to have the chance to see that tunnel. It was built in 1872.
(The Heritage Award.)
It brought back memories of what my father had given to me. And I was so surprised when the lady called me and first told me about it. She says: “You are a winner in our participants.” I said, “What?” And she told me again. And I had to wait a few minutes before I could even answer. It was just so wonderful to me. I just couldn’t make no answer at all for a little while. Miss Bess Hawes called me. And from that, oh, I was just so looking forward to the day to go. And when I got there I had met some players from Tennessee, and it was a great pleasure to be there with them.
Everybody everywhere that I have been seem happy with what I say, what little that I do. And that gives me more of a willing feeling for trying harder. So with the actions of the audience, it really makes you feel good. And I told them that I could really play when I get high, but it’s high on my music. And when I feel my music then I’m ready to play.
I still want to continue with my music. I make myself play about an hour and a half every day. In which I make a lot of mistakes and when I do I go all the way back to the end and feel like that I’ve smoothed that part out. So I really work hard. I don’ t know the accomplishment that might be to what I’m trying to do, but I’m trying real hard. And I never play with picks. That causes too many strings to be strummed that’s not needed. I play with my thumb and up to four fingers.
So I always tell myself, “You’re not yet to the place that you’re trying to be. “That’s what I tell myself. I say “someday if you keep trying then I’m going to tell Etta that maybe you will learn someday. Just keep trying.” So that’s what I’m doing.
Well, I feel like all that I can do to help them (others) towards their music, I’m happy to do that, because I appreciate them liking my music.
Any more I’m not still enough around, you know, to settle down to really give satisfaction to people that would be maybe wanting to come for class or something like that. Because I’m just at my home on a pass by. I’ll go back home and then from there to Atlanta. Was in Cleveland, Seattle, Washington. I just dearly, dearly love it. For one of the many reasons it causes me to meet friends, meet people that I never would have the chance to meet. And I just really appreciate today what my father took time to give to me.
We had lots and lots of white friends and I never did see any difference and I knew my whole family didn’t see any difference because everybody got along well and had a good time. And I don’t think we could have asked for better and I just really appreciate today what my father took time to give to me.
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Dr. Barry Lee Pearson, Professor in the English Department at the University of Maryland stands as the most steadfast supporter of the local acoustic blues scene in the greater Washington, D.C., area and beyond. As a musician, author, college lecturer, folklorist, and personal friend to the musicians, he has been the voice of this regional blues scene.