Manco Sneed

When Mary Sneed Freeman died in June 2001 in the Cherokee Indian Medical center in NEW YORK, it was the finish of a music family whose origins could possibly be traced back again not only in to the fascinating interminglings of Local American and Appalachian music cultures, but in to the early advancement of American fiddling designs as well. Having a name like something developed by Groucho Marx, her dad Manco Sneed was a Cherokee Indian fiddler who discovered and offered traditional music he previously found first-hand from a number of the earliest-known American fiddlers, such as for example Dedrick Harris, also called J.D. Harris. Sneed was also among the first performers around the Grand Ole Opry, although significantly less is well known about him than additional early Opry functions such as dark harmonica participant DeFord Bailey. Both daughters Mary and Martha Sneed performed around the Opry using their dad, the latter performing as the multi-talented Mary performed acoustic guitar, banjo, and fiddle. Multi-instrumentalist and songwriter John Hartford has an illustration of Sneed’s impact on his recording Wild Hog in debt Brush, a assortment of traditional fiddle music. The edition of “Molly Place the Kettle On,” never the familiar interpretation most bluegrass or old-time music followers would be alert to, was one passed on from Dedrick Harris through Manco Sneed. Sheet music of a few of Sneed’s fiddle shows are also obtainable. The collection Experts of Old Period Fiddling contains not merely the earlier mentioned “Molly Place the Kettle On,” but also contains Sneed’s variations of “Georgia Belle and “Woman Hamilton.”