Gwen Foster
Gwen Foster ( * 1903, † 1954), also Gwyn Foster, was an American Old-time musicians. Foster is - considered one of the most virtuoso harmonica player in the folk area - despite the lack of awareness. His most famous works, he played with guitarist and a banjo player Clarence Ashley and with the Carolina Tar Heels. Less well known are Foster's shots with David O. Fletcher.
Life
Gwen Foster played before 1925 on small parties and events. He lived at that time in Dallas, North Carolina, and worked in the nearby Globe Mill, a textile factory, between the towns of Stanley and Mount Holly in Gaston County. His talent as a musician in 1925 or 1926, AO of the guitarist Fletcher discovered the noted surprised that Foster could play, for example, guitar and two harmonicas simultaneously, harmonica played with the nose or could imitate a bird and a train deceptively real. Impressed by his skills Fletcher told his uncle David braider, who was also a talented guitarist, on Foster. David Fletcher asked Foster if he would not occur to him as a duo. Foster agreed, and under the name Carolina Twins they played now common in the area.
Quickly, other musicians such as A.O. collected Fletcher ( ukulele, guitar), Gordon Buford (fiddle ), Buck Bumgardner (mandolin ), Fred Foster ( banjo) and singer Avery Keefer to Foster and Fletcher. But unlike most of her contemporaries, the group played - despite the typical string band line-up - modern pop songs like Lazy River or Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue. 1926 took Foster and Fletcher meet their actual repertoire a tour with the banjo player Doc Walsh through the southeastern United States. Although Foster and Fletcher even found fun at a jam session with the star Riley Puckett, they could not ultimately warm to forever for the traditional Old- Time Music. Therefore they separated after 1927 again by Walsh after Foster had played on some recordings of Walsh's Carolina Tar Heels harmonica.
Instead, Foster took his own recording career in attack. With Fletcher in 1928 he received a contract with Victor Records, for which the duo grossed again under the name Carolina Twins 18 pieces. However, there was an A & R Manager Ralph Peer on Old- Time Music, because he had no understanding of Foster's and Fletcher's hillbilly versions of pop songs. It railwaymen songs such as Southern Jack and other old pieces such as Gal Took My Licker From Me were recorded along with romantic songs like Off the War I'm Going. The duo even yodel together on some recordings; two years before Fleming and Townsend just perfected it did. Foster made on one of these sessions a few solo recordings. Overall, their records did not sell bad, some were even sales 5000-10000 copies sold be achieved.
Foster was in the late 1920s and early 1930s, also a member of the Blue Ridge Mountain Entertainers. Under this name played various band occupations, often Foster, guitarist Clarence Ashley and the Fiddler Clarence Greene included. 1930 Foster played with Fletcher for some time in Bristol, Tennessee, before the duo for Gennett Records made their last recordings. After the successful connection broke apart. Foster then moved with Clarence Ashley to Vocalion Records, where the two blues -oriented material on the recordings ( My Sweet Farm Girl, Bay Rum Blues, Sideline Blues ).
After Foster was heard in North Carolina and Virginia at various stations on the radio. End of the 1930s he played together on WRVA in Richmond, Virginia, with the Tobacco Tags, with whom he made his last recordings.
His last years were spent Gwen Foster in his hometown of Dallas, where he died in 1954 listening to the radio.
Foster is now under professional harmonica players, as well as in the scene of folk and old-time music as a virtuoso. Joe Filisko said in December 2003 on Foster: " I think the player did I Studied the hardest trying to imitate it what Gwen Foster, Which I think is one of the more unique original harmonica players did ever played. " Foster played harmonica primarily in the first position. An exception is the inclusion of the Sideline Blues by Clarence Ashley in 1933, where he a harmonica, tuned to E, plays in B. Ashley also confirmed Foster's talent ( Ashley's grandson called Foster a "musical genius" ); in the same course but also mentioned Ashley Foster excessive alcohol consumption: "however, he drank too heavily at times. Tom [ Clarence " Tom" Ashley ] would laugh and tell him about sobering up on cider and moonshine Before They went to play. "
Discography
See also: Blue Ridge Mountain Entertainers
Foster's recordings with the Carolina Tar Heels, with Clarence Ashley and Fletcher Carolina Twins can be found in the articles.