Jimmy Driftwood

James Corbitt Morris ( born June 20, 1907 in Mountain View, Arkansas, † July 12, 1998 in Fayetteville, Arkansas ), better known as Jimmy Driftwood (also Jimmie Driftwood ), was an American songwriter and musician. Among his most famous songs include The Battle of New Orleans and Tennessee Stud

Drift Wood was born on June 20, 1907 in Mountain View, Arkansas. His father was the folk singer Neil Morris. Driftwood learned early to play the guitar on the self-built instrument of his grandfather. He played this unusually shaped and sounding instrument throughout his career and told, his neck was from a fence rod, made ​​the frames from a Ochsenjoch and peg box and floor from the head of the bed of his grandmother. In addition, he also plays a music sheet - its the oral cavity -use as a resonance chamber play seems an Appalachian tradition to spring and is more reminiscent of a Jew's harp.

Driftwood attended John Brown College in northwest Arkansas and graduated as a teacher at the Arkansas Teacher 's College. In his teaching time he began to write songs to bring almost his students the American and local history in an entertaining way.

Twenties and Thirties

In the twenties and thirties Driftwood left Arkansas and hitchhiked through the southwestern United States. In Arizona, he took part in a singing contest and won.

1936 married Driftwood Cleda Johnson, a former student, and returned to Arkansas back to get back to work as a teacher and to found a family. During this period hundreds of songs, Driftwood but tried not serious about a career as a musician. In 1936 he wrote his most famous song later Battle of New Orleans in order to interest a high school class on the subject. The song describes the details of this last great battle of the British - American War.

Fifties

In the fifties, James Corbitt Morris took the name Jimmy Driftwood on as an artist and real name. 1957 heard a publisher of Nashville from him, let him audition and joined with him his first record deal. Driftwood recalls, in one day more than one hundred of his songs to have played, were then selected from those for recording twenty. His first album Newly Discovered Early American Folk Songs received good reviews but did not sell particularly well.

The Battle of New Orleans was contained therein corresponded for his choice of words but not to the radio standard time - Driftwood later commented, words such as " hell " or " damn " have you then preach apparently, but can not sing to the public outside of the church. He was asked for a live performance on the radio is an abridged version and defused; the singer Johnny Horton heard the song and asked Driftwood to be able to record his own version of it.

Driftwood moved from Arkansas to Nashville and became known through appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, Ozark Jubilee and the Louisiana Hayride. During Khrushchev's visit to the United States, he was invited to perform for example American music. The climax experienced drift Woods career in 1959, when at the same time, six of his songs in the pop and country charts, including Johnny Horton's recording of The Battle of New Orleans, which remained ten weeks at the top of the country singles chart, and six weeks at the top of the pop charts. The song received a Grammy in 1960 for best song of the year and has since been considered a classic American folk song. Later Driftwood should get more Grammys for Wilderness Road, Songs of Billy Yank and Johnny Reb ( these figures are known personifications of the northern and southern states of the USA) and Tennessee Stud

Driftwood became famous and performed at Carnegie Hall and other major folk festivals; his songs have been recorded by Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Homer and Jethro, Odetta, and others.

The sixties

1962 Driftwood returned back to Arkansas. There he founded the Roller bag Folklore Society, an association of local folk singer and musician, and performed regularly on the market in Mountain View (Arkansas ). Driftwood began to promote folk music and folk singer from Arkansas and invited musicians from the area to perform at his newly established festival. This festival grew exponentially over the years and eventually became the annual Arkansas Folk Festival, which attracts over one hundred thousand visitors. Drift Woods use also led to the establishment of the Ozark Folk Center to preserve the culture of the Ozark Mountains; this Folk Center was later on in the stately parks of Arkansas and still attracts the tourists.

Environmental Commitment

Driftwood was also active for the environment, as the Buffalo River should get a dam. The plan was eventually dropped by his influence and declared the river as Buffalo National River to a national natural monument. Driftwood also played an important role in obtaining the caves of Blanchard Springs; Finally, he was appointed Chairman of the Arkansas Parks and Tourism Commission.

Work

Driftwood wrote more than 6,000 folk songs, of which more than 300 were recorded by a variety of musicians. Later in his life Driftwood was often free concerts for schoolchildren and students. He was on the Advisory Board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC chosen as well as a musicologist in the National Geographic Society.

Death

Jimmy Driftwood died on 12 July 1998 in Fayetteville, Arkansas from a heart attack.