SALT RIVER

(From the playing of Howard Wyatt)

 

Not to be confused with banjo player Howard Wyatt, who played with the Roane County Ramblers — a popular 1920s and ‘30s string band from Tennessee —Howard Wyatt of Konnarock, Virginia, was an accomplished left-handed fiddler (see Figure 1).

 

Known for his smooth style, Wyatt played his fiddle strung up for a right-handed player. He was a contestant at the White Top Folk Festivals in both the fiddle and band categories, and was found to have placed second in the fiddle competition in 1935. The master competed in fiddle contests in other areas of the Blue Ridge Mountains for years as a young man earning numerous ribbons and award

certificates.

 

“Salt River”, an ancient tune that was originally brought to Virginia by early settlers, was also fiddled by Wyatt’s contemporaries. Bluegrass music founder Bill Monroe from Kentucky recorded his own version of the tune in 1963 under the title “Salt Creek.”

 

Recommended Viewing/Listening:

 

Film footage was taken of dancer “Uncle Bud” Spencer flatfooting to Howard Wyatt’s fiddling the “Arkansas Traveler” at the 1938 White Top Folk Festival. This footage is accessible through:

 

  1. To Hear Your Banjo Play (1947)
    Available to stream for free online at folkstreams.net.
    This landmark documentary features rare footage from the 1938 White Top Folk Festival. The historic segment appears near the very beginning of the film(at the 2:22-minute mark), showcasing “Uncle Bud” Spencer flatfooting to the legendary fiddle playing of left-handed fiddler Howard Wyatt.

 

  1. As an alternative on YouTube: “Grandpa Bud Spencer dances at the Whitetop Folk Festival (1930s)”

 

Hear Howard Wyatt’s haunting version of “Salt River” on YouTube: “Howard Wyatt fiddles Salt River at the 1938 Whitetop Folk Festival”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1. White Top Folk Festival (1938). Top: Howard Wyatt, fiddle and Harv Sheets, banjo. Bottom (left to right): Howard Wyatt fiddling the “Arkansas Traveler”, “Uncle Bud” Spencer, flatfooting, and Harv Sheets, banjo. Stills from To Hear Your Banjo Play (1947), originally copyrighted by Irving Lerner & Willard Van Dyke. Digitally preserved and used with permission via Folkstreams.net.

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