Funding for Down Home Radio is provided in part by The Puffin Foundation and by Virgil Anderson – On the Tennessee Line
I think Virgil Anderson is my favorite banjo player right now. He’s great. I picked up this old out of print County LP last summer when I was at the Clifftop banjo and fiddle convention and I’ve been listening to it a lot ever since. Virgil Anderson has such a mellow feel, very bluesy and laid back. This record is great for the early morning and late at night, or any time!
The material on this record was recorded, I believe in the late 1970′s, by folklorist Bobby Fulcher. Bobby Fulcher also produced a film called “Chase the Devil: Religious Music of the Southern Appalachians (1986) which features great footage of Virgil Anderson.
CLICK HERE to download On the Tennessee Line
If you have problems downloading this leave a comment
or email me at DownHomeRadio@hotmail.com .
See below for the back of the record and notes:
Click to enlarge
Links:
Recent podcast with Bobby Fulcher – I just listened to this, Bobby Fulcher is awesome, and he plays some incredible field recordings on here, although they are abbreviated. Well worth listening.
May 28th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
virgil anderson was my great grandfather. He passed away in the 90′s so i didnt get t see him much with me being born as of 1991 but from what i remember he was a very enjoyable person to be around and a great banjo player
June 7th, 2008 at 1:16 am
that’s awesome! Virgil Anderson is great!
August 2nd, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Very good, thank you. I play clawhammer banjo and this is a treat to hear. The track names aren’t named. I can figure out the ones with lyrics but not the instrumentals. Can you help me out please? Thanks!
September 1st, 2008 at 3:25 am
Brian– Look at the back of the album and enlarge to get tracks.
October 28th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
People have always asked me “Who is Virgilio Anderson?” but now I realise it should have been “Who is Virgil Anderson?” I am clearly his namesake as my father loves playing his banjo.
‘Station House Blues’ is one of my all-time favourites but does anyone know if he ever recorded ‘Battenburg Cakewalk Blues’?
Virgilio Anderson
Macedonia
November 12th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Im listening to Virgil right now.Absolute quality music.Someone should re-issue his music.
December 18th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Virgil Anderson is my great great uncle… I am so happy to have found this online finally! My mom (Ruth Anderson) and her mom (Hallie Anderson) both had this record and I hadn’t seen the cover since I was a kid, brings back so many memories, thank you!
December 22nd, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Awesome. Very happy you found it. Regards to you and your family. Virgil was just great, a joy to listen to and a big influence on my own banjo playing.
June 1st, 2010 at 2:03 am
i liked to hear grandpa;after supper setting onthe porch he played sometime when we visited.sometimes dad ralph burke ;would holler real loud. grandpa laughed and played harder;sometimes;itsounded like two instruments;IT WAS GOOD>tom burke
September 20th, 2010 at 10:42 am
I recently found out about Virgil Anderson on ‘The digital library of appalachia’ … I heard ‘Come All You Rambling Ramblers’ and was instantly hooked. From what I could tell he was nearly in his 80′s at the time of these recordings which were made at Berea College Celebration of Traditional Music in the 1980′s.
This music is fabulous and can be found here if you search Virgil Anderson:
http://www.aca-dla.org/
To all of his relatives: please post more material, pictures or whatever. It would be great to learn more about this wonderful musician.
Thanks, Michael Baird
baird.michael@gmail.com
January 26th, 2011 at 9:01 am
I remember Virgil very well my family grew up a few miles down river from him. we spent a lot of time listening and playing music
at his home. His nephew Daniel troxell and I spent the night with him and Mable when I was 14yo. Virgil spent the night telling stories and playing music. The next day it was 14 below 0 windchill
my mom called Mable and told her to see that I was warm. She sent me home with one of her dresses over my clothes and a bonnet on my head. I had a full mustache at 14 so I hid in the woods every time a car passed. Virgil and Daniel both laughed until tears rolled down their face.
February 2nd, 2011 at 2:33 pm
That is a really great story! Thank you for writing in and telling it. Virgil’s music is some of my very favorite, he seems like a wonderful guy.