Topic: George Higgs

[oddenda]

Thanks for that, Jeff. For the curious, the second guitar is Elester Anderson - recorded in Speed, NC in 1979.

Peter B.

[Lignite]

I am a friend, neighbor and sometimes playing partner of George Higgs and was real excited to finally get to hear a cut from the unreleased sessions Pete Lowry did of George and Elester Anderson in Speed, N.C. in the 1970s. George was disappointed that the sessions were never released but he hung onto the old Gibson guitar that Pete gave him at the last session until it was water damaged beyond repair during hurricane Floyd in 1999 which also destroyed his home and property. (It's O.K. He's since rebuilt and has more guitars now than he ever had). Anyway, I really don't think that Haunted House is by George Higgs at all. It's not in his style, the title is not included in the track listing for the session and I've never heard him play it. It sounds alot more like Turner Foddrell to me who did have that particular song in his repertoire and in fact recorded it with his brother Marvin on the LP The Foddrell Brothers "Patrick County Rag" on the small Outlet label from Ferrum,Va.in 1983. I think somehow the sessions got mixed up with the Elester Anderson/George Higgs one being replaced by the Foddrell Brothers sesssion.Is there any chance of posting another tune from the 1979 George Higgs session? Are the other recordings from the radio program really the Foddrell Brothers instead? George is playing fine still although not in public as often as he was. He had kindney failure several years ago and nearly died but has since recovered although he has to recieve dialysis twice a week and is not able to travel far from his home in Tarboro. The Youtube videos were recorded last year at George's home by my friend and webmaster Cliff Nelson and are a good example of how he sounds these days.

[oddenda]

lignite -

          While I recorded both George and Elester, and Marvin and Turner, I DO know the difference! That was recorded in 1979 - you may be right, though, as Turner did it for me in that same time period w. Marvin in a succeeding session. I recorded both duos extensively in '79. That means that the Library of Congress screwed up when they duplicated the George Higgs materials for me to give him! I'll have to check what I've got more closely when I have time. Doesn't give me a warm, fuzzy feeling, now does it. (They have safety copies of ALL my field recording tapes, the legacy of my working with Alan Lomax one year at the Archive.)

          The other Foddrell stuff is definitely by them. Turner was MAGNIFICENT - there's at least three potential albums from all that Foddrell mess; one each brother, and one combined w. Turner's son, Lynn, added. Planned one each by George, and Les-T, but my ready money ran out and I never got back into it - there was NOT a long line banging on my door back in the way, by the way. That's why none of that stuff has been issued.

yrs,
     Peter B.

[Lignite]

I talked to George Higgs on the phone today and played him a bit of Haunted House over the phone and he said that it definately was not him.  I'm pretty sure that it is the Foddrell Brothers, though. I read Mr. Higgs the list of songs from the '79 session that Bunker Hill posted and he remembered all of them. Is there any way to hear the real Lester Anderson/George Higgs sessions from the 70s? I think the LOC must have done the old switcheroo and misappropriated the Higgs/Anderson sessions with the Foddrell Brothers.George said he'd really like to hear these sessions as he never has heard a copy of them.Is there any way to obtain a copy for him?

[oddenda]

Lignite -

I got copies made by the Library a few years ago which were then copied and sent to Tim Duffy, who supposedly gave them to George Higgs. Nobody noticed anything then! Since the originals are in NJ and the Library no longer gives the original owners of deposited materials free dubs (one of many annoying cut backs due to the past eight years). I've done all that I can on this. If you want to pay the LofC to dub, then do so... I'll give my permission for that (and that only). Tell George that I'm sorry to have missed him when he was here in Oz at Byron Bay.

Peter B.

[Lignite]

Thanks Pete,
I'll ask Tim Duffy if he has copies of the recordings and tell George about the possibility of obtaining dubbed copies from the Library Of Congress.
L.W.