Artist:Bascom Lamar Lunsford
Song:I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground
Album:O Brother: The Story Continues
Bascom Lamar Lunsford was a folklorist and performer of traditional Appalachian music. He was known as Minstrel of the Appalachians. He recorded a few songs in the late 20s but that was really a byproduct of live performances and lectures. He was born Mar. 21, 1882 in Mars Hill, NC. His father was a teacher and gave Lunsford a fiddle. His mother sang traditional songs of the region. Lunsford learned to play banjo and performed at weddings and square dances. Lunsford taught in local schools and then became a lawyer. He began to compile information about Appalachian music. He gave lectures and performed in a starched white shirt and black bow tie. The formal dress was because he was against the hillbilly stereotype. I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground was one of several songs that Lunsford recorded for Okeh and Brunswick. It's a song that Lunsford first heard when he was a teen. He said his mother asked him to play the song for her before she died. The song became better known when folklorist Harry Smith included Lunsford's recording on his 1952 compilation Anthology of American Folk Music. Lunsford recorded only to supplement his lectures. Unfortunately the only Lunsford comp is out of print. But you can get I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground on this budget comp. Lunsford's recording of Good Old Mountain Dew was used to promote the popular soft drink. Lunsford continued to perform locally. And he even recorded a couple of albums in the 50s. He died on Sept. 4, 1973 at age 91. Here's a video of I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground by Bascom Lamar Lunsford.
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