Orthophonic Joy contest winners announced

Leah Ross with Corbin Hayslett as he was announced the winner of the Orthophonic Joy video contestThe Birthplace of Country Music announced today that Corbin Hayslett was the winner of the video contest to be included on the upcoming Orthophonic Joy album project. The record will recreate songs from the 1927 Bristol Sessions, when Ralph Peer tracked a number of traditional and country music artists in Bristol, TN.

Those recordings help create careers for The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, and now Hayslett has a chance to see the same thing happen for him.

Acoustic artists were invited to submit videos to Facebook, and a panel of producers and music experts picked Corbin from the lot. In a simultaneous competition, Reagan Boggs was selected as the Fan Favorite, and will also be featured on the album.

Leah Ross, Executive Director of the Birthplace of Country Music Association, expressed some pride that both winners called East Tennessee and Western Virginia home.

“Though our organization played no part in the judging process, we are very pleased that two of our locals took home the Grand Prize and Facebook Fan Favorite. It’s truly a testament to the amount of talent that flourishes in this region.”

Corbin’s video was for the song Darlin’ Cora, originally recorded by B. F. Shelton during The Bristol Sessions. Orthophonic Joy producer Carl Jackson said that all the judges were won over by Hayslett’s video.

“Picking the finalists and the eventual winner of the contest was one of the most difficult things I’ve every been involved with. There were so many wonderful entries and there is no doubt that legitimate arguments can be made for ‘winners’ well beyond the five finalists. However, when the other judges and I were narrowing things down, we just kept coming back to Corbin Hayslett and his version of Darlin’ Cora. He is just the real deal and if you can listen to him without a smile on your face, you are much stronger than I am!”

Here’s a look at the video that put him on Orthophonic Joy.

 

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.