Frank & Allie Lee have released a single and a music video from their upcoming 2020 album on Bake Tone Records, Treat A Stranger Right.
The accomplished old time duo are also recognized for their work with The Freight Hoppers. Frank’s distinctive nylon string, clawhammer banjo has won him acclaim for players and critics alike, and Allie’s melodic harmonica stands out in a field where the instrument isn’t really a regular contributor.
For the new single, they have chosen the old favorite, Lost John, when gets a rousing send up in the Lee style. Their version is taken from ones they have heard from Burnett & Rutherford, Joe Birchfield, and Harold Hausenfluck.
Allie says that they started with a fiddle/banjo arrangement that morphed into what they recorded.
“We learned and adapted this piece from Burnett & Rutherford’s guitar and fiddle arrangement. The banjo lick is influenced by blues guitarist R.L. Burnside. Purveyors of early southern rural music know that none of it is culturally specific. Lost John turned out to be a perfect song to convey this idea. We learned it as a fiddle tune and decided it would work well set to a blues groove with fretless banjo and harmonica.”
Lost John is available now wherever you stream or download music online, and to radio programmers via AirPlay Direct.
