Martha Spencer Archives - Bluegrass Today

Video Premiere: You’ve Rambled Too Long from Martha Spencer

Virginia old time and Americana artist Martha Spencer has created a live music video for one of the songs on her current album, Wonderland. She surprised some of her fans with the uptown swing influence on some of the tracks, but this one, You’ve Rambled Too Long, is right in her mountain-style wheelhouse.

Martha grew up playing this music, with her family, as a member of the Whitetop Mountain Band with whom she still appears. The Spencers have been part of old time music in southwestern Virginia since the 1940s, and her desire to see this sound both preserved and expanded is a major part of her cultural ethos.

You’ve Rambled Too Long finds Spencer speaking to herself and reflecting on that inner wish that things could stay as we remember them.

“I wrote this song after being out on the road a while and coming home to our little community school closing, an old guitar picking friend Dave had passed, and our local store had closed. It’s about coming home to a different place and the loafering benches where people once gathered being empty. When I was a kid, my dad would ride us down to Crowbar’s, the little country store, where he’d go sit on the liars’ bench and swap tales with other folks. A lot of folks had nicknames back home: Crowbar (Olen Price) had three sons – Gopher, Head, and Horse; and by the time I was a youngin, Gopher had taken over the running of the store. When dad would loafer, I’d go hang with my friend who lived beside the store. It held some sweet memories for me.

I also think of the folks who stick in a community to try and make it better, and keep things alive and thriving, and appreciate all the folks who invest in a better future for their little corner of the world.”

The song is raw and real, as is this stripped-down duet performance.

You’ve Rambled Too Long and the full Wonderland album are available now from popular download and streaming services online. It can be purchased for download directly from the artist on bandcamp, where you can purchase audio CDs as well.

Wonderland – Martha Spencer

Martha Spencer’s approach to old time music is as authentic as her life itself. Growing up in the mountains of Virginia, she was raised around various forms of Appalachian sounds. Her life and musical experience has helped her write new compositions, half of which are featured on her second solo release, Wonderland.

Wonderland is an album that varies in style and instrumentation. The title track, written by Spencer, is a piece with heavy swing influence. This is especially evident in the performance of fiddler Joel Savoy. Rags Over Riches is performed more in the old time vein with flawless clawhammer style banjo from Spencer and solid backing vocals from Dudley Connell.

Banks Of New River by Emily Spencer and Argil Hensley is fittingly done in a traditional bluegrass style. Reminiscent of the Stanley Brothers, this duet between Martha and country singer Luke Bell, whom we tragically lost this year, is one of the most memorable pieces on the recording.

Summer Wine by Lee Hazelwood is another old time piece which features the unique bass voice of Kyle Dean Smith. Speaking of unique, Martha’s rendition of Walking In Jerusalem would definitely fit into that category. Combining Alex Leach’s Stanley style banjo playing, along with the vocals of the Legendary Ingramettes, this track is an unbelievable blend of traditional bluegrass and gospel music.

Enchantress, another original by Spencer, is spooky in a melodic sense. This is punctuated by Kyle Dean Smith’s performance on the cello banjo. Hesitation Blues, recorded by Charlie Poole under the title If The River Was Whiskey in 1930, is given a fresh duet treatment by Spencer and Bell. This track features great instrumental performances from fiddler Billy Hurt Jr., as well as Matt Kinman on mandolin.

The project closes with Midsummer Serenade, an instrumental composed by Spencer. This is another track that does a marvelous job of showcasing her skill as a clawhammer banjoist.

Wonderland demonstrates Martha Spencer’s ability to utilize musical tradition along with new and creative ideas. The project’s title is a great reflection of the journey Spencer and her fellow musicians take us on with this collection of traditional acoustic music.

Track Preview: Jonah from Martha Spencer

Martha Spencer comes by her mountain music roots the old fashioned way. No college-trained folklorist, she lived the life via her family and their Whitetop Mountain Band, performing old time music across the Appalachian region and around the world. At a very young age, Martha was flatfoot dancing and singing in their show, adding her banjo and guitar as soon as she was old enough to play them.

She remains a member of the band today, but is branching out with a solo project of her own, due to hit October 26. A self-titled album, it splits roughly in half between her compositions, and classics of the genre from writers like Hazel Dickens and Bill Carlisle.

As a preview, we offer a track that shows her deep bluegrass roots, inspired by the same music and culture that gave us Ralph Stanley in southwestern Virginia. Those are the same hills that Spencer grew up in, and she delivers the sound as well as any who came before.

She explained a bit about her cut of Jonah…

“Jonah is one I got from Julia Mainer, I have been a longtime fan of Wade and Julia Mainer. I also loved to hear her sing, she had that old time hardcore sound. And this is a fun song to do with a mouthful of words. I know Julia and Wade played at Appalshop in Kentucky when my parents did. Also a few years back, I wrote back and forth to Julia in a few letters, she was a very nice lady and big musical influence I would say. Alex Leach plays some good ole Stanley style banjo, the multi-instrumentalist, Brennen Ernst, plays bass and I’m on the geetar.”

Pre-orders are available now online for either the CD or download.

Martha Spencer passes

Martha Spencer, long-time matriarch of The Spencer Family bluegrass Gospel show, passed away on August 29 at the age of 89.

She and her husband, Mitchell, toured as The Spencer Family for more than 40 years from their home in Kentucky, and left a legacy of recordings in their wake. They are regarded as among the first groups to blend southern Gospel and bluegrass music starting in the 1960s.

As a tribute to their life in music, this video overview was created for their being presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Gospel Music Association in 2013.

Martha is survived by her husband, Mitchell and a large family of children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

R.I.P., Martha Spencer.

Houstonfest 2013 photos

Houstonfest is a small but growing festival now in its third year, dedicated to the memory and example of banjo prodigy Houston Caldwell, who died in a motorcycle accident at the age of 18. Caldwell dedicated his life to song and service, and that’s what Houstonfest is all about.

The three stages offer a blend of oldtime and bluegrass acts, with talent both young and old. Friday highlights for me were young trio Dogwood & Holly, who flat knocked me out, especially with their cranked up version of Wayfaring Stranger, the Snyder Family Band who are getting better by leaps and bounds each time I see them, and the exemplary musicianship, statesmanship and harmonies of Russell Moore and IIIrd Time Out.

Also a delight to witness: the amazing dancing of Martha Spencer from the White Top Mountaineers, who conveys so much joy whenever she’s on stage, especially when she’s kicking up her heels, but also when she’s singing songs like Ruby.