Red Wilson (musician)

Last updated May 04, 2019

Oscar "Red" Wilson (born 1920-2005) was an American musician and fiddle-maker who played old-time and bluegrass music in North Carolina. He is also the founder of Mayland Recording Studios.

Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combination of fiddle and plucked string instruments, as well as the mandolin.

Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the United States Appalachian region. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has roots in traditional English, Irish, and Scottish ballads and dance tunes, and by traditional African-American blues and jazz. The Blue Grass Boys played a Mountain Music style that Bill learned in Asheville, North Carolina from bands like Wade Mainer's and other popular acts on radio station WWNC. It was further developed by musicians who played with him, including 5-string banjo player Earl Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt. Bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe characterized the genre as: "Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin'. It's Methodist and Holiness and Baptist. It's blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound."

Biography

Wilson grew up in Avery County where he learned traditional fiddle and banjo tunes of western North Carolina. In 1941, he was drafted into the army and served in North Africa and Sicily during World War II. He was honored with the Purple Heart by the end of his military service.^[1]

Avery County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,797. The county seat is Newland. The county seat was initially established in Elk Park when the county was first formed, but was moved to Newland upon completion of the courthouse in 1912. Founded in 1911, it is the youngest of North Carolina's 100 counties.

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after April 5, 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, which took the form of a heart made of purple cloth, the Purple Heart is the oldest military award still given to U.S. military members – the only earlier award being the obsolete Fidelity Medallion. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York.

In the 1950s, Wilson joined the local band Toe River Valley Boys as a fiddler. The group played at many square dances in Little Switzerland. During his time with the band, Wilson composed tunes that combined traditional elements with more commercial bluegrass elements.^[2]

Little Switzerland is an unincorporated community in McDowell and Mitchell counties of North Carolina, United States. It is located along NC 226A off the Blue Ridge Parkway, directly north of Marion, North Carolina and south of Spruce Pine. Elevation is 3500 feet above sea level.

After retiring, Wilson performed at local festivals and music workshops. He was also the operator of the Mayfield Recording Studios in Spruce Pine. He was honored with the North Carolina Heritage Award in 2003 before dying two years later in Bakersville.^[3]

The North Carolina Heritage Award is an annual award given out by the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, in recognition of traditional artists from the U.S. state of North Carolina. The award was created in 1989.

Bakersville is a town in Mitchell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 464 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Mitchell County.

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Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson's fingerstyle guitar and flatpicking skills, as well as his knowledge of traditional American music, were highly regarded. He performed with his son, guitarist Merle Watson, for over 15 years until Merle's death in 1985 in an accident on the family farm.

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References

↑ "Final Notes, Red Wilson". The Old Time Herald. The Old Time Herald.
↑ "Red Wilson". Blue Ridge Heritage. 2015 Blue Ridge National Heritage Area.
↑ "Oscar "Red" Wilson Obituary". USGenWeb Archives. USGenWeb Project.

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[WilsonNotes-1] "Final Notes, Red Wilson". The Old Time Herald. The Old Time Herald.

[WilsonBlueRidgeHeritage-2] "Red Wilson". Blue Ridge Heritage. 2015 Blue Ridge National Heritage Area.

[WilsonObituary-3] "Oscar "Red" Wilson Obituary". USGenWeb Archives. USGenWeb Project.