Persinger, Tharp, Hawthorne, and Hartford - a home recording from 1961.
Excited as can be about this recording from 1961 featuring some of the BIG names in old-time fiddling. This recording has been copied, dubbed down, and passed around mid-Missouri for almost sixty years. March 29th, 1961 . Cleo Persinger and his wife, Lillian hosted a monumental jam session at their home in Midway, Missouri that was attended by famous WOS radio fiddler, Ed Tharp, master guitarist, Marvin Hawthorne, and a young John Hartford. Quotes taken from Dr. Howard Marshall's book, " Play Me Something Quick and Devilish " "John Hartford recorded a session in 1961 at Cleo Persinger's house near Columbia. Hartford played his Gibson Mastertone five-string banjo and his friend Marvin Hawthorne played guitar. Hartford for several years had been making periodic trips from his home in St. Louis to visit and record old-time fiddlers such as Walter Alexander, Gene Goforth, Persinger, and Tharp, taping them with his "schoolhouse Wollensak" recorder.
