Three vintage recordings of pioneering bluegrass fiddler Jim Shumate, long out of print, are now offered via the major online streaming services, thanks to the efforts of Jim’s grandson, bluegrass artist John Cloyd Miller.
A native of Wilkes County, NC, Shumate had the honor to perform with Bill Monroe & The Blue Grass Boys, The Stanley Brothers, and Flatt & Scruggs during the early days of his career. In fact, he was the founding fiddler with The Foggy Mountain Boys, recording with Lester and Earl on their first session. He can be heard on their historic initial cuts of Cabin in Caroline and We’ll Meet Again Sweetheart.
Though he continued to fiddle the rest of his days, Jim quickly discovered that life on the road didn’t suit his tastes, so he returned home to Hickory, NC and worked in the furniture business.
Shumate was also a fine song writer, contributing a number of songs to the catalog, perhaps most famously The Old Country Baptizing, which had been recorded by Bill Monroe, and Emmylou Harris & Gram Parsons.
But it is primarily as a fiddler that he will be remembered, and thankfully there is a deep catalog of his recordings left behind.
Jim continued to perform regionally in western North Carolina and Virginia for as long as he stayed active, with an occasional foray a bit farther afield.
You can now find Bluegrass Fiddle Supreme, The Heritage Records Collection, and Jim Shumate & the Sons of the Carolinas – Singles for download and streaming on Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal. Plus one other from The Field Recorders Collective in 1977, Jim Shumate: Pioneering Bluegrass Fiddler.
No fan, not to mention serious student of bluegrass fiddle, should be without these in their collections.
John says getting this all online has been a long-time labor of love.
“Jim’s 1980 Anvil LP as well as his Heritage Records recordings have been out of print for some time, and his recordings on the Blue Ridge and Carolina labels are all but unknown outside the circles of serious collectors. I’m so glad to report that with their availability on the streaming platforms, Jim’s music is now easily accessible to a whole new generation of listeners. I’ve been sharing Drop Box files and tracks with folks for years, so I’m very excited (and relieved!) to have finally gotten around to finishing this project.
I’d like to thank Janet Patterson for the access to the Heritage recordings. I’d also like to thank my friend Matteo Ringressi from Italy’s Truffle Valley Boys for locating and sharing the digital files to the Carolina record. My copy was warped and unplayable, and Matteo kindly shared his copy with me.
Jim would certainly be amazed to see all his music available like this in one place, at the touch of a button for anyone, anywhere in the world.”
Hats off to Miller for seeing that this engaging music is preserved online for a new generation.
