Rock Dust, by Morgan Sexton

Morgan Sexton's first public performance at 77 years old. He begins with "Little Birdie." Seedtime on the Cumberland Festival,1988.

Rock Dust

by Morgan Sexton

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oldbanjo61 This will be forever my favorite. I never get tired of hearing it.

Kenny Jackson Beautiful and soulful old-time Kentucky banjo music and singing. It doesn't get any better than this. Favorite track: Little Birdie.

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Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Also includes the LP back cover with liner notes by Mike Seeger and D. Gregory White, and an autobiographical note from Morgan Sexton.

To purchase Appalshop's 1991 documentary "Morgan Sexton: Banjo Player from Bull Creek" visit appalshop.org/store.

Purchasable with gift card

$7 USD or more

1.	Froggy Went A-Courtin' 04:30	buy track
2.	It's a Beautiful Doll 01:50	buy track
3.	Little Frankie 02:14	buy track
4.	The Last of Callahan 01:20	buy track
5.	Omie Wise 04:26	buy track
6.	Mexico 01:44	buy track
7.	Old Aunt Jenny 02:18	buy track
8.	Little Sparrow 03:35	buy track
9.	Hook and Line 01:06	buy track
10.	Little Birdie 04:00 video	buy track
11.	Lonesome Scene of Winter 02:28	buy track
12.	Jenny Get Around 01:54	buy track
13.	Little Bessie 04:28	buy track
14.	John Henry 00:45	buy track
15.	Old East Virginia 02:47	buy track
16.	Goin' Down in Town 01:05	buy track
17.	London City Where I Did Dwell 03:25	buy track
18.	Old Grey Beard 01:54	buy track

about

Morgan Sexton was 77 years old when he made his first public appearance as a banjo player, performing in 1988 at the Appalachian music festival "Seedtime on the Cumberland." Born in southeastern Kentucky in 1911, Sexton grew up in a musical family and learned to play the banjo as a child. Working for much of his life as a coal miner, he returned in his later years to his music, playing for community gatherings before gaining wider exposure.

Following his 1988 debut, Sexton received almost immediate national attention and commenced a remarkable if brief career, performing at festivals, teaching banjo workshops, and recording a small body of traditional ballads and tunes. In 1989, Sexton's first recording, "Rock Dust", appeared on the June Appal label. As he explains in the album's liner notes, "rock dust" refers to the coal dust that causes a debilitating disease known as black lung.

In 1991, the National Endowment for the Arts presented Sexton with a National Heritage Fellowship in recognition of his contributions to regional traditions. Following his death later that year, June Appal released another album of songs which Sexton had recorded since his discovery; that release, entitled "Shady Grove", included several tracks from Rock Dust in addition to previously unissued material. Morgan Sexton died of cancer on January 30th, 1992, two days over 81 years old.

credits

released January 1, 1989

Recordings for the 1989 release JA0055, "Rock Dust", were recorded by Doug Dorschug in the Appalshop Studio on Dec. 1, 1988 on the Sony 501 Digital Unit. The release was produced by D. Gregory White, and remixed at Cloudlands Studio in Mountain City, Tennessee. Musicians included Morgan Sexton on banjo and vocals, and his nephew Lee "Boy" Sexton on fiddle.

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about

June Appal Recordings Kentucky

Founded in 1974 in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, June Appal Recordings is the non-profit record label of Appalshop. It was established to record and distribute the music and stories of accomplished central Appalachian artists.

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