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A True Mountain Voice!

1/19/2017

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  I drove out to Lenoir last Sunday to visit Ginny McJunkin, whom I stumbled across on Facebook last year and just fell in love with her authentic Old Time Mountain sound ! This Gal is the 'real deal' as they say !
  • It was a rainy Sunday , but it was warm , around 60 degrees , and I figured I better go for it, before it dropped to 20 again and starting laying down that white stuff !
When I got to Ginny's place she reckoned we should go do the interview at her brothers where it was quieter,

Her little dog 'Cody' was quite the barker, and she figured he wasn't gonna let ua for the likes of me! Ha! 
But first we headed across the street to this old abandoned building. She said an old man used to live in it, but we figured it was most likely an old store, when it was first built . 
I wanted to climb those stairs and do her portrait from there, but good sense grabbed a hold of me, as it sometimes does when you get older , and we stayed on solid ground. It got to raining pretty hard, but we managed to get some pretty cute pix of her , her old hat and her Alvarez guitar. We had quite a few laughs too!
I had a great old time chatting with her and Burl, at his place ,and , not only did we talk about music , but the harsh discipline of the old days and the hard work ! Ginny , had 11 siblings (now down to three) and they farmed, made fern baskets and others crafts to make a living. Ginny started playing at age 12 and even rode the Daniel Boone wagon train (Google this , its fascinating ) with Doc Watson and many other musicians of that era. Ginny said , she was shy like me about singing, but when she started playing in the bands and at the pubs , she figured somebody ought to be singing ! She said she was surprised that folks enjoyed her voice, as she thought she weren't no good! Now Ginny is a wonderful singer in the style of pure mountain organic sound that is true to her region ! You know the sound Im a talking bout, without having to explain it, now don't ya!
If you want to hear the beautiful songs she has written, just look for her on Youtube or Facebook! She writes from her childhood experience and , if you are from here, you will certainly relate !
I wish I could have stayed and played with her , and listened to more stories,  but it was getting late and I had to get back home! I ended up getting the BeJesus scared outta me (or into me ) on top of the big mountain on route 18, where my GPS decided to test my courage! The fog was as thick as driving through creme of potato soup ( as Granny used to say !) All I could see was the little reflectors on the yellow line! I was never so happy to get into Independence, where the fog finally lifted and I could see my way home!
Was it worth it to meet Ginny? Damn straight it was ! 
We feel like family now! She is such a dear heart!

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    I'm Susi Lawson, a local artist, Photographer and writer who loves Appalachian Music!

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