John Cohen / The High Lonesome Sound

 

Eastern Kentucky, 1962, John Cohen photo

John Cohen was recognized as a musician during the folk revival years--he was one of the original members of The New Lost City Ramblers, from 1958 on--and also for his photographs and films (The High Lonesome Sound, 1963). His connection with Roscoe Holcomb remains important, as do his field recordings. As on the Classic Mountain Songs album from Smithsonian-Folkways..

I came across this article on Cohen yesterday evening. The paragraph where he and Joel Agee (son of James Agee—Let Us Now Praise Famous Men) argue over the meaning of violence in Appalachian culture is particularly telling...

John Cohen in Eastern Kentucky: Documentary Expression and the Image of Roscoe Halcomb During the Folk Revival | Southern Spaces