The Ebony Hillbillies – Slattery Park, The Bronx – August 19, 2013
Somehow this group got booked into Slattery Park for 10:30 AM on a Monday morning! A serious chat with the booking agent is called for. I was the only person who actually was there to see them, and as anticipated, (let’s see how to best euphemise this) there was no trouble in viewing close and unobstructed. Some of the park patrons did stop by for a few numbers here and there. Anyhow, they are another bastion of old-timey Americana, mined in a similar fashion by the Carolina Chocolate Drops (see June 23, 2012). Gassaway is depicted playing “the bones”, another first for my expanding sketch horizons. I came up a little short on time, so wasn’t as finished as I wanted to be, especially with Salter (btw, co-author of a couple of pop classics – “Where is the Love” and “Just the Two of Us” – as pointed out to me by Gassaway). This seems to be the year for me to catch the blind players; banjoist Bennett evidently has plenty of experience signing autographs, though.
Newman Taylor Baker
Henrique Prince
Gloria Gassaway
Norris Bennett
Bill Salter
The Ebony Hillbillies