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The Ebony Hillbillies is an old-time string band based in NYC, New York City.[2]

The Ebony Hillbillies
Origin	New York City, New York, USA
Genres	Old-time, Americana, blues, folk, country, jazz
Years active	1980’s–present
Labels	EH MUSIC
Members	Henrique Prince William Salter Gloria Thomas Gassaway Reggie “A.R.” Ferguson Newman Taylor Baker Allanah Salter Iris Thomas Olden Dave Colding Ricky “Dirty Red” Gordon
Past members	Norris Washington Bennett
Website	http://www.theEbonyHillbillies.com [1]

A recording of their music is held in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.[3]

History

During the 1980s Henrique Prince began putting together a band due to "an idea of specializing in dance music, because I really liked the idea of the violin as a dance instrument."[4] He also wanted to make "music African Americans used to perform and dance to before they found the blues and jazz and the other stuff became associated with grizzled mountain white guys".[5] Based in New York City,[6] The Ebony Hillbillies began performing on New York subway platforms.[7][8] As the band continued to perform they were invited to perform in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center,[9] Washington state's Wintergrass Festival,[10] and the Kennedy Center.[11]

Members

• Henrique Prince: violin, vocals[12]
• Gloria Thomas Gassaway: bones, lead vocals
• Reggie “A.R.” Ferguson: washboard, “cowboy" percussion kit (consisting of organic wood and metal materials)
• William “Salty Bill” Salter: acoustic bass, voice
• Newman Taylor Baker: washboard
• Allanah Salter: vocals

Additional Members

• Ricky “Dirty Red” Gordon: washboard, percussion
• Dave Colding: acoustic bass, vocals
• Iris Thomas: vocals
• AW: banjo, bass

Deceased

• Norris Washington Bennett: 5-string banjo, mountain dulcimer, lead vocals

Discography

• 2004 — Sabrina’s Holiday (EH MUSIC)
• 2005 — I Thought You Knew (EH MUSIC)
• 2011 — Barefoot And Flying (EH MUSIC)
• 2015 — Slappin’ A Rabbit - LiVE! (EH MUSIC)[13]
• 2017 — 5 Miles From Town (EH MUSIC)[14][15][16][17][18]

Further reading

• Fischlin, Daniel (2013). The fierce urgency of now : improvisation, rights, and the ethics of cocreation. Ajay Heble, George Lipsitz. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-5464-2. OCLC 817799607.
• Hubbs, Nadine (2014-03-18). Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-95834-0.
• Pecknold, Diane (2013-07-10). Hidden in the Mix: The African American Presence in Country Music. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-5149-8.
• Ritchie, Fiona; Orr, Doug (2014-09-29). Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia. UNC Press Books. ISBN 978-1-4696-1823-4.

References

External links

• Official website

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