Betsy Rutherford (February 11, 1944 in
Galax, Virginia
Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,720.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Galax with neighboring Carroll County for statisti ...
– March 12, 1991 in Galax)
["Betsy Coffey." Obituary in The Gazette, Galax, Virginia. March 15, 1991] was a performer of traditional music from the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
who was known for her powerful, authentic singing style. In 1970, she recorded an album, "Traditional Country Music," which was released by
Biograph Records
Biograph Records is a record label founded in 1967 by Arnold S. Caplin that specialized in early American ragtime, jazz, and blues music. Its reissues includes Bunny Berigan, Bing Crosby, The California Ramblers, Ruth Etting, Benny Goodman
Be ...
in 1971. For the album, she selected songs that she had collected, mostly from friends and relatives.
[Coffey, John (1971). "Traditional Country Music" liner notes. Biograph RC-6004]
Biography
Betsy Rutherford was raised in a musical family. She was related to acclaimed Galax-area musicians and early recording artists Fields, Crockett and
Wade Ward
Wade Ward (1892–1971) was an American old-time music banjo player and fiddler from Independence, Virginia. He was widely known playing the clawhammer banjo and frequently won the Galax, Virginia Old Time Fiddler's Convention. His instrument, ...
, and
Henry Whitter
William Henry Whitter (April 6, 1892 – November 17, 1941) was an early old-time recording artist in the United States. He first performed as a solo singer, guitarist and harmonica player, and later in partnership with the fiddler G. B. Gr ...
.
Her father, Clarence Wroten, was a singer and string band musician who performed with the Ruby Tonic Entertainers and had radio shows in
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
,
Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...
and
Greensboro
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
, North Carolina, in the 1930s. Her mother, Lola Montgomery Wroten, was a shape-note singer. According to Betsy Rutherford, "Mom sang hymns; Daddy sang traditional string band music and played either his guitar, autoharp, or mouth-harp. Somebody was singing just about all the time."
[
Although she was born in Galax, Betsy Rutherford grew up in the ]Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
area. She recorded her album, "Traditional Country Music," with string band musicians who were associated with Old Joe Clark's, a music cooperative in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
. On December 17, 1971, she married John Coffey, a certified nurse anesthetist and string band musician, who accompanied her on the album and wrote the liner notes.
On November 20, 1971, the album received a favorable mention in ''Billboard Magazine'', which said that the record "showed a definite non-Nashville approach and would appeal to folk enthusiasts as well."
She continued to perform during the next two decades, including a stint with the New Ruby Tonic Entertainers, named after her father's band. She performed frequently at colleges and music festivals, including the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, launched in 1967, is an international exhibition of living cultural heritage presented annually in the summer in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is held on the National Mall for two weeks around the Fo ...
in Washington, D.C. She concluded every performance with a rendition of "Amazing Grace
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...
," which she lined out in the Primitive Baptist
Primitive Baptists – also known as Hard Shell Baptists, Foot Washing Baptists or Old School Baptists – are conservative Baptists adhering to a degree of Calvinist beliefs who coalesced out of the controversy among Baptists in the early 19th c ...
tradition.[
She can be heard singing harmony vocals on "Rising Sun Melodies," a compilation of ]Ola Belle Reed
Ola Belle Reed (August 18, 1916 – August 16, 2002) was an American folk singer, songwriter and banjo player.
Early life
Reed was born Ola Wave Campbell in the unincorporated town of Grassy Creek, Ashe County, North Carolina, to Arthur Camp ...
songs released in 2010 by Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fou ...
Recordings.
Betsy Rutherford died at Galax Community Hospital on March 12, 1991. She was 47 years old. Survivors included her husband and three daughters. She is buried at Felts Memorial Cemetery in Galax.[
]
Discography
Solo album
*1971, Traditional Country Music, Biograph RC-6004
:Track Listing
# Faded Coat of Blue
# Rain and Snow
"Rain and Snow", also known as "Cold Rain and Snow" (Roud 3634), is an American folksong and in some variants a murder ballad. The song first appeared in print in Olive Dame Campbell and Cecil Sharp's 1917 compilation ''English Folk Songs from th ...
# John Hardy
# The West Virginia Mine Disaster
# Tramp on The Street
# Boys, Be Good to Dear Old Dad
# Drunkard's Doom
# Blue
# Will the Circle Be Unbroken?
"Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" is a popular Christian hymn written in 1907 by Ada R. Habershon with music by Charles H. Gabriel. The song is often recorded unattributed and, because of its age, has lapsed into the public domain. Most of the cho ...
# Amazing Grace
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...
As a Guest Singer
*2010, Ola Belle Reed, "Rising Sun Melodies," Smithsonian Folkways Recordings No. 40202
References
External links
Betsy Rutherford on Cornbread, Molasses & Sassafras Tea
Betsy Rutherford's Facebook Page
Betsy Rutherford on The Mudcat Café
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutherford, Betsy
1944 births
1991 deaths
People from Galax, Virginia
American folk musicians
Musicians from Appalachia
Folk musicians from Virginia
20th-century American musicians