Nimrod Workman (November 5, 1895 – November 26, 1994) was an American

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

, coal miner and

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

. His musical repertoire included traditional English and Scottish ballads passed down through his family, Appalachian folk songs and original compositions.

Background

Nimrod Workman was born in

Inez Inez is a feminine given name. It is the English spelling of the Spanish and Portuguese name Inés/Inês/Inez, the forms of the given name " Agnes". The name is pronounced as , , or . Agnes is a woman's given name, which derives from the Greek w ...

Martin County, Kentucky Martin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 12,929. Its county seat is Inez. The county was founded in 1870 and is named for Congressman John Preston Martin. Warfield, Kentucky, ...

and was named after his grandfather Nimrod Workman (1842-1914), who taught his namesake the old ballads from Britain about lords and ladies and the ancient Scottish wars". At the age of 14, he went to work in the Howard Collieries coal mines in

Mingo County, West Virginia Mingo County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,568. Its county seat and largest city is Williamson. Created in 1895, Mingo is West Virginia's newest county, named for the historic Iroq ...

, and he continued working as a coal miner for forty-two years until he was forced to retire due to black lung and a slipped disc. His wife, Mollie Bowens (1912-1998), was of Italian descent on her mother's side. The couple had thirteen children.

Activism

Throughout his

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

career, Workman was active in union politics and

United Mine Workers of America The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American Labor history of the United States, labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing worke ...

organizing. In 1920–1921 he worked alongside the union activist Mary Harris "Mother" Jones in West Virginia, and participated in the

Battle of Blair Mountain The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor uprising in United States history and the largest armed uprising since the American Civil War. The conflict occurred in Logan County, West Virginia, Logan County, West Virginia, as part of the Co ...

uprising. In later years, he advocated on behalf of black lung victims, and was able to receive union compensation for his own health problems in 1971.

Traditional music and later life

The songs Workman had inherited from his grandfather included versions of many

Child Ballads The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child's studies of them were published as ''T ...

, such as "

Young Beichan "Young Beichan", also known as "Lord Bateman", "Lord Bakeman", "Lord Baker", "Young Bicham" and "Young Bekie", is a traditional folk ballad categorised as Child ballad 53 and Roud 40. The earliest versions date from the late 18th century, but ...

", "

Young Hunting "Young Hunting" is a traditional folk song, Roud 47, catalogued by Francis James Child as Child Ballad number 68, and has its origin in Scotland. Like most traditional songs, numerous variants of the song exist worldwide, notably under the title of ...

", "

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

", " Little Musgrave", "

Sir Lionel Sir Lionel is the younger son of King Bors of Gaunnes (or Gaul) and Evaine and brother of Bors the Younger in Arthurian legend since the Lancelot-Grail cycle. He is a double cousin of Lancelot and cousin of Lancelot's younger half-brother Hecto ...

", "

The Wife of Usher's Well "The Wife of Usher's Well" is a traditional ballad, catalogued as Child Ballad 79 and number 196 in the Roud Folk Song Index. An incomplete version appeared in Sir Walter Scott's "Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border" (1802). It is composed of thre ...

", "

The Farmer's Curst Wife The Farmer's Curst Wife is a traditional English language folk song listed as Child ballad number 278 and number 160 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The lyrics of the ballad are sometimes sung to the melody of the song '' Lillibullero''. Robert B ...

", " Barbara Allen", "

Captain Wedderburn's Courtship "Captain Wedderburn's Courtship" is an old Scottish ballad dating from 1785 or earlier. It is Child Ballad #46, Roud 36. It is known by a number of titles, including "Lord Roslin's Daughter" and "The Laird of Rosslyn's Daughter". The song was coll ...

" and "

The House Carpenter "The Daemon Lover" (Roud 14, Child 243) – also known as "James Harris", "A Warning for Married Women", "The Distressed Ship Carpenter", "James Herries", "The Carpenter’s Wife", "The Banks of Italy", or "The House-Carpenter" – is a popular bal ...

". Following his retirement as a miner he became known as a folk singer, with frequent performances around Appalachia as well as the

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 ...

and the

1982 World's Fair The 1982 World's Fair, officially known as the Knoxville International Energy Exposition (KIEE) and simply as Energy Expo '82 and Expo '82, was an international exposition held in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Focused on energy and ele ...

. He recorded two albums: ''Passing Thru the Garden'', with his daughter Phyllis Boyens, which was released by June Appal Recordings in 1975; and ''Mother Jones' Will'' on the

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Al ...

label in 1978. In addition, he contributed songs to several albums of traditional and coal mining music. Workman was filmed by the famous archivist and

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a musician himself, as well as a folklorist, archivist, writer, sch ...

. He was also the subject of the documentary ''Nimrod Workman: To Fit My Own Category'', produced by

Appalshop Appalshop is a media, arts, and education center located in Whitesburg, Kentucky, in the heart of the southern Appalachian region of the United States. History Appalshop was founded in 1969 as the Appalachian Film Workshop, a project of the Un ...

Films, and appeared as himself in the documentaries ''

Harlan County, USA ''Harlan County, USA'' is a 1976 American documentary film covering the "Brookside Strike", a 1973 effort of 180 coal miners and their wives against the Duke Power Company-owned Eastover Coal Company's Brookside Mine and Prep Plant in Harlan C ...

'', ''Chase the Devil: Religious Music of the Appalachians'', and ''The Grand Generation.'' He is heard leading the singing of "Amazing Grace" in the funeral scene in '' Coal Miner's Daughter'', which also featured Phyllis Boyens as

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as " You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My M ...

's mother. Workman was a recipient of a 1986

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

awarded by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. He spent most of his life in Chattaroy, West Virginia, though in later years he lived in

Mascot, Tennessee Mascot is a census-designated place (CDP) in Knox County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,760 at the 2020 census up from 2,411 at the 2010 census. History The Mascot community was first reported to be established around 1796, when ...

. He died in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

in 1994 at the age of 99.

Discography

Albums

* ''Passing Thru the Garden'' (with Phyllis Boyens) (1974,

June Appal Recordings June Appal Recordings is a record label that was founded by Jack Wright and established by Appalshop to record and distribute music of and from central Appalachia. Artists with June Appal include Buell Kazee, Morgan Sexton, Lee Sexton, Carla Gov ...

JA0001) * ''Mother Jones' Will'' (1978, Rounder Records) - this has been reissued, with an additional 7 tracks (2011, Musical Traditions Records MTCD512) * ''I Want to Go Where Things Are Beautiful'' (2008, Twos & Fews / Drag City. Recorded by

Mike Seeger Mike Seeger (August 15, 1933August 7, 2009) was an American folk musician and folklorist. He was a distinctive singer and an accomplished musician who played autoharp, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, guitar, mouth harp, mandolin, dobro, jaw harp, ...

, 1982.)

Compilation Tracks

* ''The Land of Yahoe'' (1996, Rounder) "Way Out West in Kansas" * ''Meeting's A Pleasure: Folk Songs of the Upper South, Vols. 2-4'' (2005, Musical Traditions) "Dixon Said to Johnson" "Charlotte of Edinboro Town" "The House Carpenter" "I'm Drinking from the Fountain (with Mollie Workman)" "Day Is Breaking In My Soul" "Black Dress Blues" * ''Traditional Music on Rounder'' (1981, Rounder) "Watergate Boogie" * ''Come All You Coal Miners'' (1973, Rounder; Albatros) "Both Lungs is Broke Down" "The N and W (Don't Stop Here No More) " "Don't You Want to Go to that Land" * ''Harlan County USA: Songs of the Coal Miner's Struggle'' (2006, Rounder) "Coal Black Mining Blues"

Films

* ''Nimrod Workman: To Fit My Own Category'' (1975). Directed by Anthony Slone and Scott Faulkner. Whitesburg, Kentucky:

. * ''Harlan County USA'' (1976). Directed by

Barbara Kopple Barbara Kopple (born July 30, 1946) is an American film director known primarily for her documentary work. She has won two Academy Awards, the first in 1977 for ''Harlan County, USA'', about a Kentucky miners' strike, /sup> and the second in ...

* ''American Patchwork: Appalachian Journey'' (1991). Directed by

* ''American Patchwork: Dreams and Songs of the Noble Old'' (1991). Directed by

* '' Coal Miner's Daughter'' (1980). Directed by

Michael Apted Michael David Apted, (10 February 1941 – 7 January 2021) was a British television and film director and producer. Apted began working in television and directed the '' Up'' documentary series (1964–2019). He later directed '' Coal Miner's ...

* ''Chase the Devil: Religious Music of the Appalachians'' (1990). Directed by Jeremy Marre * ''The Grand Generation'' (1993). Directed by Marjorie Hunt, Paul Wagner, and Steven Zeitlin

References

External links

New York Times obituary, November 29, 1994

Internet Radio Show on Nimrod Workman

* ttps://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip_138-504xh5q1 Nimrod Workman: To Fit My Own Categoryinterview on

June 3, 1975 at the

American Archive of Public Broadcasting The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) is a collaboration between the Library of Congress and WGBH Educational Foundation, founded through the efforts of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The AAPB is a national effort to digitall ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Workman, Nimrod National Heritage Fellowship winners United Mine Workers people Songwriters from Kentucky 1895 births 1994 deaths People from Martin County, Kentucky Trade unionists from Kentucky Drag City (record label) artists 20th-century American musicians Appalachian music People from Mingo County, West Virginia People from Knox County, Tennessee