I grew up smack dab in the middle of harmony singers, yet I’m still blown away by the sound that can be achieved when family members raise their voices in what can only be described as blood harmony.
When hearing such music its hard to tell where one voice leaves off and another begins even though the sound ranges from deep bass to high tenor.
Hopefully in the coming months I’ll be able to share some of that blood harmony singing from The Robbinsville Quartet.
Last night’s video: My Life in Appalachia 25 | Fall of the Year & Our First Fire in the Wood Stove!
My hosting company’s servers were down yesterday morning so that’s why your daily dose of Appalachia didn’t arrive in your inbox. If you missed yesterday’s post, be sure to jump back over and read it here. You don’t want to miss the wonderful guest post by Jim Casada.
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Appalachia Through My Eyes – A series of photographs from my life in Southern Appalachia.
good day miss Tipper I was raised in a singing family/gospel quartet although I am young born in 1965 because of my loving grandparents who tought me everything I know today they showed me andtought there ways the old ways people ask me allthe time how do you know such and such your to young to know or have that knowledge I thank the lord every day for blessing me with my grandparents we were in a different church somewhere every week I grew up on fasala and harmony singing the men sat on one side of the church and the women on the other side and here we’d go that beautiful harmony back and forth between the men and the women each would sing a different part or scale sadly the music is just a memory now it doesn’t exist in our area anymore miss Tipper you a blessing to me and countess other Thankyou for all that you do
Amen!
Blood harmony is a great term even if I’ve never heard it before today.
I come from a family of 9 kids. Most of us could carry a tune and get real close to being on key. 😀 On those occasions when we all – or most of us got together – my oldest brother’s wife would be required to sit at the piano and the rest of us would gather round and do our best. Mostly we sang favorite hymns from The Baptist Hymnal with a generous sprinkling of older songs from our parents’ youth, before 1930. We had a couple of tenors, 2 sopranos and an alto, several baritones and on decent bass. We sang a lot in the ’40s and ’50s, but when TV came along, it almost stopped. A pity. Just one more thing TV can be blamed for causing.
Tipper,
“Blood Harmony” is the perfect term for the sound of family harmony! Gets right to the heart of that sound, you know? I think that type of harmony helped The Judds reach the celebrity status they had in the ’90’s. Your Dad and brother Paul, Katie & Corie have that same haunting beauty in their voices too! I don’t know if you sing….I’ve never seen you if you have, on the videos….shyness, perhaps?
Rita-thank you! Not shyness-like of talent 🙂
I don’t think I have ever heard of the term, “blood harmony.” Like Ron, I always heard, ” it runs in the family” and that includes singing, and other talents and family traits also. I love to hear families sing. It’s just a blessing. The only one in my immediate family that sings, is my great nephew. When he’s not cooking in his family’s restaurant, or performing at churches, he sings with the Wilmington Celebration Choir, a wonderful group from lots of churches that get together and perform all over the state and country. I also enjoy our state singing convention in Benson, NC that happens once a year and there’s a lot of “blood harmony” there. Have a great day everyone!!
I have never heard it called blood harmony, like Ron said I most often hear “it runs in the family”. My father in law and one of his daughters were real good when singing together. Some of his other daughters would probably have been good but never tried. The last time I tried to sing at church the lady sitting in the pew in front of mine thought I was having a medical emergency and was in pain. She was fixing to call 911. I can’t play a radio without getting static.
Like others, I did not get yesterday’s blog but have found that if I go back to yesterday’s and click on the next post it will come up.
I’ve never heard the term ‘Blood Harmony’, but it certainly describes what occurs when families do sing together. This is true with dancing, as well and makes for completion in performance.
I never miss a post if there’s a new one available. I have http://www.blindpigandrheacorn.com bookmarked in my browser. I don’t go to my email to find it. It don’t even show up in my email any more. I try to tell folks how but nobody listens to me.
http://blindpigandtheacorn.com
Apparently I can’t see and I can’t spell! But I try!
Good to see your post sitting in my inbox this morning!! Like Ron mentioned, when I didn’t see it yesterday I was concerned someone was sick so I just said a prayer for your family and then when I went looking at an old post I found your post and enjoyed Jim’s story.
Don’t think I have ever heard family harmony called blood harmony but it certainly catches one’s attention and is such sweet, sweet music to one’s ears.
I had never heard that term “blood harmony”. It sure grabs one’s attention. The expression I have heard much of my life has been “runs in the family”, said of physical characteristics, talents or even someone’s ” turn” of character.
Mom was the singer who in my family. Dad sang with her as a duet and also.with two others in achieving h quartet. But I think Dad was kinda like me. I am a plow horse when it comes to.singing. I can fill in as needs must but it is not a talent of mine. I just marvel at those who are talented at singing or playing. To me, someone who can ‘play by ear’ is an absolute dumbfounding mystery.
And about your ‘missing’ post – we worry when we don’t hear from you that you are having troubles. Relieved to know nothing serious. By the way, I wonder where AW Griff is? Have not seen anything from him for a long time now.
Tipper, I have never heard of blood harmony but that’s exactly what it is to the point and quicklike!!! Families sing beautifully together and that’s a fact! Also, ifn your blog dont come up, I’m a going lookin’ fer ye!!! I ain’t that easily got rid of!!! Lol. If you put ANY family singers on here, we will all watch like a chicken hawk set over a chicken house- don’t you worry about that!!! Lol. We know you know good stuff and great talent and that’s why we love us some BP&A. I told a gal yesterday about you on a business call. Word of your country and sweet ways travels fast cause you’re the best part of many of our days!!!! Hugs and blessings to you and yours this fine day from an old WV hillbilly gal. Btw lil Zipper (named after Miss Tipper) is coming right along. She’s a very sweet baby kitten…
Yes, I did miss it yesterday…I came back several times to see if I had missed it. Your music, especially your family is so comforting and the songs bring me back to olden days. Please keep us in mind when talking about it, cause it is appreciated. God Bless
I look forward to the Blood Harmony and I am assuming that it will be your family!
I love listening to families sing together. When I found your blog in March 2008, and you posted your first family music video, El Condor Pasa, I was hooked even more. I have always loved Barber Shop Quartet singing, and A Capella. I love hearing just the richness of voices making music. But once hearing your family, I began searching out family groups and attending local “homegrown” concerts just to hear families singing together. You would think that I would have zeroed in on blood harmony at a very young age, as my best friend’s family sang together at our church, and all over the county. I grew up listening to their great family blood harmony literally since the day I was born. But I took that for granted. I was as much a part of their family as they were of mine. I called her parents “Mom” and “Dad”, and they were not hesitant to keep me in line with a well deserved swat on the rumpus when needed. I also have always loved the older music genres. As a teenager, and yes still now, I do like the classic rock, etc.. But the Big Bands, Standards, Gospel, and Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers type of music is what strongly pulls me. You guys, Paul especially, have introduced me to artists that I am sure I have heard often, but never paid attention to what all their names were. I am not good at that, I just know when I like their music. It takes me awhile to learn names of all of them. Now I have my own genre name for the kind of music I enjoy – “my comfort music”. And family – blood harmony – is one of the top favorites. Thank you for this great post. I look forward to your future posts of the Robbinsville Quartet!
Donna. : )