Today’s post was written by Paul.
Today I’m sharing another fun tune, “Crying Holy Unto the Lord,” from my visit with the Reighard Family.
I was a little disappointed that the Flip Cam didn’t really capture the sound of the bucket bass the way it sounded live. Standing there in Sonny’s living room, it sounded very much like a doghouse bass. I even tried running the audio through a program to boost the bass with EQ, but it didn’t seem to make it stand out any better. Everyone’s computer audio system is different, and hopefully for some of you, you’ll be able to hear the bass better than I can on my computer.
When I was young, Pap told me that a lady he saw playing with Sonny at a show played this type of bass. He didn’t call it a bucket bass. He just described it to me. Even though I was a kid, I remember being skeptical, but he assured me that it produced a bass sound. He didn’t realize or didn’t mention that the lady playing it was Sonny’s sweet wife (now of 52 years), Margaret.
Sonny sometimes played with his wife and another lady in a gospel trio called “The Valley River Trio.” I believe that mom and dad used to have an LP of them in their record collection when I was growing up.
The Valley River runs through the Andrews Valley where Sonny lives. Regular followers of our YouTube channel may recall that in my very first video with Sonny, back in the Train Song Series of 2020, I mentioned the Valley River Trio in my introduction of him. That trio was my primary experience of Sonny’s music, and it wasn’t until I mentioned the trio in my introduction that I learned he played in several other bands.
I think the trio may have played only gospel, which makes sense as to why I would have seen them more (in churches) as opposed to bluegrass shows or festivals.
However, I had never seen the bucket bass, only heard about it from Pap. Maybe they thought it wasn’t appropriate for churches and didn’t use it when I saw them in churches, and maybe by the time I started playing benefits and festivals with Pap and his brother Ray, Margaret had stopped playing it due to the back problems she mentioned in this video. Anyway, it was neat to see Margaret drag this contraption/instrument out and play it one more time and to remember that Pap came home from a benefit show one night and told me about it, probably 30+ years ago. And of course, I loved seeing grandparents and grandson making music together. There’s always something special about family music.
The bucket bass is made out of something one doesn’t often see: a 10-gallon bucket. I suppose that a typical 5-gallon bucket might work, only with less volume or bass tone. The “string” is a nylon cord. Instead of moving her fingers around (like you would on the neck of bass), Margaret leaned the neck of the instrument forward or backward to either decrease or increase the tension, thereby creating different notes (more tension=higher notes, less tension=lower notes).
Listening to it live, this worked really well on the line: “If I could, I surely would…” The neck of the instrument was not permanently attached to the bucket. Instead, it just had a V-notch cut into the bottom of it. Margaret placed the notch of this V on the rim of the bucket, which allowed her to lean the neck, using that pivot point. I assume that Sonny made the instrument, but I didn’t confirm that.
Those who have seen Sonny perform to a crowd know that his shows always feature a ton of comedy, so a bucket bass makes sense 🙂 Margaret’s vocal harmony was spot on too, though the camera didn’t capture it very clearly either.
I panned down to the bucket at the end because I loved the captions/decorations on the bucket: American Flags and the words: “God is good” and “Jesus is my Best Friend.”
Lyrics below:
Crying holy unto the Lord… Crying holy unto the Lord… If I could, I surely would Stand on the rock where Moses stood.
Lord, I ain’t no stranger now. Lord, I ain’t no stranger now. I’ve been introduced to the Father and the Son; Lord, I ain’t no stranger now.
Sinners, run hide your face. Sinners, run hide your face. Sinners, run to the rocks and hide your face; The rocks cried out, “No hiding place.”
I hope you enjoyed the video, and thanks for watching. If you’d like to see our version of the old song go here.
Original singles released on Spotify.
Shepherd of My Soul (Album released in 2016).
Paul
Love it!!!
I like the song and they sure did it proud. It’s amazing what you can turn into a musical instrument if you just think about it a little. I enjoyed this post, making music in at the heart of Appalachia!
The bass I saw made similarly was with a galvenized tub. It made a really good sound! Loved their performance, even though the bucket didn’t come across as I’m sure it did in person. Great performers! Thanks!
I meant to add this in my earlier comment of a blues singer that plays a guitar made from a gas can. His name is Mac Arnold and you can Google him in either Greenville, Pelzer, or Ware Place, SC. His band’s name was Mac Arnold and a Plateful of Blues. He owned a restaurant in Greenville that was famous for serving collard greens and cornbread. Mac grew his own collard greens on a farm he was raised and still lives on.
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I also watched the Angel Band video. This song along with one titled A Beautiful Life were my granddaddy’s favorite songs during the time I was able to enjoy him. He would sing them each morning while feeding his mule and then depending on the weather would either get on his knees and pray in the hall of the barn or go to a big above ground rock behind the barn and pray. We have made a flower garden around this rock in memory of him. The second song may have another title but has this verse My evening sun is sinking low a few more days and I must go to meet the deeds that I have done where there will be no setting sun.
I got the bright idea one time to make a bucket bass out of a large metal trash can, hoping for more volume. I carved and rasped out a beautiful neck from ash and securely mounted it to the side of the trash can. Hammered dulcimer tuning pegs were installed at the top of the neck for tuning, and a bridge was fastened. I used weed eater strings of different diameters for the strings. When my trash can bass was finished, it was a beauty, but alas, it sounded like….well….a trash can.
I’ve never seen a bucket bass, but I think it is wonderful how folks can make something to play music with out of such simple things and it’s special when family plays and sings together like that. Precious!
I made and played one years ago, and I wasn’t the first. We called it a gut bucket. I had a galvanized bucket. Sounded pretty good.
Gene,
The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers from Roan Mountain TN used a galvanized tub, played by the MC, Janice Birchfield, which they called a “gut tub bass” and the story was that the tub was used when slaughtering hogs to catch the intestines. I know by experience that those tubs were used for that purpose. I don’t think their particular tub had seen that use, but got its name from that origin.
To make a short story long, their “gut tub bass” did have a pretty good sound.
You have me wondering Paul about homemade inventions of instruments. I think there might be a long list. Would spoons be on it I wonder since there was no making involved.
Interesting point about maybe a bucket bass not belonging in church. There is a wide range in the thinking about what belongs in church or not. In the church I grew up in there was no music. In fact that was (and still is as far as I know) the common thing throughout the county. It wasn’t the music itself so much as its association with drinking, gambling, brawling and such like in the history of the county which was a rough place way back.
Ron, we still have those churches in NE.KY. They are the old regular, primitive, and united Baptist with no musical instruments. My church which is a branch off the old regular Baptist didn’t forbid musical instruments but wasn’t very tolerant of any except guitars and a piano. Nowadays you might hear many other musical instruments followed by an old Baptist tune sang out of the sweet songster. I know by heart a few of the old tunes but I’m not a good singer.
AW, I’ve never had the pleasure of time in NE KY but I thought you might have some reply to what I posted since I knew you had some connection with old regular baptists. Semple’s “History of Kentucky Baptists” says the Old Regular and Separate Baptists reconciled differences to form the United Baptists sometime around 1805. But with a congregational form of church government, not every congregation made a name change, just new congregations going forward. Mine and my wife’s heritage is United Baptists and I always heard that church was founded around 1830.
I have not encountered, nor heard of, a Baptist church in north Georgia that does not have music. The only comment I have is that people who are used to singing with music can be shy about singing loudly without it. That really makes a difference outdoors, such as at a baptisting.
I agree with the old way of thinking when it comes to instruments in a church service. Instruments are like makeup, they are ornamental. They are an unnecessary addition to the human voice when it comes to praising the Lord. He hears the song of our hearts no matter what we sound like, if we are his sheep. If we are not then He hears us not at all.
Musical accompaniment is for an audience. If God is the audience then that’s great. If God is only in the audience, that’s not so great. Psalms 100 says “make a joyful noise unto the Lord”. To me that means the the song of our soul doesn’t have to please the person sitting nearby if it is intended for the Lord. If it is intended for everyone within earshot then it is not “unto the Lord”.
Don’t get me wrong, I not putting down Christian singing and playing. I embrace it! I do it! I’m just saying that if it is performed for an audience of our peers we can’t consider it a replacement for personal praise and worship.
My mind keeps going back to those old country music radio and TV shows that ended with a hymn. I remember thinking to myself “Yeah, sing what you want to sing, say what you want to say, end it with a Christian song and God will let you slide!” Yeah? No!
Sorry, something you said woke up the preacher in me!
Ron, we had some steps replaced when I was a kid, and the black lady who helped my mother around the house asked if she could have some blocks the carpenter had left. Mom said yes and asked her what she wanted them for. She said she would make music with them at her church. She then clapped them together to demonstrate her homemade percussion rhythm instrument.
I hadn’t thought of that song in ages, brought back many memories. An aunt and uncle sang that in church 40 some years ago.
I agree, there certainly is something special about family music.
I loved this ❤ when people want to praise the Lord they come up with their own instruments. I also watched the Angel Band video which made me realize what was happening to my Daddy the night before he died. He was 84 years old and had been in the hospital for about a week. The hospital chaplain had led him to the Lord two days before , we had prayed for him for 40 years but it took this precious lady to reach him. The night before he passed my husband and I were staying with him in the hospital. In the middle of the night he suddenly started talking to someone that we couldn’t see in a language we didn’t understand we. Now I truly believe he was talking to the angel who would come early the next morning to take him home. This blessed my heart ❤
What a wonderful praise song to glorify our Lord. Well done! Thank you for sharing!
I’ve sung that song in church but I don’t think I ever saw a bucket bass. The singing and music came through clear and was beautiful. I too love and give the statements noted on the bucket: God is good and Jesus is my best friend! God bless!