Biography

CONTACT INFORMATION:
EH REPRESENTATION - AB WALKER (347) 337-3403
ehmusicmgmt@gmail.com

Click here to go to The Ebony Hillbillies Music Page

EH QUOTES:

“What a wonderful connection to all our humanity!”
-The New York Times

"They recreate the music you would have heard if you could time travel to a country dance in Mississippi around 1903."
-Mick Gold, BBC/UK

"Joyous, athletic, ancient, modern, and eternal, the Ebony Hillbillies don’t just tell an important story about our country and keep an essential part of our musical heritage alive, but they entertain, magically, majestically, gracefully, and energetically. A pile of passionate, high-end musicians who apply their skill to filling this old tradition with beautiful new life, it’s likely you won’t see a more engaging, entertaining, and purely joyful band all year."
-Tim Sommer, SHO


NORRIS - NEVER GROW OLD
Multi-instrumentalist and Vocalist, NORRIS BENNETT, was born in Ocala, Florida and raised in the northern hills of Buffalo, NY. Norris is a world-class musician with a style all his own. Despite his health woes at an early age and traveling all over the country working odd jobs as a young man busking like many great American musicians of that era (I.e. Muddy Waters, etc...), Norris gravitated to music and never looked back.

   Norris is a much sought after vocalist, multi-instrumentalist (banjo, autoharp, guitar, and dulcimer) and is a world-class solo performer, which has taken him all over the world learning and sharing the stage with some of America's finest legendary folk artists of the day...like Arlo Guthrie, Freddie King, Mississippi John Hurt, Mike Seeger, Joan Baez, Jean Richey, The Dubliners, The Chieftains, Max Roach, Alex Campbell, Stefan Grossman, and so many more greats....

   Norris has been acclaimed as a dulcimer player and teacher. He has recorded two solo compilations for Germany's Bear Family Records, entitled Norris' People. Derroll Adams, Norris' friend and singer/songwriter/banjoist Extraordinaire, quotes, "...simplicity and truth." Norris is, "A man simply singing and playing what his heart feels, not straining his gizzard to be commercial or sound like somebody else, just himself." 

   Through a fellow folk artist based in NYC, Diane McCoy was the catalyst in bringing Norris, a fabulous banjo/dulcimer player to Henrique Prince and THE EBONY HILLBILLIES' attention and the rest is history. With THE EBONY HILLBILLIES - Norris' banjo provides the driving claw hammer rhythm and melodic counterpoint to the fiddle and upright bass that gives this ensemble their unique sound.




THE EBONY HILLBILLIES
From the street corners of Manhattan to the hallowed stages of Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to TV appearances on the BBC and ABC’s “Good Morning America,” The Ebony Hillbillies are a true phenomenon, reviving the lost art form and American legacy of string band music for a whole new generation.

Continuing to bring a fresh urgency to the genre for a 21st Century world in need of some deep musical education, the dynamic ensemble – led by Henrique Prince (fiddle, vocals) with Norris Bennett (banjo, mountain dulcimer, guitar, vocals), Gloria Thomas Gassaway (on vocals and bones), acoustic bassist William “Salty Bill” Salter (3x-Grammy winning co-writer of legendary pop hits like “Where is the Love” and “Just The Two of Us”) and A.R.(Ali Rahman) on washboard “cowboy” percussion kit.

The Ebony Hillbillies started out on the streets of Manhattan, but their vibe and influence has extended over the years to acclaimed live performances at legendary venues like Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center; appearances on the BBC, Good Morning America, NBC, CBS, etc., international music workshops and festivals, visual artist collaborations at museums (including The Whitney with phenom Kara Walker and The Smithsonian Museum), Foot stomping and Hand-clapping Dance parties and more. In the digital era, they have sold thousands of hard copies of their CDs – Sabrina’s Holiday, I Thought You Knew, Barefoot & Flying and Slappin’ A Rabbit – Live! – at their shows and via their globally popular website, www.theEbonyHillbillies.com



N O R R I S
NEVER GROW OLD
2021 EH MUSIC

01. I WISH I WAS A MOLE IN THE GROUND (2:36)
02. IN THE LAND WHERE WE NEVER GROW OLD (3:00)
03. SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE A MOTHERLESS CHILD / DO LORD (3:04)
04. HARD TIMES (3:44)
05. CANDYMAN (4:12)
06. OL' BLUE (4:32)
07. SHE MOVES THROUGH THE FAIR (4:14)
08. HOBO BILL’S LAST RIDE (3:08)



CREDITS:
NORRIS BENNETT - Banjo, Acoustic Guitar, Autoharp, Mountain Dulcimer, Vocals.

Executive Produced by AW

SPECIAL THANKS:
GLORIA THOMAS GASSAWAY
HELMA KIP
CAROL BAHNA
MADDY DELEON
MARCIA HORN



01. I WISH I WAS A MOLE IN THE GROUND (2:36)
Songwriter/Author: Traditional - Arr. by NORRIS W BENNETT
Publishing: OCALA KID MUSIC (ASCAP)/ THE EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC INC



02. IN THE LAND WHERE WE NEVER GROW OLD (3:00)
Songwriter/Author: Traditional - Arr. by NORRIS W BENNETT
Publishing: OCALA KID MUSIC (ASCAP)/ THE EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC INC



03. SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE A MOTHERLESS CHILD / DO LORD (3:04)
Songwriter/Author: Traditional - Arr. by NORRIS W BENNETT
Publishing: OCALA KID MUSIC (ASCAP)/ THE EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC INC



04. HARD TIMES (3:44)
Songwriter/Author: Traditional - NORRIS W BENNETT
Publishing: OCALA KID MUSIC (ASCAP)/ THE EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC INC



05. CANDYMAN (4:12)
Songwriter/Author: Traditional -
PUBLISHER: OCALA KID MUSIC (ASCAP)/ THE EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC INC



06. OL’ BLUE (4:32)
Songwriter/Author: Traditional -
Publishing: OCALA KID MUSIC (ASCAP)/ THE EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC INC



07. SHE MOVES THROUGH THE FAIR (4:14)
Songwriter/Author: Traditional -
Publishing: OCALA KID MUSIC (ASCAP)/ THE EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC INC



08. HOBO BILL’S LAST RIDE (3:08)
Songwriter/Author: Traditional
Publishing: OCALA KID MUSIC (ASCAP)/ THE EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC INC