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


THE EBONY HILLBILLIES - SLAPPIN' A RABBIT - LiVE!
Release Date - 2015

"A FOOT STOMPIN' OLD TIME SET OF ORIGINALS, CLASSICS AND EH FAVES PERFORMED LIVE IN CONCERT BY "THE FINEST (AND LAST) AFRICAN-AMERICAN STRING BAND IN THE WORLD!"- THE EBONY HILLBILLIES.....-JJ Riley (OnThePorch)

Imagine a world before electric light. Imagine an America where the railway is new and radio is still a dream, yet the nights are full of music and dancing.
The music in the air, the soulful, heart-scratching sound of fiddle and washboard, emanates from the misty bayous and the shadowy Appalachian hollers; under the star-lit night, in a world lit only by kerosene, the seductive, sinewy songs rise from slave sheds, fishing shacks, big-city rooming houses, and everywhere in between. The music is born of deprivation, disenfranchisement, and disappointment, but it is still leaping with joy even if is just as often weeping with melancholy. 
African American string band music is a tradition that pre-dates jazz, pre-dates audio recording, and was written about even before the Declaration of Independence was signed. African American strings bands were an essential part of daily life throughout the 18th and 19th century; they played for pleasure, played for church, played for dances, and played to relieve the enormous stresses of life on the plantation. 
String Band, music also served as an early breeding ground – perhaps the first in American history – for musical and creative integration. African Americans (both freemen and slaves) were introduced to the fiddle and other string instruments by Scottish and Irish immigrants to Appalachia and the rural south. It’s the sound of America, it’s an ultrasound of the birth of the pop century, it’s even a glimpse at the flesh and bones behind everything you hear on the radio today and everything you’ve ever danced to.
One of the reasons sting band music is so important is that it laid the groundwork for jazz, mountain music, country music, and even the rhythms and melodies of contemporary pop. The DNA of the entire American musical experience can be found in string band genre.

The Ebony Hillbillies’ latest album is Slappin’ A Rabbit, a live reckoning of their infectious, dexterous, ancient modernism. Its remarkably fresh and accomplished music that tells an important story about America. By Tim Sommer



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 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 online.
www.theEbonyHillbillies.com


THE EBONY HILLBILLIES
SLAPPIN' A RABBIT - LiVE!
2015 EH MUSIC

01. ALTAMONT…(3:51)
02. 5 MILES FROM TOWN…(2:53)
03. WANG DANG DOODLE…(4:35)
04. STAY WITH ME...(4:21)
05. JOHN BROWN'S DREAM…(4:34)
06. OLD CARPENTER'S WALTZ…(3:19)
07. GEORGE BOOKER…(3:51)
08. PATROLLER WILL GETCHA..(2:08)
09. BROKE LEG CHICKEN…(5:07)
10. THE EH FROLIC…(4:50)


CREDITS:
HENRIQUE PRINCE - VIOLIN, VOCALS.
NORRIS BENNETT - BANJO, MOUNTAIN DULCIMER, VOCALS.
GLORIA THOMAS GASSAWAY - VOCALS, BONES
WILLIAM “SALTY BILL” SALTER - ACOUSTIC BASS
REGGIE (A.R.) FERGUSON - COWBOY PERCUSSION KIT
NEWMAN TAYLOR BAKER - WASHBOARD PERC
ALLANAH SALTER - VOCALS



RECORDED LiVE "ON THE ROAD"
MASTERED BY RICHARD ALDERSON/AMBIENT DIGITAL/AW
PRODUCED BY AW & THE EH


SPECIAL THANKS:
AMBIENT DIGITAL, GLAMA, TOM NEHIL, BOB ALLISON, EFA/KALAMAZOO RESA, RICHARD ALDERSON, CHENERY AUDITORIUM, GENERATION CUSTOM DRUMS, GERREN YOUNG, DAVID WALKER, BOB BOYD, FUNKADELIC STUDIOS, STEPHEN CEE, PIEDMONT BLUZ, BEN TURNER, EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC FOUNDATION, BOB JONES MASTER INSTRUMENT REPAIR

COVER ART DESIGN BY WALKIN2MEMUSIC




01. ALTAMONT 3:51
Songwriter/Author: Traditional - Arr. by THE EH
Publishing: THE EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC INC


02. 5 MILES FROM TOWN 2:53
Songwriter/Author: Traditional - Arr. by THE EH
Publishing: THE EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC INC


03. WANG DANG DOODLE 4:35
Songwriter/Author: WILLIE DIXON
Publishing: HOOCHIE COOCHIE MUSIC


04. STAY WITH ME 4:21
Songwriter/Author: SAM SMITH, JAMES NAPIER, WILLIAM PHILLIPS - Arr. by THE EH
Publishing: SONY/ATV MUSIC PUBLISHING


05. JOHN BROWN'S DREAM 4:34
Songwriter/Author: Traditional - Arr. by THE EH
Publishing: THE EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC INC


06. OLD CARPENTER'S WALTZ 3:19
Songwriter/Author: CANRAY FONTENOT - Arr. by THE EH
Publishing: THE EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC INC


07. GEORGE BOOKER 3:51
Songwriter/Author: Traditional - Arr. by THE EH
Publishing: THE EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC INC


08. PATROLLER WILL GETCHA 2:08
Songwriter/Author: Traditional - Arr. by THE EH
Publishing: THE EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC INC


09. BROKE LEG CHICKEN 5:07
Songwriter/Author: Traditional - Arr. by THE EH
Publishing: THE EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC INC


10. THE EH FROLIC 4:50
Songwriter/Author: THE EBONY HILLBILLIES
Publishing: THE EBONY HILLBILLIES MUSIC INC