News

Old Time Music Loses Legend Musician, Bill Birchfield

By Bradley A. Hanson, PhD, Director of Folklife –

birchfieldBill Birchfield, founding member of the traditional Appalachian string band the Roan Mountain Hilltoppers and an exceptional, idiosyncratic musician on several string instruments, died this past Friday, May 15,th at age sixty-nine.

Starting in the late 1970s, Bill was an anchor in his family’s band, at first as a guitar player backing his father Joe on fiddle, uncle Creede on banjo, mother Ethel on washboard, and wife Janice on washtub bass. With their driving, full-bodied music, sincere, unabashed mountain presentation, and rich stock of tunes from the 1910s and ‘20s, the Hilltoppers quickly earned a devoted and referential following among flatfoot dancers and old time music revivalists. After the deaths of his parents and uncle, Bill, now as bandleader, along with Janice and other younger string band musicians, carried the band forward and continued to play widely at regional festivals and contests. Bill eventually set about also mastering the banjo and autoharp, and especially the fiddle style and repertoire of his father.  With each instrument, whether guitar, banjo, or fiddle, Bill’s left-handedness required, or rather enabled, him to play “upside down and backwards.”

Over the years, the Hilltoppers became a learning laboratory for old time players and were recognized as an essential source of Appalachian string music. In addition to playing music, Bill also became an instrument builder and constructed almost entirely with a piece of glass and sandpaper all of the fiddles he played. The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers performed extensively for four decades, including appearances at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville, the Hardly Strictly Blues Festival, Merlefest, as well as dozens of other top bluegrass and old time music events. The band was also featured prominently in Mike Seeger’s film Talking Feet: Solo Southern Dance of the Appalachian, Piedmont, and Blue Ridge Mountains and in Roby Cogswell’s book Tradition: Tennessee Live & Legacies.

Bill’s family will hold a celebration of his life on May 30th at 1pm in Shelter 3 in Roan Mountain State Park. All are invited.