The Red Clay Ramblers
Formed in Durham, North Carolina in 1972, the Red Clay Ramblers started as an old-time string band and grew into something rarer: a band equally at home at a fiddlers' convention, in a Sam Shepard film and on Broadway.
- Formed
- 1972, Durham, North Carolina
- Founding members
- Tommy Thompson (banjo), Bill Hicks (fiddle), Jim Watson (mandolin, bass), Mike Craver (guitar)
- Longtime lineup
- Jack Herrick (trumpet, bass), Bland Simpson (piano), Clay Buckner (fiddle), Chris Frank (guitar), stable since 1987
- Known for
- Old-time string band music mixed with jazz, gospel and theatre; Fool Moon on Broadway
From string band to stage
The band came out of the old-time revival in the North Carolina Piedmont, playing fiddle tunes and songs from the 1920s and 1930s string-band records. From early on they added their own songs and a sense of humour, and they folded in piano, brass and parlour-song material that most old-time bands left alone.
Founding banjo player Tommy Thompson died on 24 January 2003. The touring band has kept the same four-piece core since 1987 and continues to perform and record.
Albums
| Year | Album | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Stolen Love | Flying Fish Records |
| 1977 | Merchants Lunch | Flying Fish Records |
| 1979 | Chuckin' the Frizz | Flying Fish Records |
| 1981 | Hard Times | Flying Fish Records |
| 1992 | Rambler | |
| 2002 | Yonder |
This is a selection, not the full discography.
Film and theatre
- Sam Shepard films: the band scored Shepard's Far North (1988) and Silent Tongue (1994), appearing in the latter as an 1870s medicine-show band.
- Fool Moon: the Ramblers were the on-stage band for this show with clowns Bill Irwin and David Shiner. It first ran on Broadway from February to September 1993, returned in 1995 and 1998, and won a Special Tony Award in June 1999.
Where to start listening
If you like old-time fiddle and banjo, start with the 1970s Flying Fish records. If you came to them through theatre, the later albums show the band's wider range. For the tradition they grew from, see our guide to old-time music, or try the songs in our traditional folk songs collection.