Tommy Jarrell

The North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance will honor late old-time fiddle and banjo player Tommy Jarrell, Rounder Records and gospel/soul vocalist Mavis Staples as recipients of the 2008 Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards during the Folk Awards Show February 20, 2008.

The awards are given to those who have inspired others, achieved definitive leadership in their field and contributed to the advancement of folk music and/or dance. Each year the Lifetime Achievement Awards honor two performers, one living and one legacy, and a person or institution involved in the business or academic side of the folk music world, who have devoted their life’s work to the advancement of the performing folk arts.

The old time sounds of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina were preserved through the recordings of fiddler, banjo player and vocalist Tommy Jarrell, who passed in 1985. Having recorded 9 albums during his career, Jarrell’s music serves as a reminder of his legacy in old time appalachian music history.

In the late 1960’s, Jarrell was performing at folk festivals throughout the west and midwest. In ‘82, Jarrell was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for The Arts. Jarrell was also featured in several documentaries including, “Sprout Wings & Fly,” “My Old Fiddle,” and “Legends Of Old Timey Music.”

In 1970, with their passionate enthusiasm for American roots music lighting the way, three Cambridge, Mass. college students started Rounder. Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin, Marian Leighton-Levy began a label that now has more than 3,000 titles running the gamut from folk, bluegrass, soul and many other genres.

Founded in 1989, the Folk Alliance seeks to create new and better opportunities for those involved in the performing folk arts.