A Musical Ode to the Renfro Valley Barn Dance

Sept. 30, 2011 - PRLog -- Fresh off his brand new CD, titled “Redneck Roadrunner,” Country Music singer Marty Falle has written and recorded a song recalling the days of the Renfro Valley Barn Dance, a festive hoedown in the great state of Kentucky that began in the 1930s. The beginning of the idea for the barn dance came from John Lair, who grew up on his homestead at the junction of "Big" and "Little" Renfro. Though not talented in a musical way, John was considered the patron saint of “Bluegrass” music as he scraped upon the fiddle or thumped upon the 5-string banjo and organized a string band of neighborhood boys.

World War II sent the country a tizzy, and John left for the war. Soon after he came back from the war, his father passed on, leaving him with a big farm to manage and a widowed mother to support.  John was not much of a green thumb, and even less a decent farmer, so he got out and tried to buck the world. After many trails he came at last to a radio job. In eight years there he had gained a lot of experience, influencing the development of so-called “hill-billy” music, and acquiring the rather empty distinction of probably knowing more about American Folk-Music and "home folks" radio than anyone else in the business.

The dream of doing something for Renfro Valley kept bobbing up and he finally decided to cut loose from a good job and pleasant associations and try his hand at doing some of the things more experienced radio men had always told him could not be done, and that was to bring the barn dance to the airwaves.  An executive at an advertising agency became interested, and a couple of sponsors were lined up and the big adventure was on its way.

Huge crowds flocked to see the Saturday night broadcasts. When the cast made personal appearance in theaters in the largest cities in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia, huge box office grosses were rolled up, breaking records. Money was pouring in and here at last was the long-awaited backing for the Renfro Valley Project. As soon as the barn was built, the Renfro Valley Barn Dance moved in and settled. To John Lair and the boys and girls who had taken to working radio with him, moving to Renfro Valley meant they were “coming home."

That’s just the short version of a terrific story, and Marty Falle and his band mean to honor the great tradition of the Renfro Valley Barn Dance with a sweet and melodious old-school sound. Falle’s historical tribute to the Renfro Valley Barn Dance shares the same appreciation for tradition and “Old America.” With references to Lily May Ledford and her all-girl fiddle band, as well as Slim Miller, Falle bellows his love for the “Bluegrass Holy Land” with a tune that will surely make you feel like you’re swinging at the Saturday night barn dance!

If you would like to see a sample of Country Music singer Marty Falle’s sweet-swinging sound, check out this music video, titled “Hoochie Coochie Gal from the Buckeye State.” The brand new CD, “Redneck Roadrunner,” is available on iTunes now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWXhtDa94kQ