Brother Mayes and Rev. Howard Finster
The link between two American visionaries.
A Mayes Sign at Finster’s Paradise Garden
Last year I found out that Henry Harrison Mayes and Folk Art legend Rev. Howard Finster knew each other and Mayes even influenced Finster with his sign ministry. The first clue about this relationship I found in Norman Girardot’s book Envisioning Howard Finster: The Religion and Art of a Stranger from Another World. And digging…
The Appalachian Storyteller – Appalachia’s Sign Man
The YouTube Channel “The Appalachian Storyteller” features Harrison Mayes story. Found my Conway, AR sign in there, so I assume one or another image was sourced from here as well. Which is cool. I found a few more leads in the comments, so maybe I’m able to add more to the map.
“Get Right With God” road sign, Indiana, Mississippi, March 1977 by William R. Ferris
It’s hard to tell if this is a genuine Mayes cross. I’ve seen images of crosses with a similar typeface attributed to him. Those were older, and given the bad paint job and the time frame of William R. Ferris photo, this might be one of those older crosses, painted over by someone who “took…
Evangelist Clarence Jackson & The Christian Family – I Wanna See Jesus (1970)
praise the lord, that’s old time holy ghost down home singing Great post by Gospel Boogie podcast
Harrison Hayes (sic!) and Middlesboro, KY mentioned in the book “The Serpent Handlers: Three Families and Their Faith” by Fred Brown, and Jeanne McDonald
Harrison Mayes is mentioned in the book “The Serpent Handlers: Three Families and Their Faith” by Fred Brown and Jeanne McDonald, which depicts the well-known Coots family in Middlesboro, KY.
All for Jesus Singers
The book The Persecuted Prophets by Karen W. Carden, Robert W. Pelton mentioned the existence of a music group called the All for Jesus Singers that went “on tour”. This is at least the second mention of a named music project out of the serpent handling community, beside Tommy and Lou Coots. Although only the…
Exterior view of a house, Leslie County, Kentucky, 1949
There is a high probability that this is an early sign made by Harrison Mayes, photographed by Eliot Elisofon for the feature “The Fruitful Mountaineers” in the TIME Magazine, Dec. 1949. The photo doesn’t appear in the magazine, but in a blog post, that is not publicly available any more (archived version). Time Magazine, Dec….
Two Faux Signs?
I found these two photos that resemble Harrison Mayes’ work, but I’m not 100% certain. His typography has undoubtedly influenced them. Photographer Don Dudenbostel posted some more photos and some background information on this photography forum.
Mayes Portrait by Eleanor Dickinson
Scholar and artist Eleanor Dickinson is responsible for getting Henry Harrison Mayes work into the Library of Congress. She conducted countless interviews with the Mayes, brought Rev. Howard Finster and Brother Mayes together, and documented the culture of the mountain folks. The book REVIVAL! contains Dickinson’s beautiful line-drawings, photos of religious services, artifacts, and stories…
Finster, Mayes and me at the Library of Congress
Since I discovered that there are documents that prove that Folk Art Visionary Howard Finster and Roadside Evangelist Harrison Mayes met and exchanged ideas, I was determined to find out what these two old geezers had to tell each other. Also I wanted to hear Mayes voice, how he talked, and maybe there was even…
Connecting the Dots: The Music of Serpent Handlers – the Coots Duo and the Coots Duet.
This photo above, is clipped from the National Geographic Snake Salvation series. Initially I took a screenshot because I collect these kinds of photos, but later I came back for another reason. I discovered the Alabama Astronaut podcast, which explores the music of the serpent handlers. There they mention the Coots family, and that Jamie…
Henry Harrison Mayes on the Wikipedia
Finally, got a Wikipedia article of Harrison Mayes approved. I will expand it and hopefully, there are folks who want to contribute or at least help to rewrite it, to fix my shortcomings with the English language. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Harrison_Mayes
Three new metal signs in SE Georgia added to the map
A kind person from the internet tipped me off with three location of extant Henry Harrison Mayes “GET RIGHT WITH GOD” signs. All three are heart-shaped metal signs with red-green letters. This is the first time I’ve seen those in the wild (means lately photographed by Google street view). All three seem to be from…
Marker appears in “Snake Man Of Appalachia” (2012)
For some reason (East Kentucky), Mayes’ marker show up in snake handling documentaries like this one – “Snake Man Of Appalachia”. This is the trailer and the marker appears right at the beginning. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1957595/
ROADSIDE ARCHITECTURE OF KENTUCKY’S DIXIE HIGHWAYS A TOUR DOWN ROUTES 31E AND 31W
Mention of Mayes crosses along the Dixie Highway in ROADSIDE ARCHITECTURE OF KENTUCKY’S DIXIE HIGHWAYS A TOUR DOWN ROUTES 31E AND 31W
George Vinton Graham – Early Outsider Music Recording, 1939
Outsider Music is not a new phenomenon, but finding such an early example was a surprise. George Vinton loves to play music, but neither his voice nor his hands are on the same track when they perform a song. This is the godfather of ambitious musicians like The Shaggs or Y. Bhekhirst. Mr. G.’s guitar…
C.Strøm – Music Videos
In 2014 I released an album of Norwegian archivist and singer-songwriter C.Strøm. The title track I Have Heard of a Land, written by James Moore in 1914 and recorded by Smith’s Sacred Singers from northern Georgia in the 1920s, is said to be the first ever “country gospel” record. For the video I used the video portrait of…
Sister O. M. Terrell – I’m Going To That City
Photo of one of Harrison Mayes metal crosses by Peter B. Lowry, Georgia 1970 used as cover artwork for a compilation with rare post-war gospel This album contains a representative collection of post-war gospel recorded between 1947 and 1953. The post-war period through to the mid-50s is generally regarded as the finest for gospel music…
Faux Mayes Cross in Kingston/Rockwood, TN
A rather unusual, more primitive concrete marker on Hwy 80 in Rockwood, TN near Kingston, TN. The cross misses the typical lettering and message, instead it appears rough and with a different wording than Mayes on each side. One side says JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, the other is barely readable but states …BUT THE BLOOD……
Daniel Bachman (Link)
Daniel Bachman is an artist, musician, and independent scholar primarily interested in the folk histories of Virginia. Bachman has released 9 full length records since 2011, and toured extensively internationally and throughout the US, garnering wide acclaim. Daniel Bachman Over the last 10+ years, Daniel Bachman was and still is a huge inspiration for me. The…