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…
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…
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
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…
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/
Mention of Mayes crosses along the Dixie Highway in ROADSIDE ARCHITECTURE OF KENTUCKY’S DIXIE HIGHWAYS A TOUR DOWN ROUTES 31E AND 31W
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
Haunting and twangy gospel music from Rickman, TN. The Coleman Looper Family is an acoustical (guitars, mandolin, bass, banjo & dobro) group with trio and quartet harmony vocals. The Group is on the road full time in the ministry for the Lord. They travel across the nation from coast to coast. Some say the group…
The link between two American visionaries.
Eleanor Dickinson was very close to the Mayes, visited them, recorded them, and she connected Harrison Mayes with the Smithsonian and got some of his work into their collection. Audio and video recordings as well as drawings and photos by Eleanor Dickinson is archived at the Smithsonian. https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2016/12/eleanor-dickinson-finding-aid/ Search results for Photo, Print, Drawing, Eleanor…
Mailing to a ministry in Jerusalem, asking them to put up an oil cloth sign/cross. (Smithsonian, Eleanor Dickinson Collection, 1967) https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_659735 https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search?return_all=1&edan_local=1&edan_q=Mayes%2C%20Harrison
Looking beyond the Highway | University of Tennessee Press Author(s): Stager, Claudette, and Martha A. Carver, eds. Sample some pages: Looking Beyond the Highway The original essay by Martha Carver in SCA Journal 18 (Fall 2000). Get a copy here on sca-roadside.org
We have documented a lot of signs of various sizes and kinds. Many pictures are in our research materials. But the only large barn-size sign that we had actually seen was located in LaFollette, Tennessee. This particular sign no longer exists. There is one barn sign that I am aware of, and it is located in and…
Another barn telling to “GET RIGHT WITH GOD” by Henry Harrison Mayes, near the Del Rio, TN barn, documented by Jacob Krejci I couldn’t locate it online, not sure if it is still there.
I saw the PREPARE TO MEET GOD barn for the first time on The Carpetbagger’s Flickr page and the only clue was Del Rio, TN a tiny town on a long winding road along a river. Mayes created the sign in the 50 and added the same message later with wooden letters above the metal…
From “A Coal Miner’s Simple Message” The cross bench is a very special sign that lots of people have enjoyed. This particular one-of-a-kind sign (bench) weighs two thousand pounds and is built in the shape of a cross. This shows the cross bench as it was first cast at Harrison’s homeplace. Later, it was moved to downtown. Presently, it is placed at…
