All for Jesus Singers

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…

Finster, Mayes and me at the Library of Congress
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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.

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…

Mayes’ display near Middlesboro, KY, his hometown, in a short documentary about a snake handling church.
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Mayes’ display near Middlesboro, KY, his hometown, in a short documentary about a snake handling church.

Mayes’ display near Middlesboro, KY, his hometown, in a short documentary about a snake handling church. Documentary about ‘snake-handling’ Kentucky church fails to grasp tradition, expert says