Ozark Highlands Radio is a weekly radio program that features live music and interviews recorded at Ozark Folk Center State Park’s beautiful 1,000-seat auditorium in Mountain View, Arkansas. In addition to the music, our “Feature Host” segments take listeners through the Ozark hills with historians, authors and personalities who explore the people, stories, and history of the Ozark region.

This week, political folk music provocateur and Ozark original Tom Parker performs live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park with his friends, songwriter Mark Crabtree and bass player Jeff Sowards. Also, interviews with Tom. Featured also is talented singer/songwriter and traditional music educator Kathy Jensen. Mark Jones offers an archival recording of traditional Ozark dance fiddler Charley Richardson, playing the fiddle tune “Gold Rush.” Writer, professor, and historian Dr. Brooks Blevins profiles the first in a series of three Ozark song catchers, Mary Parler.

Tom Parker was a bit of an enigma to us, in a good way. Here is the short story on how we found out about him. Virgil Brawley, Mountain View musician and member of Flat Broke, came to us one day after a trip to Springfield, Missouri and told us of a unique banjo player he saw at an old time jam. Not one to mince words “you should get this guy” he said, referring to this week’s feature artist, Tom Parker. Virgil went on about Tom and to paraphrase, noted that his banjo style was neither old time, nor modern, nor even bluegrass. Tom is just something different. Well, you can judge for yourself as we feature Tom on this weeks’ show.

Another one of Stone County’s fine multi instrumentalists (piano and guitar) and vocalists, Kathy Jensen is more than a working musician. She’s also a blueberry farmer and one of the key organizers and instructors for Stone County’s “Music Roots” program. Like so many in the Ozarks, she excels in multiple fields, and has a deep passion and understanding of what makes old time and traditional musics special.

In this week’s “From the Vault” segment, musician, educator, and country music legacy Mark Jones offers an archival recording of traditional Ozark dance fiddler Charley Richardson, playing the fiddle tune “Gold Rush.” from the Ozark Folk Center State Park archives.

From his series entitled “Back in the Hills,” writer, professor and historian Dr. Brooks Blevins profiles the first of three Ozark song catchers, Mary Parler Randolph. This episode features a recording of Jim Means performing the traditional banjo tune “Cripple Creek” at Goshen, Arkansas on November 9th, 1949. The recording was made by collectors Mary Parler Randolph and Merlin Mitchell, and is preserved by the University of Arkansas Mullins Library in its Ozark Folk Collection.

http://digitalcollections.uark.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/OzarkFolkSong/id/3626/rec/7