The idea for a collection of mining songs
from the Southern Appalachian coalfields
came from Paul Kuczko, director of the
Lonesome Pine Office on Youth (LPOY).
An agency of the Wise County government,
LPOY takes on projects that have a local and
regional focus, utilizing indigenous talent
and resources whenever possible.
Previously, with his staff and students in
Big Stone Gap, Virginia, Paul had produced
two photography books featuring historical
images from Virginia's Lee and Wise
counties. While planning a third book
of photographs dealing with bituminous coal
camps around Southwest Virginia, Kuczko got
the idea to include a CD set of coal mining
music along with the text and pictures ~ a
project he referred to as Music of Coal ~
inspired by and in honor of the Wise County
Sesquincentennial celebration of 2006.
Having grown up in Wise County, Virginia,
and having spent many years as a musician,
songwriter, record producer and student of
Appalachian culture, it was with
considerable delight that in 2005 I accepted
an invitation from the Lonesome Pine Office
to produce this CD project.
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of Coal ...
