This is one of a group of songs I wrote in the late ‘50s and early 60s. My uncle Pat Hale had a fishing partner whose name was Haxsaw; they worked in the mines together, and went fishing together on New River. Everytime Hawsaw would catch a fish, he’d yell at the top of his … Read more
This song just kind of wrote itself in 1961, originally as just a guitar piece called “Lonely Tune”. I then put wrote some lyrics in 2019 and renamed it “Morning Star.”
This is a standard blues song. The coal business in WV had gone south. It’s based on my uncle Pat Hale, who had lost his job and gone to Ohio with other coal miners looking for work. My brother David, who was truly gifted with words, helped with lyrics.
I spent a lot of time camping at Indian Creek, and wrote this in 1958. It took 2-3 evenings to write it, and I sang it as a lullaby to Patrick as a baby. This video features Alan singing this song from a recording made in 1965. The photos were all taken by Alan’s brother … Read more
I had just arrived as band director at SAHS in august 1955. I was full of energy, anxious to lead a band that would play fine music. At the time, I was living at home (age 24, in South Charleston). After a few weeks of working in my new job, it occurred to me that … Read more