Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Folklorist tells America's stories in song

Jane Moorman News-Bulletin Staff Writer; Jmoorman@news-bulletin.com

Tomé Through the ages, a culture and history have been passed from generation to generation through songs and storytelling.

Internationally acclaimed folklorist, historian, musician, storyteller and author Sparky Rucker and his wife, Rhonda, will share their unique look at American history on Friday, Nov. 4, at the University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus during a concert that will begin at 6 p.m. Admission is $10.

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Sparky has been singing songs and telling stories from the American tradition for more than 40 years. He accompanies himself on guitar, banjo and spoons.

Rhonda has developed her own unique style of playing harmonica, which complements their music, whether they are playing railroad songs, Appalachian music, blues, slave songs, Civil War music, gospel, work songs, cowboy music, ballads or Sparky's original compositions.

Whether he is garbed in the uniform of a Union soldier or in his more familiar black boots, vest, neckerchief and cowboy hat, Sparky is sure to deliver an uplifting presentation of toe-tapping music spiced with humor, history and tall tales.

"Each show is unique," Sparky said in a telephone interview. "We give a historical perspective of the United States through the music and stories of the era from which the songs came from."

The former public school teacher's current brand of teaching is different from the usual classroom style. He weaves music into captivating stories that the history books don't always tell.

He might explain that slave owners banned the drum since the slaves could use it to communicate. He might discuss the African origin of the banjo, or he might explain that the Yellow Rose of Texas was really a light-skinned female slave who learned of Gen. Santa Ana's plans for the Battle of San Jacinto and passed the information to Sam Houston.

The couple's passion for the American Civil War has inspired the development of The Blue & Gray in Black & White, a special historical program that tells stories from the war in music and narrative.

"More songs come out of the Civil War than any other war in history," Sparky said.

Another special historical program, The Buffalo, Eagle and Silver Spur, tells the hidden history of minorities in the American West. Sparky tells of the black soldiers who were nicknamed the Buffalo Soldiers by Native Americans because of their hair's resemblance to that of the highly regarded buffalo.

His musical narrative also tells of Ghost Dance warriors and Mexican vaqueros.

Sparky said the couple will draw from this wide repertoire of work for the UNM-VC show.

Sparky is a natural storyteller, having grown up hearing his father, uncles and other family members endlessly telling tales. His storytelling was featured on Tall Tales of the Blue Ridge: Stories from the Heart of Appalachia, a video produced by the Eastern National Parks and Monument Association in 1992.

During his four decades of performing, Sparky has appeared on numerous radio programs, including National Public Radio's Morning Edition, Prairie Home Companion and Mountain Stage. He also performed in Carry it On and Amazing Grace: Music in America, two videos produced by the Public Broadcasting System.

He has performed at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, Tenn., and other storytelling festivals around the nation. He has been a keynote speaker and a performer at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and the Chicago Cultural Center.

As an author, Sparky recently contributed to Breathing the Same Air, an East Tennessee anthology of writings released in 2000. Sparky and Rhonda are also writing articles for the Encyclopedia of Appalachia, which will soon be published by the University of Tennessee Press.

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