Coal Creek, Tennessee was located near Knoxville on a tributary of the Clinch River. There were three coal mining villages on Coal Creek: Briceville, Fraterville, and Coal Creek. A lot happened there (a labor rebellion and two mine explosions), but, still, I'm amazed that such a small area would be the source of so many pieces of music. Be sure to visit http://www.coalcreekaml.com/Legacy.htm for a cogent history of the coal mining troubles there.

In the early 1890s, the Coal Creek mine owners struck a sweet deal with the state of Tennessee: they'd lease convicts and put them to work in the coal mines. This was a win-win situation for almost everyone. The state wouldn't have to board the prisoners, and even got paid for providing them. The operators had fixed, low labor costs and workers who had no choice about leaving. The only ones who thought it was a bad deal were the displaced miners. The result was the Coal Creek War of 1891-1892. After quite a few deaths on both sides, the miners won the rights to their old jobs and the State of Tennessee opened its own coal mine to keep the prisoners busy. Grand Ol' Opry entertainer Uncle Dave Macon ran across a song about it somewhere: Buddy Won't You Roll Down the Line, performed by Uncle Dave Macon, vocal and 5-string banjo, with Sam McGee, banjo-guitar and bass vocal on chorus. It was recorded July, 1928 in Chicago by the Brunswick Record Company. The recording is re-released on the Smithsonian-Folkways 6-CD set, Anthology of American Folk Music.

In 1902, the mine at Fraterville blew up, trapping 216 miners, all of whom died before they could be rescued. After the disaster, there were only 3 adult males left in Fraterville. All the rest were widows and orphans. Fate must get a kick out of irony: many of the dead had fought for their jobs in the Coal Creek War. Several miners lived long enough to leave heartbreaking notes to their families. Undoubtedly some of them were published in newspapers, leading to a poem which was then set to music by somebody. Well, I have no proof of that, but it seems to me to be the most likely source for Shut Up in Coal Creek Mine, performed by Green Bailey, vocal and guitar, recorded August, 1929 in Richmond, Indiana by American Record Company. The recording is re-released on the 7-CD set, Kentucky Mountain Music, Yazoo 2200. For more commentary on this song, as well as the music and lyrics, see http://www.lizlyle.lofgrens.org/RmOlSngs/RTOS-CoalCreekMine.html.

In 1911, the Cross Mountain Mine, near Briceville, exploded, killing 84 miners. This was the last major disaster at Coal Creek. Some banjo player somewhere composed an instrumental and named it Coal Creek March. Pete Steele, who had worked in the Kentucky mines, had learned it from another miner, who presumably also told him the exaggerated death toll and the story about the march being played while wives walked among the bodies looking for their dead husbands. This Coal Creek March, performed by Pete Steele, 5-string banjo with spoken introduction, was recorded 1958 in Hamilton, Ohio by Ed Kahn and released as Banjo Tunes and Songs of Pete Steele, Folkways LP FS3828. Smithsonian-Folkways will make a CD of this album to order (http://www.folkways.si.edu/index.html), but an earlier recording, without the wrenching introduction, is on the Yazoo Kentucky Mountain Music set mentioned above.

Actually, there were several banjo tunes titled Coal Creek March. The main thing they had in common: they were all virtuoso pieces. Another, more complicated Coal Creek March was played by Marion Underwood, 5-string banjo. It was recorded May, 1927 in Richmond, Indiana by American Record Company. The recording is re-released on the Yazoo Kentucky Mountain Music set mentioned above. The rapping on the banjo sounds like gunshots, which may mean that the march first originated with the Coal Creek War. Underwood also played banjo with Taylor's Kentucky Boys, famous for their instrumental recording of Forked Deer, which almost every string band tries to copy. That's also on the Yazoo boxed Kentucky album.

In 1936, the Norris Dam flooded the Clinch River, and the town of Coal Creek changed its name to Lake City. Coal mining had already pretty much ceased by then, anyway, so it's hard to pin down the date of the Last Payday at Coal Creek, here performed by Pete Steele, vocal and 5-string banjo. This version was recorded 1938 in Hamilton, Ohio by Alan & Elizabeth Lomax, and deposited in the Library of Congress Archive of Folk Song (1702B1), and re-released on the Yazoo Kentucky Mountain Music set mentioned above. In the 1958 recording session, Steele said that the song was composed shortly after the 1911 explosion which, he said, "busted the company." For more commentary on this song, as well as the music and lyrics, see http://www.lizlyle.lofgrens.org/RmOlSngs/RTOS-LastPayday.html.