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Francis Jane Collier
posted November 21, 2000
I am not affiliated with any band or Bluegrass organization other than the universal group of people who carry this music in their hearts. I was introduced to Bluegrass in the cradle, and while other kids got bedtime stories, I listened to Carter Family and Ralph Stanley songs. By the time I was sixteen, my older brother had taught me how to play Bluegrass guitar. Over the years we have always played together for family gatherings and fund-raisers in our area. We played, and our dad sang with us until he passed away in 1984.
Being born and raised in the hills of Eastern Kentucky gave me exposure to this music that not a lot of people enjoy. As I was growing up, I could always find someone playing and singing Bluegrass at almost any given time. I also had an uncle by marriage who played the music, and I spent a lot of time during my growing up years at the home of my aunt, where I heard Bluegrass daily. What this music gave me as I was growing up, and instilled in me forever, is a sense of morals and values that children do not get from the music of today. Most all Bluegrass songs that I listened to as a child told a story that had a moral, or paid tribute to a well loved parent, usually a mother.
Being an educator, I try very hard to expose the students I work with to the music of my heart and heritage. I volunteer to take the music into schools hoping to get our future generation " hooked " on Bluegrass. In our area now, we have several schools that have an after school program for students who want to learn how to play. The brother who taught me to play, works with one such program teaching a guitar class on Wednesday afternoons.
Bluegrass has been, and continues to be, so much a part of my life, and I am so very thankful that I have been able to give my own sons an appreciation and a love for the music. Both sons have learned to play Bluegrass, and one son sings the old songs that I love so much, so the Family Circle remains unbroken.
Francis Jane Collier
auntjane30@yahoo.com
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