Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Letha Allen: Down In Kentucky

The other day, my brother Chuck sent me this link and I really liked both the song and its execution. I tried finding something out about both the artist and the song; however, I was not too successful. Since a pretty extensive Google search of the title and the lyrics provided absolutely nothing, I am beginning to think that this traditional sounding song is an original by Letha Allen.



With obviously having some tie to the American south, Letha Allen makes her home in Stockbridge, Michigan - which is located between Lansing and Detroit. The unusual instrument she is playing here is a Roimeister Cigar Box 4-string Guitar. It is tuned (C G c g). It sounds great for a little box with a tin pan resonator.

One of things I would like to do one of these days is to build a cigar box guitar. I have the perfect wooden cigar box that I’ve had since I was a kid. I’ve had it so long, I’m not sure of its origin, but I believe my grandmother gave it to me and it was one of my grandfather’s. I imagine that it is from about 1910. One of these days, you may see me strumming my own creation.
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3 comments:

  1. UnknownApril 4, 2010 at 8:10 PM

    Hi there Jim,

    Letha Allen here. So nice to meet you, and thank you for taking time to listen and your thoughts on Down In Kentucky. You are correct, lol, it is my own original, written for a soundtrack to a book I haven't published yet, but hope to some day. I thought I would introduce myself, say thanks to you, and give you a few links to some more of my music.

    Youtube.com/lethabenders
    Soundclick.com/letha
    Sonicbids.com/letha4
    http://iacmusic.com/artist.aspx?id=129785
    Myspace.com/lethaallen
    http://www.musicdealers.com/artist/lethaallenmusic

    Once again, I sure appreciate you for listening, and hope you have a great night,

    Letha Allen

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jim OwstonApril 5, 2010 at 7:53 AM

    Letha:

    Thanks so much for confirming my thoughts on this. Excellent tune. Thanks for sharing on YouTube.

    Jim

    ReplyDelete
  3. LethaMay 30, 2012 at 1:03 AM

    Hi Jim,

    It's been a while since I found your blog on Down In Ke.ntucky. I searched it out again, because I finally finished the project I wrote this song for. I have been writing "Down In Kentucky", the book for some years, and the song is one of the songs I wrote to go along with the book as a soundtrack for it. I am so happy that I finally finished it, and just wanted to let you know. Here is my story:

    http://www.annarbor.com/community/entertainment/turning_pages-songwriter_turns_author/

    Thanks again for including me in your wonderful insights into many genres of music.

    Letha Allen

    ReplyDelete