Cyclone of Rye Cove, The

DESCRIPTION: A tornado strikes the town of Rye Cove, and the schoolhouse is destroyed. Parents search the rubble, finding the bodies of their children.
AUTHOR: A. P. Carter (?)
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (recording, Carter Family)
KEYWORDS: grief death disaster storm
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1928 - the Rye Cove storm in Scott County, Virginia
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Burton/Manning-EastTennesseeStateCollectionVol1, pp. 11-12, "The Cyclone of Rye Cove" (1 text, 1 tune); p. 45, "The Cyclone of Rye Cove" (1 text, stated to be learned from the Carter Family recording)
Cohen-AmericanFolkSongsARegionalEncyclopedia1, pp. 211-212, "Rye Cove (1 text)
DT, RYECOVE
Roud #7116
RECORDINGS:
Carter Family, "The Cyclone of Ryecove" (Victor V-40207, 1930; Montgomery Ward M-7023, 1936; Zonophone [Australia] 4322, n.d.; rec. 1929)
DeBusk-Weaver Family, "Cyclone of Rycove" (on DeBusk-Weaver1)
Asa Martin, "Ryecove Cyclone" (Oriole 8163/Conqueror 8068 [as Martin & Roberts], 1932)
New Lost City Ramblers, "The Cyclone of Rye Cove" (on NLCR13, ClassOT)
NOTES [70 words]: Mark Zwonitzer with Charles Hirschberg, Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone: The Carter Family & Their Legacy in American Music, Simon & Schuster, 2002, p. 101, says this was the only attempt A. P. Carter ever made at creating a song about a topical event. It was not especially popular; unlike, say, Andrew Jenkins, Zwonitzer/Hirschberg conclude that "The Carters were never much good at channeling public tragedy." - RBW
Last updated in version 5.1
File: DTryecov

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