THE CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS: ON THEIR WAY, by Larry Benicewicz

Photos and Text by Larry Benicewicz

"And the doctor said, ‘Give him jug band music;
you know it’ll make him feel just fine.’"
------ John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful

Well, there’s an old expression: what goes ‘round comes around. But who could imagine that string band street music from the Roaring 20s could ever be resurrected and moreover be warmly and enthusiastically welcomed by a whole new audience of listeners? After all this is the technological age, wherein tunes born of slick, sophisticated, computer enhanced engineering are downloaded (some say stolen) in a flash to personal iPods. How can, you say, instrumentation of such a primitive origin - washtub basses, earthenware jugs, kazoos, washboards, fiddles, banjos, and resonating, steel guitars ever have a chance to speak to or appeal to such a zoned out, plugged-in generation? But then who can gainsay the overnight success of the upstart Carolina Chocolate Drops, who like a breath of fresh air, gain converts each day to their Gospel of real, authentic Piedmont blues, played in their inimitable manner with nary a hint of irony.

45 RPM EP cover on Jug Bands

Whatever their formula is, they’ve touched a nerve and they couldn’t have come along at a better time with their goodtime music to, just like their forebears, dispel the gloom and doom of a nation at war and perhaps on the brink another Depression.

You say you haven’t heard of them? But definitely you will. Already they’ve contributed four obscure numbers (like Kokomo Arnold’s “Busy Bootin’” and Blind Willie Johnson’s “Nobody’s Fault But Mine”) to the soundtrack of the recent Oprah Winfrey-produced, cinematic release, The Great Debaters, starring Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker. This past summer they performed at the exclusive and prestigious Newport Folk Festival. Their prior CD on Music Maker, Dona Got A Ramblin’ Mind, had garnered a rave review (Fritz’s Picks) in August’s Rolling Stone. And they have been acknowledged in both Paste and Living Blues magazines. Finally after a West Coast swing this winter (including Alaska), they’ll be headed off to Europe in March. Not bad for a group that’s hardly been together for two years.

Cartoons by R.Crumb c/o Shanachie Records

Cover of Dona Got A Ramblin' Mind,
Photo by Andrew Dies

But just what is jug band music? We know it existed because of literally hundreds of crude 78 rpm recordings remaining from that era. According to most sources, Whistler & His Jug Band, a black outfit, were not only the darlings of the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, KY, but also they left behind a legacy of 21 titles from 1924-31. In addition, they appear in an extremely rare movie clip in which the bass section, which provides the “bottom,” is composed of three jug playing gentleman, one of which is in a top hat. There was no standard configuration of such an aggregate, and its size was determined most probably by the venues, which may have included frolics, square dances, parades, or house/rent parties. Most were playing for tips and, of course, the day’s take had to be shared.

Most musicologists agree that such exponents of this acoustic music were probably around long before the Age of Flappers, and, indeed, the black players could have performed in such a unit on slave plantations as far back in history as the antebellum South. Some scholars, like the late anthropologist, Alan Merriam of Northwestern University, traced the similarities in the playing technique of the earthen jug to that of the clay-based menda found in the Congo. While others claim that the modern day banjo can be attributed to a guitar-like invention also of African ancestry in which animal skin is stretched tight over a wooden frame. In fact, one of the three principals of the Chocolate Drops, Rhiannon Giddens, asserts that this stringed instrument originated with the hide of a goat pulled over a gourd which had a bamboo stick extension, serving as both a finger board and fret.

But one thing that can’t be argued is that there were a slew of them and that this phenomenon endured well into the Great Depression. For many of these musicians, this method of entertaining was the only way out, escaping their grinding poverty. But still, working the streets was no picnic. It wasn’t quite like going from frying pan to fire. But it was a hardscrabble existence nonetheless, which was belied by the joyful music with which they serenaded the public.

Carolina Chocolate Drops:
L-R, Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson
Photocopyright by Larry Benicewicz

Generally speaking, such ensembles were territorial in nature. The majority became fixtures in cities like the aforementioned Whistler, Philips’ Louisville Jug Band, the Cincinnati Jug Band, and the famous (and prolific) Memphis Jug Band, led by guitarist Will Shade (Sun Brimmers) whose 1932 number, “Bottle It Up and Go,” became a blues standard of that decade. However, some of these collections of musicians were itinerant and traveled state-wide, like the Alabama Jug Band, the Kentucky Blowers, the Kentucky Jug Band, and the Georgia Washboard Stompers. The most illustrious of this last batch was the Mississippi Sheiks, which featured singer/guitarist Walter Vinson, fiddler Lonnie Chatmon, and Chatmon’s brother, Bo Carter (b. Armenter Chatmon), who played bass viol and later recorded as solo guitarist over 105 titles. The Sheiks’ greatest claim to fame was their signature “Sitting on Top of the World,” which also evolved into a blues classic. Others of this ilk roamed far and wide like the Dixieland Jug Blowers, the Dixie Washboard Band, or the Old Southern Jug Band. While the locale of several could not be automatically determined because they were named after their founders, like Sarah Martin’s Jug Band, Clifford’s (Louisville) Jug Band, and the most renowned, Cannon’s Jug Stompers, which was based in Ripley, TN, and fronted by banjoist Gus Cannon. Among the 28 extant recordings of this latter trio (also guitarist Ashley Thompson and Noah Lewis on harp) between 1928 and 1930, was the folk rag, “Walk Right In,” which during the folk revival, became a million-seller for the Rooftop Singers on Vanguard in 1962.

Although there were quite a few white outfits of this designation (the Tar Heel Ramblers for one), black string bands predominated, especially in urban settings. And before the modern age of political correctness, their names unmistakably announced their ethnicity---Buster Bailey & his Seven Chocolate Dandies, the Five Hot Chocolates, the Harlem Hot Chocolates, the Chocolate Dandies, and the Tennessee Chocolate Drops, who recorded for Vocalion (big hit: “Vine Street Drag”) and after whom the Carolina Chocolate Drops were named. Evidently, at the time, there was no stigma attached to identifying your race in this regard and to some maybe a source of pride (or publicity). Other acts of this vintage were the vocal groups Blackbirds of Harmony and Blackbirds of Paradise and bands such as the Black Swan Dance Orchestra and Duke Wilson & his Ten Black Berries.

Ancient history? Maybe. But not to the multi-talented Dom Flemons (resophonic guitar, harmonica, jug, kazoo, 4-string banjo, bones, and snare drum), the unabashed spokesman of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, who dutifully explains their raison d’etre. Yes, they want to visit their musical roots and preserve the musical heritage of Piedmont North Carolina. But they are only traditionalists to a degree. First, they are all well educated and like to teach, especially relishing the opportunity to perform music workshops in schools wherein they can demonstrate that instruments like the banjo and fiddle, long associated with C&W music, have their place in Afro-American lore as well. And secondly, because of their extensive background in music theory, composition, etc. they are really jazzmen at heart, who enjoy nothing better than to take an old song and turn it inside out. As they play, they improvise and feed off each other and in the process reconstruct a refreshing, new entity of an old song. Thus the traditional tune is only a springboard to a flight of fancy. They’ve borrowed from the past, but have created something uniquely their own which can be appreciated by all generations of listeners. And therein lies their incredible popularity.

But still you have to wonder how this group coalesced, a band in which all shared a fascination for this heretofore long forgotten brand of music. It’s a question all too familiar to Dom and he patiently recounts the story about how fateful the April, 2005, encounter was for all concerned—the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, NC. But we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. The background of each, Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson made them predisposed to gravitate toward each other and subsequently form a partnership when this magic moment arrived.

Dom Flemons was born in Phoenix, AZ, on August 30, 1982. He grew up listening to pop music and the R&B of the 60s and 70s preferred by his parents. In the high school band, his first instrument of choice was actually the bass drum. At 16, he watched a documentary of Bob Dylan and the movie Dangerous Minds, both of which led him to buy albums by both Dylan and the Beatles—particularly Sgt. Pepper. Always inquisitive as to the origins of this music, he did research on his own to discover the influences of these artists. In Dylan’s case, there were singers such as Woody Guthrie, Eric Andersen, Dave Van Ronk, Jack Elliott, and Tom Paxton; for the Beatles, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Fats Domino. While investigating these latter entertainers, Dom found that the basis of all this music stretched quite far back in time. Having a great, natural aptitude for music, Dom was already playing a passable harp and guitar as a junior in high school in an effort to emulate some of his new found heroes.

He completed his self-taught music education at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, mastering instruments as diverse as the four string banjo, the jug, snare drum, and the percussive, hand held bones. Accepting all venues big and small, he perfected his technique; but acknowledged that he was most content as a “busker,” English slang for strolling musician or street singer. By the way, Dom’s genius as a solo act is amply displayed in his 2007 album on Music Maker, Dance Tunes, Ballads, &Blues (MCD 84).

By 2005, Dom luckily encountered a middle age and seasoned veteran of a musician in the Phoenix area, Sule Greg Wilson, who hailed from Washington, D.C. In Sule, he found a kindred spirit in that he was not only a percussionist and banjoist and former African dancer but also an avowed folklorist and world music aficionado who had played alongside the likes of Nigerian drummer, Babatunde Olatunji, and noted musician of Mali, Jali Cheikh Hamala Diabate. In addition, Sule, over his long career, had learned blues from the “horse’s mouth,” so to speak, having accompanied many of the great Piedmont blues legends like Joe Thompson, Algia Mae Hinton, and the late John Jackson. Sule proved a key figure in Dom’s life in that it was he who invited Dom to take part in the Black Banjo Gathering, in which both he and Rhiannon Giddens were organizers.

Joe Thompson (center) surrounded by Chocolate Drops,
Photo by Lissa Gotwals

Carolina Chocolate Drops:
L-R, Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson
Photocopyright by Larry Benicewicz

Although Dom never contemplated playing as part of a group, his “powerful experience” at this four-day conference/festival which dedicated itself to the provenance of the banjo convinced him otherwise. It was here that he not only met his future peers in the Carolina Chocolate Drops but also a venerated artist who would become the great mentor in all their lives, Elder fiddler Joe Thompson, 88, with whom they all would share many a Thursday night “wood shedding” and jamming at his humble abode in Mebane, NC, near Burlington. By the way, Joe, whom the Chocolate Drops often back up on his own gigs, was the proud honoree this past year of the National Heritage Fellowship Award in Washington, D.C.

But before the Chocolate Drops were officially born, there was first the Sankofa Strings, which included Rhiannon, Dom, Sule, singer Lalenja Harrington, and occasionally Justin. The word “Sankofa” derives from a language of West Africa, Akan, and means “to look back [in time] and retrieve [what is valuable],”a philosophy to which the outfit’s offshoot, the Chocolate Drops, still ascribes.

Rhiannon, herself, has as interesting a biography as Dom. Being older at 30 than both Justin and Dom who are 25, she brings a wealth of musical experience to whatever endeavor she attempts. A native Tar Heel of Occoneeche Indian ancestry, she was born into a musical family, which included her sister, the aforementioned Lalenja, who went on to become the second alto in the Princeton Tiger Lilies, an a cappella group. Rhiannon, herself, earned a degree in voice from the Oberlin Conservatory in Oberlin, OH. Besides her vocal talent (she often acts as caller at contra dances), her other strong suit musically is the five-string banjo and can play it in a wide array of styles. In fact, she is lead singer and banjoist in the Celtic band Gaelywnd when not engaged with the Chocolate Drops. Rhiannon has performed overseas at the Hebridean Celtic Festival in Stornoway, Scotland. And to top it all, thanks to Joe Thompson, she’s recently grown quite accomplished on the fiddle, which adds another dimension of versatility to any ensemble she cares to join.

At the outset, there were two problems confronting the Sankofa Strings. Dom was still in college in Flagstaff, AZ (he would graduate at the end of May of that year) and Sule had family in the Phoenix area. Even with the long distance romance for the music, it was often difficult to get all the members on the same page. Something had to give; so Dom relocated to the Triangle area of NC (Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh) in September, 2005. Soon, Justin Robinson was added permanently to the group forming a trio, which in November, 2005, became the Carolina Chocolate Drops. But the concept of the Sankofa Strings is not dead. “I intended to keep these two bands separate; Sankofa for jazz and blues and the Chocolate Drops for old time music,” said Dom. Already the Sankofa Strings has released one CD, Colored Aristocracy, also on Music Maker (MCD 83).

The Chocolate Drops, as a trio, clicked from the beginning. “It was a perfect combination,” said Dom, who realized that adding a fourth musician, like Sule, even if available, would result in too much overlapping. “It wouldn’t work out. It had to be Justin or no one,” he added. And there was good reason to insist on including this gifted third member, despite the fact that he held on to his day job until 2007, a situation which initially curtailed the range and limited the amount of engagements of the group.
Justin Robinson was born in 1982 into a house full of musicians, including a mother who is a classically trained opera singer and cellist and a sister who is a classical pianist. Moreover, his grandfather was a harmonica player of great renown in the region. Justin, himself, took up the classical violin and played it from the age of nine to thirteen. Although he put the instrument down during most of his adolescence, he again became interested in it in college (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), but in its other capacity as a fiddle. In addition, Justin is fairly conversant with the banjo and is deeply absorbed by the fife and drum genre of music which dates to the Revolutionary War and particularly the role the African-Americans in its development. He, too, became inspired after meeting Joe Thompson at the aforementioned Black Banjo Gathering.

Carolina Chocolate Drops:
L-R, Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens
Photocopyright by Larry Benicewicz

Dom, Rhiannon, and Justin are quick to credit Tim Duffy of Music Maker Relief Foundation (of Hillsborough, NC) with giving their careers the biggest boost. Although they were all well aware of Tim and his organization, which was dedicated to financially aiding mostly aged, indigent blues musicians, they never expected that they, as young, fairly affluent college graduates, would ever be the recipients of his charity (or guidance). They finally all met at the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival in Silk Hope (eighteen miles S.W. of Chapel Hill), NC, where the trio performed in October, 2006. Since that time, Tim Duffy has taken them under his wing and released all of the material that they had previously recorded under the aegis of Music Maker, including the tracks that make up Colored Aristocracy and Dona Got A Ramblin’ Mind. So far, this partnership has reaped big dividends for both parties; not only has Tim’s involvement with them resulted in expanding their theatre of operations from just a regional to national act (and probably soon worldwide) but also their ties to Music Maker have proved to be an enormous boon for advertisement (and thus contributions) for this non-profit institution. To say the least, it’s been a mutually beneficial relationship which endures to the present.

Their newest CD, Heritage, is actually a greatest hits compilation of 16 tracks of prior recorded material which was meticulously and painstakingly chosen by talent scout Guy Fay and boss Philippe Langlois of DixieFrog records based in Retheuil, France. And like other DixieFrog and Music Maker collaborations, this glossy double gatefold album, including disk and brochure (both in French and English), is about as handsome a package as can be imagined, a real loving tribute to both the artists and their music. As usual, a lot of care and attention to detail was devoted to this undertaking, including fabulous, vivid photography of the individual members of the Chocolate Drops attired in the period pieces—suspenders, snap brim hats, and sun dresses--of the Roaring 20s. And if the ornate art work, presentation, and great music weren’t enough, there is also a ten minute video of a live performance filmed by Guy at a junior high school function in Chapel Hill in which I also participated.

Heritage (DFGCD 8640) recorded variously by Jerry Brown at his Rubber Room Studio in Chapel Hill, Wells Gordon at Buffalo Bear Studio in Rougemont, NC, Rush MacAlister at the Bucksjump Festival B.B.’s Blues Bar in St Louis, MO, and at home by Tim Duffy, is most aptly named because it contains all facets of music which have been handed down through the years, which have served to shape today’s music. And as self-appointed keepers of the flame, the Carolina Chocolate Drops look backward, paying homage to all these sundry sources of modern music, whatever they may be. It’s all here, be they waltzes like “Short Life of Trouble” or Scotch-Irish reels like “Rickett’s Hornpipe” or “Real Old Mountain Dew.” There’s also a cowboy classic, “Jack O’Diamonds,” and a prison work song, possibly a field holler in ballad form—“Po Lazarus,” as well as a square dance number, “Georgie Buck.” And you can hear the origins of bluegrass music in “Don’t Get Trouble In Your Mind,” whose melody was appropriated by Bill Monroe in his “Mollie and Tenbrooks.” And, last but not least, the genre of music exclusively indigenous to America—the blues—is well represented in songs like “Wayward Girl Blues,” the aforementioned “Sitting On Top Of The World,” and Ma Rainey’s signature “stride” sort—“Black Eye Blues.”
Cover of most recent CD, Heritage, Photo by Bruce DeBoer

Other highlights of this generous, sixteen-track trek into America’s musical past include a poignant a cappella duet of Rhiannon and sister Lalenja singing “Another Man Done Gone,” which hearkens back to the era of chain gangs, and “Gambia,” wherein Rhiannon sings while playing the akonting, a lute-like African instrument which may prefigure the banjo. And for those listeners whose interests may have been piqued by such obscure nuggets, there is in the accompanying brochure/pamphlet an elaborate explanation of the evolution of each. All in all, Heritage is quite an historical document in which the Carolina Chocolate Drops, as usual, have really done their homework.

Yes, the Carolina Chocolate Drops are an amazing collection of individuals. They are young, bright, enthusiastic about their work, and energetic. And above all are very special in their uniqueness - black artists, instead of renouncing their roots, embracing them and wearing them like a badge of honor. It could have been a risky road, forgoing the normal path, the hip hop route of many of their contemporaries. But thank goodness that they weren’t ever blinded by the bling. And thank goodness that they had the courage to adhere to their convictions, despite the odds. I can now safely go to sleep at night knowing that the future of blues, at least country variety, is indeed bright. Because it’s in their good hands. And they are going to be around for a long time to come.

Copyright © 2008 Larry Benicewicz, Baltimore Blues Society, BluesART-Journal

P.S. Heritage is available through the website: bluesweb.com
and all the Music Maker CDs can be ordered at info@musicmaker.org
www.musicmaker.org

ON TOUR - Carolina Chocolate Drops

2008-03-6 | Chichester – North Mundham Village Hall - UK
2008-03-7 | Newcastle – Cluny - UK
2008-03-8 | Stirling – Tolbooth - UK
2008-03-10 | Paris – New Morning (with Jean Chartron) - France
2008-03-11 | Perpignan – El Mediator (+ show case Fnac ) - France
2008-03-12 | Montpellier – Le Jam (+ show case Fnac ) - France
2008-03-13 | Beauvais – Festival Blues autour Du Zinc (with Adolphus Bell) - France
2008-03-18 | Amsterdam - Paradiso upstairs - Holland
2008-03-19 | Ottersum-Landgoed – Roepaen - Holland
2008-03-20 | Leiden - Q Bus - Holland
2008-03-21 | Eeklo - Belgium

home

back

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Photos and Text by Larry Benicewicz

	"And the doctor said, ‘Give him jug band music; you know it’ll make him feel just fine.’" ------ John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful
Well, there’s an old expression: what goes ‘round comes around. But who could imagine that string band street music from the Roaring 20s could ever be resurrected and moreover be warmly and enthusiastically welcomed by a whole new audience of listeners? After all this is the technological age, wherein tunes born of slick, sophisticated, computer enhanced engineering are downloaded (some say stolen) in a flash to personal iPods. How can, you say, instrumentation of such a primitive origin - washtub basses, earthenware jugs, kazoos, washboards, fiddles, banjos, and resonating, steel guitars ever have a chance to speak to or appeal to such a zoned out, plugged-in generation? But then who can gainsay the overnight success of the upstart Carolina Chocolate Drops, who like a breath of fresh air, gain converts each day to their Gospel of real, authentic Piedmont blues, played in their inimitable manner with nary a hint of irony.
45 RPM EP cover on Jug Bands	Whatever their formula is, they’ve touched a nerve and they couldn’t have come along at a better time with their goodtime music to, just like their forebears, dispel the gloom and doom of a nation at war and perhaps on the brink another Depression. You say you haven’t heard of them? But definitely you will. Already they’ve contributed four obscure numbers (like Kokomo Arnold’s “Busy Bootin’” and Blind Willie Johnson’s “Nobody’s Fault But Mine”) to the soundtrack of the recent Oprah Winfrey-produced, cinematic release, The Great Debaters, starring Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker. This past summer they performed at the exclusive and prestigious Newport Folk Festival. Their prior CD on Music Maker, Dona Got A Ramblin’ Mind, had garnered a rave review (Fritz’s Picks) in August’s Rolling Stone. And they have been acknowledged in both Paste and Living Blues magazines. Finally after a West Coast swing this winter (including Alaska), they’ll be headed off to Europe in March. Not bad for a group that’s hardly been together for two years.
	Cartoons by R.Crumb c/o Shanachie Records
Cover of Dona Got A Ramblin' Mind, Photo by Andrew Dies	But just what is jug band music? We know it existed because of literally hundreds of crude 78 rpm recordings remaining from that era. According to most sources, Whistler & His Jug Band, a black outfit, were not only the darlings of the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, KY, but also they left behind a legacy of 21 titles from 1924-31. In addition, they appear in an extremely rare movie clip in which the bass section, which provides the “bottom,” is composed of three jug playing gentleman, one of which is in a top hat. There was no standard configuration of such an aggregate, and its size was determined most probably by the venues, which may have included frolics, square dances, parades, or house/rent parties. Most were playing for tips and, of course, the day’s take had to be shared. Most musicologists agree that such exponents of this acoustic music were probably around long before the Age of Flappers, and, indeed, the black players could have performed in such a unit on slave plantations as far back in history as the antebellum South. Some scholars, like the late anthropologist, Alan Merriam of Northwestern University, traced the similarities in the playing technique of the earthen jug to that of the clay-based menda found in the Congo. While others claim that the modern day banjo can be attributed to a guitar-like invention also of African ancestry in which animal skin is stretched tight over a wooden frame. In fact, one of the three principals of the Chocolate Drops, Rhiannon Giddens, asserts that this stringed instrument originated with the hide of a goat pulled over a gourd which had a bamboo stick extension, serving as both a finger board and fret. But one thing that can’t be argued is that there were a slew of them and that this phenomenon endured well into the Great Depression. For many of these musicians, this method of entertaining was the only way out, escaping their grinding poverty. But still, working the streets was no picnic. It wasn’t quite like going from frying pan to fire. But it was a hardscrabble existence nonetheless, which was belied by the joyful music with which they serenaded the public.
Carolina Chocolate Drops: L-R, Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson Photocopyright by Larry Benicewicz	Generally speaking, such ensembles were territorial in nature. The majority became fixtures in cities like the aforementioned Whistler, Philips’ Louisville Jug Band, the Cincinnati Jug Band, and the famous (and prolific) Memphis Jug Band, led by guitarist Will Shade (Sun Brimmers) whose 1932 number, “Bottle It Up and Go,” became a blues standard of that decade. However, some of these collections of musicians were itinerant and traveled state-wide, like the Alabama Jug Band, the Kentucky Blowers, the Kentucky Jug Band, and the Georgia Washboard Stompers. The most illustrious of this last batch was the Mississippi Sheiks, which featured singer/guitarist Walter Vinson, fiddler Lonnie Chatmon, and Chatmon’s brother, Bo Carter (b. Armenter Chatmon), who played bass viol and later recorded as solo guitarist over 105 titles. The Sheiks’ greatest claim to fame was their signature “Sitting on Top of the World,” which also evolved into a blues classic. Others of this ilk roamed far and wide like the Dixieland Jug Blowers, the Dixie Washboard Band, or the Old Southern Jug Band. While the locale of several could not be automatically determined because they were named after their founders, like Sarah Martin’s Jug Band, Clifford’s (Louisville) Jug Band, and the most renowned, Cannon’s Jug Stompers, which was based in Ripley, TN, and fronted by banjoist Gus Cannon. Among the 28 extant recordings of this latter trio (also guitarist Ashley Thompson and Noah Lewis on harp) between 1928 and 1930, was the folk rag, “Walk Right In,” which during the folk revival, became a million-seller for the Rooftop Singers on Vanguard in 1962. Although there were quite a few white outfits of this designation (the Tar Heel Ramblers for one), black string bands predominated, especially in urban settings. And before the modern age of political correctness, their names unmistakably announced their ethnicity---Buster Bailey & his Seven Chocolate Dandies, the Five Hot Chocolates, the Harlem Hot Chocolates, the Chocolate Dandies, and the Tennessee Chocolate Drops, who recorded for Vocalion (big hit: “Vine Street Drag”) and after whom the Carolina Chocolate Drops were named. Evidently, at the time, there was no stigma attached to identifying your race in this regard and to some maybe a source of pride (or publicity). Other acts of this vintage were the vocal groups Blackbirds of Harmony and Blackbirds of Paradise and bands such as the Black Swan Dance Orchestra and Duke Wilson & his Ten Black Berries. Ancient history? Maybe. But not to the multi-talented Dom Flemons (resophonic guitar, harmonica, jug, kazoo, 4-string banjo, bones, and snare drum), the unabashed spokesman of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, who dutifully explains their raison d’etre. Yes, they want to visit their musical roots and preserve the musical heritage of Piedmont North Carolina. But they are only traditionalists to a degree. First, they are all well educated and like to teach, especially relishing the opportunity to perform music workshops in schools wherein they can demonstrate that instruments like the banjo and fiddle, long associated with C&W music, have their place in Afro-American lore as well. And secondly, because of their extensive background in music theory, composition, etc. they are really jazzmen at heart, who enjoy nothing better than to take an old song and turn it inside out. As they play, they improvise and feed off each other and in the process reconstruct a refreshing, new entity of an old song. Thus the traditional tune is only a springboard to a flight of fancy. They’ve borrowed from the past, but have created something uniquely their own which can be appreciated by all generations of listeners. And therein lies their incredible popularity. But still you have to wonder how this group coalesced, a band in which all shared a fascination for this heretofore long forgotten brand of music. It’s a question all too familiar to Dom and he patiently recounts the story about how fateful the April, 2005, encounter was for all concerned—the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, NC. But we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. The background of each, Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson made them predisposed to gravitate toward each other and subsequently form a partnership when this magic moment arrived. Dom Flemons was born in Phoenix, AZ, on August 30, 1982. He grew up listening to pop music and the R&B of the 60s and 70s preferred by his parents. In the high school band, his first instrument of choice was actually the bass drum. At 16, he watched a documentary of Bob Dylan and the movie Dangerous Minds, both of which led him to buy albums by both Dylan and the Beatles—particularly Sgt. Pepper. Always inquisitive as to the origins of this music, he did research on his own to discover the influences of these artists. In Dylan’s case, there were singers such as Woody Guthrie, Eric Andersen, Dave Van Ronk, Jack Elliott, and Tom Paxton; for the Beatles, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Fats Domino. While investigating these latter entertainers, Dom found that the basis of all this music stretched quite far back in time. Having a great, natural aptitude for music, Dom was already playing a passable harp and guitar as a junior in high school in an effort to emulate some of his new found heroes. He completed his self-taught music education at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, mastering instruments as diverse as the four string banjo, the jug, snare drum, and the percussive, hand held bones. Accepting all venues big and small, he perfected his technique; but acknowledged that he was most content as a “busker,” English slang for strolling musician or street singer. By the way, Dom’s genius as a solo act is amply displayed in his 2007 album on Music Maker, Dance Tunes, Ballads, &Blues (MCD 84).
By 2005, Dom luckily encountered a middle age and seasoned veteran of a musician in the Phoenix area, Sule Greg Wilson, who hailed from Washington, D.C. In Sule, he found a kindred spirit in that he was not only a percussionist and banjoist and former African dancer but also an avowed folklorist and world music aficionado who had played alongside the likes of Nigerian drummer, Babatunde Olatunji, and noted musician of Mali, Jali Cheikh Hamala Diabate. In addition, Sule, over his long career, had learned blues from the “horse’s mouth,” so to speak, having accompanied many of the great Piedmont blues legends like Joe Thompson, Algia Mae Hinton, and the late John Jackson. Sule proved a key figure in Dom’s life in that it was he who invited Dom to take part in the Black Banjo Gathering, in which both he and Rhiannon Giddens were organizers. *Joe Thompson* (center) surrounded by Chocolate Drops, Photo by Lissa Gotwals
Carolina Chocolate Drops: L-R, Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson Photocopyright by Larry Benicewicz	Although Dom never contemplated playing as part of a group, his “powerful experience” at this four-day conference/festival which dedicated itself to the provenance of the banjo convinced him otherwise. It was here that he not only met his future peers in the Carolina Chocolate Drops but also a venerated artist who would become the great mentor in all their lives, Elder fiddler Joe Thompson, 88, with whom they all would share many a Thursday night “wood shedding” and jamming at his humble abode in Mebane, NC, near Burlington. By the way, Joe, whom the Chocolate Drops often back up on his own gigs, was the proud honoree this past year of the National Heritage Fellowship Award in Washington, D.C. But before the Chocolate Drops were officially born, there was first the Sankofa Strings, which included Rhiannon, Dom, Sule, singer Lalenja Harrington, and occasionally Justin. The word “Sankofa” derives from a language of West Africa, Akan, and means “to look back [in time] and retrieve [what is valuable],”a philosophy to which the outfit’s offshoot, the Chocolate Drops, still ascribes. Rhiannon, herself, has as interesting a biography as Dom. Being older at 30 than both Justin and Dom who are 25, she brings a wealth of musical experience to whatever endeavor she attempts. A native Tar Heel of Occoneeche Indian ancestry, she was born into a musical family, which included her sister, the aforementioned Lalenja, who went on to become the second alto in the Princeton Tiger Lilies, an a cappella group. Rhiannon, herself, earned a degree in voice from the Oberlin Conservatory in Oberlin, OH. Besides her vocal talent (she often acts as caller at contra dances), her other strong suit musically is the five-string banjo and can play it in a wide array of styles. In fact, she is lead singer and banjoist in the Celtic band Gaelywnd when not engaged with the Chocolate Drops. Rhiannon has performed overseas at the Hebridean Celtic Festival in Stornoway, Scotland. And to top it all, thanks to Joe Thompson, she’s recently grown quite accomplished on the fiddle, which adds another dimension of versatility to any ensemble she cares to join. At the outset, there were two problems confronting the Sankofa Strings. Dom was still in college in Flagstaff, AZ (he would graduate at the end of May of that year) and Sule had family in the Phoenix area. Even with the long distance romance for the music, it was often difficult to get all the members on the same page. Something had to give; so Dom relocated to the Triangle area of NC (Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh) in September, 2005. Soon, Justin Robinson was added permanently to the group forming a trio, which in November, 2005, became the Carolina Chocolate Drops. But the concept of the Sankofa Strings is not dead. “I intended to keep these two bands separate; Sankofa for jazz and blues and the Chocolate Drops for old time music,” said Dom. Already the Sankofa Strings has released one CD, Colored Aristocracy, also on Music Maker (MCD 83).
The Chocolate Drops, as a trio, clicked from the beginning. “It was a perfect combination,” said Dom, who realized that adding a fourth musician, like Sule, even if available, would result in too much overlapping. “It wouldn’t work out. It had to be Justin or no one,” he added. And there was good reason to insist on including this gifted third member, despite the fact that he held on to his day job until 2007, a situation which initially curtailed the range and limited the amount of engagements of the group. Justin Robinson was born in 1982 into a house full of musicians, including a mother who is a classically trained opera singer and cellist and a sister who is a classical pianist. Moreover, his grandfather was a harmonica player of great renown in the region. Justin, himself, took up the classical violin and played it from the age of nine to thirteen. Although he put the instrument down during most of his adolescence, he again became interested in it in college (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), but in its other capacity as a fiddle. In addition, Justin is fairly conversant with the banjo and is deeply absorbed by the fife and drum genre of music which dates to the Revolutionary War and particularly the role the African-Americans in its development. He, too, became inspired after meeting Joe Thompson at the aforementioned Black Banjo Gathering.
Carolina Chocolate Drops: L-R, Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens Photocopyright by Larry Benicewicz	Dom, Rhiannon, and Justin are quick to credit Tim Duffy of Music Maker Relief Foundation (of Hillsborough, NC) with giving their careers the biggest boost. Although they were all well aware of Tim and his organization, which was dedicated to financially aiding mostly aged, indigent blues musicians, they never expected that they, as young, fairly affluent college graduates, would ever be the recipients of his charity (or guidance). They finally all met at the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival in Silk Hope (eighteen miles S.W. of Chapel Hill), NC, where the trio performed in October, 2006. Since that time, Tim Duffy has taken them under his wing and released all of the material that they had previously recorded under the aegis of Music Maker, including the tracks that make up Colored Aristocracy and Dona Got A Ramblin’ Mind. So far, this partnership has reaped big dividends for both parties; not only has Tim’s involvement with them resulted in expanding their theatre of operations from just a regional to national act (and probably soon worldwide) but also their ties to Music Maker have proved to be an enormous boon for advertisement (and thus contributions) for this non-profit institution. To say the least, it’s been a mutually beneficial relationship which endures to the present.
Their newest CD, Heritage, is actually a greatest hits compilation of 16 tracks of prior recorded material which was meticulously and painstakingly chosen by talent scout Guy Fay and boss Philippe Langlois of DixieFrog records based in Retheuil, France. And like other DixieFrog and Music Maker collaborations, this glossy double gatefold album, including disk and brochure (both in French and English), is about as handsome a package as can be imagined, a real loving tribute to both the artists and their music. As usual, a lot of care and attention to detail was devoted to this undertaking, including fabulous, vivid photography of the individual members of the Chocolate Drops attired in the period pieces—suspenders, snap brim hats, and sun dresses--of the Roaring 20s. And if the ornate art work, presentation, and great music weren’t enough, there is also a ten minute video of a live performance filmed by Guy at a junior high school function in Chapel Hill in which I also participated.
Heritage (DFGCD 8640) recorded variously by Jerry Brown at his Rubber Room Studio in Chapel Hill, Wells Gordon at Buffalo Bear Studio in Rougemont, NC, Rush MacAlister at the Bucksjump Festival B.B.’s Blues Bar in St Louis, MO, and at home by Tim Duffy, is most aptly named because it contains all facets of music which have been handed down through the years, which have served to shape today’s music. And as self-appointed keepers of the flame, the Carolina Chocolate Drops look backward, paying homage to all these sundry sources of modern music, whatever they may be. It’s all here, be they waltzes like “Short Life of Trouble” or Scotch-Irish reels like “Rickett’s Hornpipe” or “Real Old Mountain Dew.” There’s also a cowboy classic, “Jack O’Diamonds,” and a prison work song, possibly a field holler in ballad form—“Po Lazarus,” as well as a square dance number, “Georgie Buck.” And you can hear the origins of bluegrass music in “Don’t Get Trouble In Your Mind,” whose melody was appropriated by Bill Monroe in his “Mollie and Tenbrooks.” And, last but not least, the genre of music exclusively indigenous to America—the blues—is well represented in songs like “Wayward Girl Blues,” the aforementioned “Sitting On Top Of The World,” and Ma Rainey’s signature “stride” sort—“Black Eye Blues.” Cover of most recent CD, Heritage, Photo by Bruce DeBoer
	Other highlights of this generous, sixteen-track trek into America’s musical past include a poignant a cappella duet of Rhiannon and sister Lalenja singing “Another Man Done Gone,” which hearkens back to the era of chain gangs, and “Gambia,” wherein Rhiannon sings while playing the akonting, a lute-like African instrument which may prefigure the banjo. And for those listeners whose interests may have been piqued by such obscure nuggets, there is in the accompanying brochure/pamphlet an elaborate explanation of the evolution of each. All in all, Heritage is quite an historical document in which the Carolina Chocolate Drops, as usual, have really done their homework. Yes, the Carolina Chocolate Drops are an amazing collection of individuals. They are young, bright, enthusiastic about their work, and energetic. And above all are very special in their uniqueness - black artists, instead of renouncing their roots, embracing them and wearing them like a badge of honor. It could have been a risky road, forgoing the normal path, the hip hop route of many of their contemporaries. But thank goodness that they weren’t ever blinded by the bling. And thank goodness that they had the courage to adhere to their convictions, despite the odds. I can now safely go to sleep at night knowing that the future of blues, at least country variety, is indeed bright. Because it’s in their good hands. And they are going to be around for a long time to come. Copyright © 2008 Larry Benicewicz, Baltimore Blues Society, BluesART-Journal P.S. Heritage is available through the website: bluesweb.com and all the Music Maker CDs can be ordered at info@musicmaker.org www.musicmaker.org ON TOUR - Carolina Chocolate Drops 2008-03-6 \| Chichester – North Mundham Village Hall - UK 2008-03-7 \| Newcastle – Cluny - UK 2008-03-8 \| Stirling – Tolbooth - UK 2008-03-10 \| Paris – New Morning (with Jean Chartron) - France 2008-03-11 \| Perpignan – El Mediator (+ show case Fnac ) - France 2008-03-12 \| Montpellier – Le Jam (+ show case Fnac ) - France 2008-03-13 \| Beauvais – Festival Blues autour Du Zinc (with Adolphus Bell) - France 2008-03-18 \| Amsterdam - Paradiso upstairs - Holland 2008-03-19 \| Ottersum-Landgoed – Roepaen - Holland 2008-03-20 \| Leiden - Q Bus - Holland 2008-03-21 \| Eeklo - Belgium

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