The Walnut Hill OldTime Band was a band based in Lansing, North Carolina that specialized in oldtime, a form of country that predates bluegrass and was often played for social settings in the 1800’s into the early 1900’s. Oldtime is still kept alive today in modern music, but certain oldtime songs are becoming difficult to find recordings of anymore. “The Baby O”, first song on their album and title track, is a great encapsulation of a fading oldtime song. We caught up with Rita Scott, former member of Walnut Hill Oldtime Band for an interview this past week and she had many great stories to tell us that give provenance to this recording and that period of time in Lansing. Rita is an astonishing fiddle player and learned to play clawhammer banjo from none other than Albert Hash.
In their day, the band placed rankings in several music tournaments in and around their area and those listings are still available today. Rita Scott restored her grandparents old store, Phipps General Store, which hosts weekly jams keeping music tradition alive in Lansing. Rita mentioned they recorded one other album than this, and we gladly mailed her this cassette for her to preserve and cherish. Several family members of Rita’s were in the band alongside her and this is a sentimental piece we were honored to return to her. Listen to the entire album here on YouTube, also find it available at the very end of this article. Linked here we have our phone conversation with Rita, with timestamps giving way to some great talking points.
