Billy Womack in Retrospect: Down at the Barbershop
"For several decades, Billy Womack represented the epitome of fine fiddling in the southern region of Middle Tennessee. Rooted in old-time traditons but drawn into bluegrass, Womack played constantly and widely, yet he prefered his homebase at the barber shop in Woodbury to any prospects of a real professional career.
This CD retrospective, thoughtfully compiled from informal tapes and grassroots studio recordings that happened to capture his playing, serves up a audio scrapbook on Cannon County's favorite local musician. Considering the research and production challenges it faced, this project is not only a great sampler of Billy Womack's repertory and genius, but also a inspiring model for comparable postumous tributes to other musicians worthy of a lasting audio memory."
Dr. Robert Cogswell, Tennessee Arts Commission
Billy Womack in Retrospect-Down at the Barbershop
Billy Womack, a lifelong Cannon County resident, was born in Sycamore Creek, twelve miles to the north of Woodbury, on October 22, 1922. His parents, Joe Bob Womack, a former teacher, and Elizabeth Higgins Womack owned a grocery in downtown Woodbury, in a stone building that still stands on East Main Street today. Billy taught himself the art of barbering and opened the barbershop beside his parent's store. Billy could have easily become a professional musician but chose to remain close to his home and his family. He wanted to be a fiddling barber, not a barbering fiddler. Billy shunned what he called the professional lifestyle because he was a homebody and didn't want to get mixed up in the fast paced living that fueled many touring musicians. He was extremely proud that the pickers in his barbershop never touched a drop of alcohol or took any drugs before they walked through the doors. Anyway playing professionally couldn't make you a lot of money, it could only give you a name.
1. Going Down Lee Highway
2. Big John
3. Grey Eagle
4. Scarlett's Waltz
5, Sail Away Ladies
6. Arkansas Traveler
7. Lil Liza Jane
8. Red Bird Waltz
9. Billy in the Low Ground
10. Katy Hill
11. The Lyle Breakdown
12. Forked Deer
13. Soppin' the Gravy
14. Reed's Waltz
15. Durang's Hornpipe
16. Cannon County Breakdown
17. Dill Pickles
18. Barber's Blues
19. Katy Hill
20. Billy in the Low Ground
21. Tennessee Wagoner
22. Boating Up Sandy
23. Arkansas Traveler/The Eighth of January/Snowshoes
24. Leather Britches
