In 1926, a man named John L. “Uncle Bunt” Stephens recorded
an unforgettable tune—“Candy Girl”—as part of one-day recording stint at Columbia
Records in New York. He had drifted out of obscurity after he may have won (or
placed highly in) a series of fiddling contests sponsored by Henry Ford. We say
“may have won” because there may have been fewer contests than claimed, or rather
no contests at all. Uncle Bunt toured that year and made some notable appearances
before drifting back to the rural area of Tennessee where he lived with his
second wife.
In the mid-1920s, Ford dealerships apparently sponsored
local fiddling contests. Uncle Bunt seems to have competed in these, placing
highly or triumphing. Then, according to legend, Uncle Bunt and other
highly-placing fiddlers traveled to Detroit in early 1926, where Henry Ford himself
held a supreme fiddling competition that Uncle Bunt claims to have won, by
playing “Old Hen Cackled” and “Sail Away Lady.” Furthermore, according to legend,
Ford presented the triumphant fiddler with a new car, a rich payday, and a new
suit; he also paid to have Uncle Bunt’s teeth fixed. A scholarly article appearing
in the Journal of the Society for American Music suggests that therein may lie more
fiction than fact. (We wonder if dental records could offer some conclusive
evidence.)
A letter from Uncle Bunt to Ford dated August 20, 1926, refers
to the “blue ribbon” that Uncle Bunt had been awarded at Ford’s last old time
fiddling contest. It also inquires about the prospects of a Ford automobile
being made available for Uncle Bunt’s touring. At the very least, this would
seem to discredit the notion that Ford had awarded Stephens a car. There is no
record of a reply.
However things may have transpired with the Ford Motor Company, Uncle
Bunt Stephens enjoyed some fame in 1926. He appeared at the WSN Barn Dance
(later renamed the Grand Ole Opry), on radio stations, and at performance venues
across the eastern half of the country. He traveled to New York, where he cut “Candy
Girl.” Columbia Records would make it Side 1, bundled with “Left in the Dark
Blues” as Side 2. Columbia also released “Louisburg Blues” b/w “Sail Away Lady.”
It’s possible that Uncle Bunt recorded two additional songs at the same session—“Jenny
in the Garden” and “Leather Breeches”—but if he did, these cuts were never released.
He recorded these songs on March 29, 1926; he would never record again.
Three days before the recording session, the New Britain
Herald (of Conn.) reported that “Uncle Bunt Stephens of Tullahoma, Tenn., who
won a Ford fiddling bee, is visiting town. He complains that in Nashville two
pairs of pants given him by Henry [Ford] were stolen and he had to pay $1.10
for a shave in Chicago.” Two forms of theft in the big city. Two good reasons
to ditch the dangers of densely populated regions for the less-manic tableaux of the countryside.
Importantly, Uncle Bunt’s recordings have been included in
Harry Smith’s influential Anthology of American Folk Music as well as the
Harry Smith B-sides anthology. The author Allen Lowe also included Uncle
Bunt’s music as part of his impressive 30-CD anthology that accompanies his
recently released two volume set of books, “Turn Me Loose White Man,” in
which Lowe analyzes a wide swath of important American recordings. Uncle Bunt’s
four songs made quite an impression.
To our ears, “Candy Girl” walks the line between brightness
and mournfulness. Call it beauty. The tune is triumphant, to be sure, yet it expresses
the powerful, grating sorrows that inform our systems of remorse. Columbia
billed this record as “mountain dance music” and we don’t disagree. It’s hard
to imagine folks sitting still, when encountering “Candy Girl” in performance. Of
course, we encountered “Candy Girl” while sitting still, and it gouged us. By “gouge”
we mean that it clobbered us with its inherent (priceless) weights. The tune played
perfectly in the pandemic ravaged world of 2021, as we imagine it played perfectly
just scant years after the Spanish Flu receded.
John L. Stephens was born in Tennessee, orphaned at an early
age, and raised by an aunt. He was proficient on the harmonica as a boy, and
claimed to have bought a fiddle from a tramp; the fiddle was of German manufacture
and may have dated to 1699. While “Uncle” is a common title bestowed upon venerable
fiddlers, we can’t comment on the man’s full nickname. He didn’t play baseball,
and to our knowledge, he didn’t ram anything with his forehead. Uncle Bunt
Stephens passed away in 1951 at the age of 72. “Candy Girl” lives on. We hear
it and our eyes well-up, simply.
sources of
information
AllMusic Guide page
for Uncle Bunt Stephens
Discography of American Historical Recordings page
for Uncle bunt Stephens
Paul M. Gifford, “Henry
Ford's Dance Revival and Fiddle Contests: Myth and Reality,” Journal of the
Society for American Music 4, n. 3 (Aug. 2010): 330-332
National Museum of American History page
for the “Candy Girl”
New Britain Herald via Chronicling America (March 26,
1926)
Don Roberson via Internet Archive Way Back Machine article
on Uncle Bunt Stephens
Harry Smith Anthology
of American Folk Music at Smithsonian Folkways
Harry Smith B-Sides anthology at Dust-to-Digital
Ryan Thomson, The
Fiddler’s Almanac (1985)
Wikipedia page for Uncle Bunt Stephens
