J.P. Fraley (1923 to 2011) was an eastern Kentucky fiddler whose smooth, slow-rolling style set him apart from the old-time players of his generation. He and his wife Annadeene recorded Wild Rose of the Mountain for Rounder in 1973, and the title tune became a jam standard. The couple also started the Fraley Festival at Carter Caves State Resort Park.
Why Fraley matters
Most old-time fiddling is about drive. Fraley’s was about touch. He played the same Kentucky tunes as his neighbors, but with long bows, clean notes, and a swing that made a dance tune sound like a song. Bassist Doug Chaffin, who recorded with him, called his style “so smooth” and said there was no one else like him. If you want to play a crooked mountain tune without sounding rough, Fraley is the model.
Life and career
Fraley was born on July 10, 1923, in Hitchins, Kentucky, to Richard and Gertrude Fraley. His father played fiddle. J.P. never made music his living. He worked in coal mining, at a brick yard, and as a service engineer for National Mines.
His recording career started late. In 1971 he and Annadeene cut a single, Molly Darlin’ backed with Wild Rose of the Mountain, for the small Memory label. Folklorists Guthrie T. Meade and Mark Wilson then recorded the couple at their home in Rush, Kentucky, in December 1972 and June 1973. Rounder released those sessions as Wild Rose of the Mountain in 1974, eighteen Kentucky tunes with Annadeene on guitar.
The Fraleys started a music gathering at Carter Caves State Resort Park near Olive Hill. It became known as the Fraley Festival, and J.P. kept hosting jams at the park lodge into the 1990s. He and Annadeene also played the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Rounder recorded him again in 1994 and 1995 for Maysville, cut at his home in Denton with Doug Chaffin on bass. In 1996 Morehead State University gave him its Appalachian Treasure Award. In 1999 he recorded fourteen more tunes with his daughter Danielle, which Rounder added to a 2000 reissue of Wild Rose of the Mountain.
Fraley died at his home in Denton, Kentucky, on February 17, 2011. He was 87.
Playing style
Fraley used long, connected bow strokes where most Kentucky fiddlers used short shuffles. The result is a legato sound with few scratches and a lot of slides into notes. His timing sat back on the beat, even on a breakdown like Cluckin’ Hen. He played Wild Rose of the Mountain in standard tuning, and the tune is crooked, with extra beats that trip up first-time jammers. His waltzes show the same gentle bow arm at a slower tempo.
Influences and legacy
Fraley learned from his father and from the fiddlers around Carter County. He passed the music on to the young players who came to his festival and his jams, and those who knew him remembered that he made beginners feel welcome. Raymond McLain, who directed the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead State, said his techniques would be studied for years. Today Wild Rose of the Mountain shows up at old-time festivals across the country, and Fraley’s version is the one people learn it from.
Signature tunes and songs
Wild Rose of the Mountain Cluckin’ Hen Mud Fence The Roosian Rabbit Maysville Maggie Meade Galleynipper.
Essential recordings
Wild Rose of the Mountain, J.P. and Annadeene Fraley (Rounder, 1974) Maysville, J.P. and Annadeene Fraley with Doug Chaffin (Rounder, 1995) Wild Rose of the Mountain, expanded reissue with Danielle Fraley (Rounder, 2000)
Awards and honors
Morehead State University Appalachian Treasure Award (1996)
Watch and listen
Fraley plays Mud Fence at the Mount Airy fiddlers convention in 1998. Watch how little his bow arm moves for the amount of sound he gets.
What to learn from Fraley
Learn Wild Rose of the Mountain from the 1974 recording. It is short, it is crooked, and it will teach you to count a tune by feel instead of by bar lines. The technique to steal is his bow length. Play the A part with one long stroke per two notes instead of one stroke per note. Your tone will get rounder and the tune will start to sing.
Sources
Fiddler J.P. Fraley was a ‘Kentucky treasure’, The Daily Independent Legendary fiddler J.P. Fraley dies at 87, The Daily Independent J.P. Fraley obituary, The Daily Independent J.P. and Annadeene Fraley, Wild Rose of the Mountain (1974), Discogs J.P. and Annadeene Fraley with Doug Chaffin, Maysville, Discogs J.P., Annadeene, and Danielle Fraley, Wild Rose of the Mountain (2000), Discogs J.P. and Annadeene Fraley, Molly Darlin’ / Wild Rose of the Mountain, Discogs Wild Rose of the Mountain, J.P. Fraley, Slippery-Hill
Related players
See the fiddle players hub and the fiddle guide for more old-time and bluegrass fiddlers. Fraley belongs with the Kentucky source players Ed Haley, Doc Roberts, and Art Stamper.