As I’ve been digitizing the archive, I’ve lost count of the number of references to the Wine family. The Wines lived in Braxton County for nearly two centuries and infused the area with their music over the years. When I started with AHC, I didn’t know much about old-time music traditions and the prominent musicians. As I learned about some of the movers and shakers in the genre, Melvin Wine stood out. My untrained ear can’t pick up on the techniques that make old-time fiddle players exceptional. However, I immediately heard a difference in Melvin’s fiddling. His tone had a certain spark that I hadn’t picked up on in other players.
Melvin’s fiddling sounded joyous and expressive. It’s like you can hear him smiling as he played. His love for the music was audible—even to non-musicians like me. Melvin’s father, Bob, has been mentioned in some of the interviews I’ve digitized as among the notable musicians in Central West Virginia. The Wines participated in the practice of passing down unwritten tunes, which I researched for my previous post about “Bonaparte’s Retreat.” Bob Wine taught Melvin to play the fiddle and passed down old-time tunes. Additionally, Melvin reached out to other area fiddlers to learn from them. While the Wines have a legacy of their own, they were part of a broad community effort to preserve life of traditional tunes. Melvin also worked as an Augusta instructor and performer to pass down and celebrate these tunes. His participation in traditional life extended beyond music. Drew Beisswenger, who wrote Fiddling Way Out Yonder about Melvin, explained that he participated in practices “surrounding farming methods, food preparation, blacksmithing, medicinal beliefs, hunting, ghost stories, practical jokes, and games” (14). Melvin’s commitment to old-time ways of life is one of the reasons he interests me. I noticed him because his playing sounded unique to me, but he was dedicated to playing traditional, centuries old tunes.
Melvin and some of the other old-time musicians were masters of their styles and revered by old-time players and listeners. People have studied them, written about them, recorded their tunes, and paid to hear them play. Unlike some of the other popular fiddlers in the area, Melvin attained notoriety outside of the region and performed across the country. He was famous within the genre, but his embodiment of celebrity was vastly different from many of the mainstream celebrity lifestyles. Melvin lived in the same tiny town throughout his life and career. Maybe older people wouldn’t find this noteworthy, but as someone who grew up with social media, his lack of materialism and commitment to his community are remarkable.
Melvin was born in 1909 and passed away in 2003. I wish I had the opportunity to see him play before he died, but I can tell how important he is to the community from the archives. Countless musicians and West Virginians have spoken about him and his father, Bob, in archival interviews. Although archival work may not appeal to everyone, I find it rewarding and exciting to help preserve the legacies of important people like the Wines. Melvin’s performances have been a delight to hear. Most of the recordings are of his fiddle tunes but occasionally he sang little ditties. The archive preserves both his music and evidence of his community’s respect and admiration for him.
This winter, I’ll be hosting some virtual events in which I’ll play some of the music in the archives, including Melvin’s music. My first event is on January 9th, and I’m planning to play some of my favorite Melvin Wine tunes.
I used to sit for hours watching Melvin play. What fascinated me was that his bowing wrist looked like it was stiff but if you watched closely you could see that it was actually so loose that it made constant little tiny motions, almost like water flowing. Pretty sure that’s what gave him such a unique sound. He was always interested in fiddlers who were getting started and certainly made me play with him whenever he saw me. If I wasn’t already playing fiddle he’d say “Where’s your fee-dle?” and send me off to fetch it if I didn’t have it handy. He did that to everyone actually. The last time I played with Melvin, a few months before he died, Gerry Milnes stopped to listen and Melvin said “Gerry, where’s your gee-tar?” and sent him off to get it. By the time Gerry came back Melvin had recruited Andy and his banjo in the same way and we had a lively little session. Thanks for sparking that memory for me!
Thank you for sharing that memory! He seemed like such a special person and a great teacher!