Mountain City music legend honored with TN Music Pathways Marker
Published 9:59 am Monday, November 25, 2019
- Clarence “Tom” Ashley’s (center) on early country music cannot be overstated. He called his signature clawhammer turning “Sawmill Key” or “Lassy Makin’ key” and his unique sound influenced a whole generation of folk musicians. The mural is located at the corner of Donnelly St. and S. Church St. in Mountain City.
Music legend Clarence “Tom” Ashley was honored by the State of Tennessee with a new “Tennessee Music Pathways” marker in downtown Mountain City. The unveiling took placed earlier this week — Tuesday — in front of the Tom Ashley Mural located at the corner of Donnelly Street and South Church Street.
The event also marked the launch of the “Musical Heritage Mural Mile,” a new walking tour throughout downtown Mountain City. The self-guided mural tour connects Johnson County residents and visitors alike to a storied history of authentic Appalachian music including Clarence “Tom” Ashley, Blind Fiddler, G.B. Grayson, who first recorded the Ballad of Tom Dooley, plus Fred Price and Clint Howard, who introduced the young Doc Watson to the world.
All murals are the work of local Johnson County artists.
“Our community is honored to have Clarence “Tom” Ashley included in the Tennessee Music Pathways program,” said Cristy Dunn, of the Johnson County Center for the Arts. “We invite you to walk the Mural Mile and visit the Center where you will find more information and historic artifacts.”
Clarence “Tom” Ashley was a performer, an artist, and a showman who spent 30 years traveling with a medicine show where he played clawhammer banjo, sang, and performed as a comedian. For two years, he traveled with a young fiddler named Roy Acuff.
Ashley was the first to record the legendary “House of the Rising Sun,” a song he learned from his grandfather, Enoch. Later, he influenced a whole generation of folk music of the 1950s and ’60s including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Jean Ritchie, and Doc Watson.
Launched by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development in 2018, Tennessee Music Pathways is an online-planning guide that connects visitors to the state’s rich musical heritage at tnmusicpathways.com. From the largest cities to the smallest communities, Tennessee Music Pathways stretches across all 95 counties and features hundreds of landmarks from the seven genres of music that call Tennessee home: blues, bluegrass, country, gospel, soul, rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll. Historians identified more than 300 points of interest to date, and additional markers will be installed for years to come.