In this compelling episode of Carolina Calling, host David Menconi delves into the indelible legacy of Nina Simone, an iconic figure in American music. Born in Tryon, North Carolina, Nina Simone's journey unfolds through the rich tapestry of the Jim Crow South. Jaki Shelton Green, North Carolina's esteemed poet laureate, joins the conversation to explore Simone's enduring impact on African American culture and the Civil Rights Movement.

Menconi shares, "One of the great voices of American song, Nina Simone was a definitive voice of 20th century American music. Her voice, music and legacy all continue to resonate today, more than two decades since Simone’s death at age 70. She remains a guiding star for multiple artists across styles and genres."

Simone's artistry, rooted in the mountains of North Carolina, becomes a symbol of resilience and creative activism. From navigating the challenges of segregation to crafting poetry that echoes the quest for justice and freedom, Nina Simone's legacy serves as a timeless source of inspiration. Join us in this exploration of truth and perseverance as we unravel the multifaceted impact of Nina Simone on American music and culture.

Music featured in this episode:

Nina Simone - "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free"

Nina Simone - "Sinnerman"

Carolina Calling is produced by The Bluegrass Situation and Come Hear NC. Theme music: "Erie Fiddler" by Andrew Marlin of Watchhouse.

Doc Watson has been gone for more than a decade, and yet his music and legacy remain more alive and relevant than ever. And thanks to the ongoing MerleFest, which brings a wide-ranging cast from the Americana world to Doc’s North Carolina stomping grounds every April, that’s not going to change anytime soon. We consider the enduring impact of Doc through conversations with some of those who bear his stamp, including Gillian Welch and Jerry Douglas, in this special episode of Carolina Calling.

Music featured in this episode:

Doc Watson - "Sittin' on Top of the World"

Doc & Merle Watson - "Jimmy’s Texas Blues"

Gillian Welch - "Everything Is Free"

Andrew Marlin - "Erie Fidler"

Doc Watson - "Tom Dooley"

Doc & Merle Watson - "Sheeps In The Meadow / Stoney Fork"

Doc & Merle Watson - "Poor Boy Blues"

Doc Watson - "And Am I Born to Die"

Doc Watson - "My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountains"

Jerry Douglas - "A New Day Medley"

Doc Watson - "The Last Thing On My Mind"

Carolina Calling is produced by The Bluegrass Situation and Come Hear NC

From Blue Velvet to One Tree Hill, scores of movies & TV shows have been filmed in & around Wilmington, North Carolina. Perhaps the best-known is Dawson’s Creek, the popular late-90s coming-of-age drama series. While the show tried to tackle progressive storylines, its stark lack of diversity made Dawson’s Creek frequently cited as the whitest show ever. Nearly two decades after it went off the air, tourists still come to Wilmington in search of the show’s landmarks.

But Wilmington has a more difficult, less visible side to its history, politically as well as culturally, going back to the 1700s. Long before North Carolina became one of America’s original 13 colonies, there were thriving Indigenous communities throughout the region. There was also a time when Wilmington’s most famous musician was a man of color, Frank Johnson, fiddler, composer, and bandleader - and one of the biggest stars in American music in the years before the Civil War.

During Reconstruction, Wilmington was an unusually progressive, forward-thinking town. In contrast to the state of things elsewhere in the South, Wilmington elected a racially diverse local government, led by both whites and freed Black people.

That came to an abrupt end in 1898 with a white-supremacist coup, a bloody rampage that left numerous people of color dead and black-owned businesses destroyed. Those the mob didn’t kill, they chased out of town. That left Wilmington with a mostly white population, an all-white local government – and a whitewashed version of the city’s history in which Black people’s contributions were erased from the official story.

This might seem like ancient history, but it’s not. Wilmington’s most famous native-born musician is probably Charlie Daniels, the country-music star who died in the summer of 2020. Daniels was born in 1936 – less than four decades after that 1898 uprising. The real story of the 1898 coup is finally coming to light in recent years, thanks to works like the 2020 Pulitzer-winning book Wilmington’s Lie. But it’s still not widely known.

In this episode of Carolina Calling, we explore Wilmington – a town that keeps its secrets even as they’re hidden in plain sight – through the life and career of Frank Johnson, whose his story and stardom were all but lost to time – or rather, to the erasing effects of the 1898 massacre on Wilmington’s history.

This episode features John Jeremiah Sullivan, a writer and historian who lives in Wilmington and has written extensively about the city’s music and history for The New Yorker and New York Times magazine, as well as Grammy winner Rhiannon Giddens, and musicians Charly Lowry and Lakota John.

Music featured in this episode:

Paula Cole – “I Don’t Want To Wait”

“Saraz Handpan C# Minor”

Charlie Daniels – “Long Haired Country Boy”

Traditional – “The Lumbee Song”

Lakota John – “She Caught The Katy”

Ranky Tanky – “Knee Bone”

Lauchlin Shaw, Glenn Glass & Fred Olson – “Twinkle Little Star”

Marvin Gaster, Rich Hartness, Beth Hartness & Harry Gaster – “Rye Straw”

Evelyn Shaw, Lauchlin Shaw, A.C. Overton & Wayne Martin – “Money, Marbles and Chalk”

Marvin Gaster, Rich Hartness, Beth Hartness & Harry Gaster – “Chickens Growing at Midnight”

Rhiannon Giddens w/ Franceso Turrisi – “Avalon”

Rhiannon Giddens w/ Franceso Turrisi – “There Is No Other”

Joe Thompson & Odell Thompson – “Donna Got a Rambling Mind”

The Showmen – “39-23-46”