Kazee, Buell H.

Buell Kazee (1900-1976), a Magoffin County, Kentucky native, began playing banjo at age 5, and preaching at age 17. After he attended Georgetown College, Kazee's unusual banjo style brought him a recording contract with the Brunswick Recording Company. The 52 recordings issued between 1927 and 1929 helped him pay off his college debts, but the Great Depression ended his recording career. Instead, Kazee turned his attention primarily to ministry where, as in his music, he held fast to traditional styles, beliefs and attitudes. The folk revival of the 1960s led to Kazee's rediscovery by audiences at Newport, the Smithsonian, and the University of Chicago. Later recordings include LPs issued by Folkways in 1958 and June Appal in 1978.