Ruckers keep the Civil War alive

by Taylor Coe '13
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

The quickest pop culture encounter with the words “Civil War” in music is probably the well-intentioned Guns N’ Roses single off their 1991 album Use Your Illusion I. This song, of course, has little to do with the American Civil War and even less to do with the music that emerged out of the war. Exploring the musical legacy of the Civil War through both its music and storytelling, folk enthusiasts Sparky Rucker and his wife Rhonda Rucker will be visiting the campus next Monday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Fillius Events Barn.

A sensational storyteller and musician, Sparky Rucker has been lauded by virtually every folk heavyweight of the past half-century. Union activist and folk musician U. Utah called it “an absolute must to see Sparky in concert.” Pete Seeger judged Sparky to be “unique” and someone who “[will] make you glad to be alive and struggling.” These plaudits merely skim the surface of what the folk world has to say about Rucker.

The Ruckers have received a number of honors, among which was the opportunity to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. as well as a Grammy-nomination for their contributions to traditional music anthology Singing Through the Hard Times. Sparky has guested on a number of prominent radio shows, including Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, and Morning Edition. A fixture in the roots music community, Sparky has played with musicians such as Reverend Pearly Brown—who taught Duane Allman how to play slide—and Johnny Shines—who traveled with blues luminary Robert Johnson.

However, the Ruckers will not be performing out of their normal folk repertoire, but drawing specifically on Civil War music through their historical presentation The Blue & Gray in Black & White. The presentation features not only costumes and music, but historical research presented through the genealogies of both Sparky and Rhonda. Possessing family histories that include both slaves and Confederate soldiers, the Ruckers weave together a portrait of the Civil War from a number of complex perspectives.

The Ruckers not only help preserve unique, individual accounts of the Civil War, but also remember and commemorate the music that emerged out of the war. The Ruckers’ website claims that “more songs came out of the Civil War than any other war in history.” Before the crucial invention of the gramophone, all of the music from that era was largely preserved through oral traditions until modern technology made permanent recordings possible.

Sponsored by the History Department, the Ruckers are sure to be a crowd favorite with their humor-laced sense of history and their keen grasp of the folk narratives within the Civil War.