By: Richard Harness, Max Kirby, Mikayla Barrow, and Byron Cothran Jimmy Driftwood

Early Years James Corbitt Morris was born on June 20, 1907 in Mt. View, AR, later in 1950 he changed his name to Jimmy Driftwood. Driftwood’s father was the folk singer, Neil Morris. Driftwood learned to play the guitar at an early age using his grandpa’s homemade instrument. Jimmy received a teaching degree from the Arkansas teacher’s college, which later became known as UCA. He began teaching history using an entertaining technique at Mt. View. Through the 1920’s and 30’s Driftwood left Arkansas and took the road through the Southwest United States.

Family –In 1936, he married Cleda Johnson and returned to Arkansas to raise a family. –Jimmy had three sons who preceded him in death. –His wife died at the age of 86 on April 30, –The Driftwood family lives on through Jimmy’s brother and two sisters.

Musical Styles Jimmy’s music usually consisted of a guitar, a bass, and mouth-bow. The mouth-bow was a shorter version of a bow and arrow. Jimmy used the bow to produce a “fatter” sound.

Jimmy Driftwood Barn In 1918, Jimmy and his friends built the Jimmy Driftwood Barn in Mt. View, AR. (Mt. View is the folk music capital of the United States.) This gave him a permanent place to perform on weekends; although he never charged admission, he did pass a hat to help cover expenses. Before he died, he dedicated the barn to UCA, so the barn could be preserved for students who desired to study the history of folk music.

“The Battle of New Orleans” The “Battle of New Orleans” was a song written by Driftwood 18 years prior to becoming famous. It was later performed and recorded by Johnny Horton. In 1959, it remained at the top of the country single charts for ten weeks and atop the pop charts for 6 weeks. Jimmy wrote this piece to get his students more interested in the historical information on the War of 1812.

“The Tennessee Stud” s/ASIN/B00007M9NO/qid%3D /sr%3D11- 1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/

Accomplishments Jimmy wrote 6,000 folk songs, 300 of which were published and/or recorded. He helped America discover Arkansas’ folk culture. Driftwood’s most popular song, “The Battle of New Orleans,” won the 1960 Grammy award for ‘Song of the Year.’ He also won Grammy awards for: “Wilderness Road”, “Songs of Billy Yank and Johnny Reb”, and “The Tennessee Stud”. Jimmy was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Folklore from Peabody University in Nashville, TN.

Died on July 12, 1998 at the age of 91.

Questions 1.What was Jimmy Driftwood’s birth name? 2.Which song won the Grammy for ‘Song of the Year’ in 1960? 3.How old was Jimmy when he passed away?

Resources ord.htmlhttp:// ord.html