Grappel/Cohen Recording Endowment winner Cory Goodrich pays tribute to the roots of country music and the Carter Family with her folk album, Wildwood Flower. Songs of yesterday and today are woven together with the Appalachian autoharp as the central uniting factor. Featuring five different harps, guitar, banjo, and mandolin, this acoustic set, produced by Malcolm Ruhl, explores the past and the future of traditional folk. * * * * * I became fascinated by the autoharp when I was cast as June Carter in Ring of Fire, the Music of Johnny Cash. My character research led me back to the Carter family, and I developed a deep appreciation for the folk music of the Appalachians. Immigrants from England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland arrived in Appalachia in the 18th century, and brought with them the musical traditions of their native countries. Since these songs were passed on in an oral fashion, lyrics were often misheard or rewritten. In this collection, we tried to return to the original source material. Wildwood Flower, the album’s namesake, harkens back to the initial Maud Irving poem. This song typically tells of a heartbroken girl, whose lover has left her bereft. But in researching the original lyrics, I found an often omitted verse that depicts a woman who refuses to let her unfaithful lover break her spirit, and in essence, throws it in his face. “I’ll think of him never, I’ll be wild and gay. I’ll charm every heart and the crowd, I will sway. I’ll live yet to see him regret the dark hour, He won then neglected this “frail” Wildwood Flower.” No shrinking violet, THIS woman. Producer Malcolm Ruhl and I experimented with ways in which the autoharp could be woven into the fabric of modern music. Here, the harp doubles as rolling water, chirping birds, and the inner workings of a clock, and serves as a centerpiece in our own original tunes. Special thanks to Pete d’Aigle, George Orthey and Greg Schreiber, who built beautiful harps for this album, to brilliant graphic designer David Barron, and most especially to the Cohen/Grappel Recording Endowment, who challenged me to create an album featuring the autoharp. This CD could not have been made without their generous support.