In my never ending quest to learn more about Ohio's old-time music heritage, I recently came across an article from the Ironton Tribune about Jess Large. His name has been referenced in Field Recorders' Collective releases for Arnold Sharp and Jimmy Wheeler, but I never knew anything about Large or his legacy.
Born Jesse James Large in 1905, he lived in Ironton, Ohio, a small city at the southernmost tip of the state, along the Ohio River. Ironton is the county seat of Lawrence County, with a population of more than 10,500. Large was most active in the 1930s and '40s, fiddling for barn dances and radio programs in the tri-state region of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. Large took his own life in 1961 after a brain tumor robbed him of his ability to play the fiddle.
In addition to Sharp and Wheeler, Large was reportedly an influence on other fiddlers in the region, including Asa Neal, Forrest Pick and J.P. Fraley, according to the article Mark Shaffer of the Ironton Tribune. Sharp plays a tune on FRC406 called "Jess Large's Going Back to Pine Creek," which Shaffer notes in the article should be titled "Going Back to Pine Grove," in reference to Pine Grove, Ohio, located about seven miles to the north of Ironton.
The reason for the article is the recent effort by relatives of Jess Large to share his legacy with the public. Tamara Large-Ryles and Teri Large-Wells are trying locate recordings of their grandfather in the hopes of putting out a record through Rounder Records and to get him into the Old Time Fiddler's Association museum. They are asking for any information at all about existing recordings.
There is contact information for Large's granddaughters at the bottom of the Ironton Tribune article, or you can visit the Facebook page they set up, Fiddlin' Jesse James Large Ironton, Oh 1905-1961.
[Image source: "Family seeks recordings: Jesse James Large was an influential fiddler in the 30s and 40s," Ironton Tribune, Aug. 17, 2019.]
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