William Hamilton Stepp

March 06, 2012

(Old-time Fiddle)

Place of Birth: Proctor (Lee County), Kentucky
Date of Death: 1947
Place of Death: Knox County, Indiana


Moved to Salyersville (Magoffin County), Kentucky around 1900 and was exposed to the strong fiddle tradition personified by Patrick Risner (b. 1857), whose students John Salyer and Willie Fletcher were friends of Stepp. In the 1930's, Stepp recorded for the Archive of Folk Song of the Library of Congress, c.f., "Music of Kentucky: Early American Rural Classics 1927-1937" (Yazoo Records)- "The Ways of the World", "Bonaparte's Retreat", "Callahan", "The Old Hen She Cackled", "Mud Fence", "Silver Strand".