The BMAP Project is an initiative to record, appreciate and promote the rare songs and stories of Bobby McMillon- folk historian and ballad singer. This initiative was launched by Rodney Sutton, with Saro Lynch-Thomason assisting. Throughout the summer, fall and winter of 2013, Rodney and Saro have been recording Bobby in his home in Celo, NC. In the spring and summer of 2014, Rodney and Saro intend to produce several mastered recordings of Bobby, available either as a downloadable collection or as hard media. The aim of the project is to raise funds for Bobby himself, in appreciation for the great contributions he has made throughout his life to the understanding of North Carolina and Southern folklore and song.An extended description by Rodney Sutton:
It has now been over 10 years since Jim Taylor and I first started discussing our plans for making sure that Bobby McMillon’s un-recorded ballads and stories be archived and preserved. Bobby made me aware that before Jim’s untimely death, they had actually held two recording sessions. It took a while to find out what had happened to those recordings – Bobby was never given copies. When we finally got them, Bobby was surprised that those sessions had actually taken place all the way back in 2003 – one in Jim’s studio and the other around the kitchen table at Jim and Shelia Kay’s home on Eskey’s Ridge in Madison County, NC. These recording by Jim Taylor were a good jumping-off point and Bobby and I would like to dedicate the The Bobby McMillon Anthology Project in Jim’s memory!
The Bobby McMillon Anthology Project was a name I came up with last year when Bobby and I “got serious” about recording as many of the dozens of ballads that he has collected over the years that as far as he knows have either never been recorded or are versions with different lyrics or tunes. If any of you have been lucky enough to visit with Bobby, you know that the first thing that almost always happens is that he first tells you how you and him are kin. For me, it included one of the un-recorded ballads he sang for me, one about “Sandy John Sutton” that originated in Cosby, Tenn. and is included in this project. I made about 3 trips to Bobby’s house in Celo, NC and I soon realized that I should turn on my recorder as soon as I walk in the door – he is a master story teller and any conversation reveals untold gems of information of his life as a collector. The hold-up in getting started on the BMAP was that Bobby never seemed to get around to digging out the 15 composition books and two journals containing nearly 300 hand written songs and ballads that Bobby first started collecting from family and neighbors back when he was a teen in high school. They had been “hidden” away in some boxes that had been packed up and moved by family members when Bobby and Joyce moved from Lenior to Celo four years ago while Bobby was dealing with some health issues and unable to personally pack up a life time of collecting rooms full of books and papers – he never throws anything away!”