Matokie Slaughter

This article is about the banjo player. For the artist who used the pseudonym Matokie Slaughter, seeMargaret Kilgallen.

Matokie Slaughter
Birth name	Matokie Worrell
Born	December 21, 1919 Pulaski, Virginia,U.S.
Died	December 31, 1999(1999-12-31)(aged 80) Pulaski, Virginia,U.S.
Genres	clawhammer,old time music
Occupation	musician
Instrument(s)	banjo,fiddle
Years active	1940s–1990s
Labels	County Records,Marimac Recordings

Matokie Worrell Slaughter(December 21, 1919– December 31, 1999), sometimes known as"Tokie" Slaughter,was an Americanclawhammerbanjoplayer.

Born in Pulaski, Virginia, to a large musical family, Slaughter performed regularly with her family on local radio in the 1940s. She and her sister Virgie (later Virgie Worrel Richardson) also appeared regularly at local fiddler's conventions. She was discovered by the largerold-time musiccommunity when some of her recordings appeared on Charles Faurot's clawhammer banjo anthologies during the 1960s. Later, she made many appearances atfolk musicfestivals and workshops throughout the US and formed a band calledMatokie Slaughter & The Back Creek Buddieswith her sister Virgie and old-time music revivalistAlice Gerrard.The band issued acassette-only release,Saro,in 1990.

Slaughter is known for her unique, driving style of clawhammer banjo playing, with complex noting and double-noting and featuring both uppicking anddownpicking.She also occasionally playedfiddle.

During the 1990s,San FranciscoartistMargaret Kilgallenbegan drawing freight-train graffiti using the name "Matokie Slaughter" as anhomageto the original Matokie Slaughter. A fictionalized version of Matokie Slaughter also figured prominently in many of Kilgallen's non-graffiti artworks. She died ten days after her 80th birthday in 1999.

References

Citations

External links

• Matokie Slaughterat Digital Library of Appalachia. – links to streamingMP3audio of a number of Matokie Slaughter performances.