By Kelley St. Germain
*NOTE: These were NOT the last intervews we conducted for this film. Due to COVID, we continued interviewing and editing and finished this film in August, 2021.
After almost six months of filming, we are happy to announce that we have finished interviews for our upcoming documentary, Short Life of Trouble: The Legend of G.B. Grayson.
It has been an amazing journey. In many ways we have been chasing a ghost. G.B. left virtually no papers behind him. The ones he did were lost or stolen long ago, along with photos and old 78 records, when some of his family were returning from Pennsylvania back to Tennesse during the 1960s. One son said that the papers were in a suitcase tied on top of the car. It was there when they left Pennsylvania, but gone when they got home to Laurel Bloomery. How I wish we still had that suitcase and its contents!
To make matters even more challenging, there are virtually no interviews or period pieces written about G.B.’s by his contemporaries. There are only four or five photos of him known to be in existence. Even his fiddle has been lost to history (we have heard so many rumors about where it is…I think it is most likely in England).
Yet, having said all that, I have immensely enjoyed the challenge of the chase. Having interviewed 24 people and amassed hours and hours of footage, we are ready to put our film together. Without a doubt, this is the biggest film project of my career.
I am so grateful to ALL the people we have interviewed. Each one gave us a tiny piece of the puzzle that we must now assemble into our version of the G.B. Grayson legend. There are so many people to thank that I don’t even know where to start. I guess that’s what the ending credits of the film are for. I would like to take the time here, however, to thank those members of the Grayson family that were especially encouraging and also Josh Beckworth. Josh has written (in my eyes) the definitive biography of G.B. Grayson and Henry Whitter, entitled Always Been A Rambler. Josh has generously shared his knowledge and meticulous research and we are forever indebted for all his help.
Hopefully we will have information soon on our finished film including an upcoming December community preview in Mountain City, TN. Stay tuned!
