By William “Skip” Deegans
The Putnam County Pickers (aka Pickers), arguably one of West Virginia’s most popular and beloved bands of the 1970-1980s, performed at Lewisburg’s Carnegie Hall 50 years ago this month. The band started in 1974 at a loosely defined commune near Culloden in a rural part of Putnam County. While the name suggests they were a blue grass band, they were far from it. “Eclectic” be the best description of their music. The original band consisted of Ron and Sandy Sowell, Greg Harmon, and Rusty Wells. Only Harmon was a native West Virginian. The others were part of the back to the land movement in the 1970s.
The band evolved, and the members who played at Carnegie Hall were Ron Sowell, originally from New Mexico, Yale-educated John Kessler from Chicago, Steve Hill, an Auburn chemical engineering graduate, and Ammed Solomon from Cincinnati. The band played throughout the world and produced two albums: It’s About Time and Let The Cat Out. At the request of Governor John D. Rockefeller IV, the Pickers performed at the unveiling of the West Virginia Culture Center. Norman Fagan, Commissioner of the West Virginia Department of Culture and History, described the Pickers as, “They create music that is distinctive and has a point of view, born from experimentation and a finding of self and soul. The quality of their music is an integral part of their development. They are unique in that they relate perfectly to a rural third grader or season subscriber to a symphony orchestra.” The band played their last concert at the end of 1981.
Afterwards, three of the former members of the Pickers, Steve Hill (lead and rhythm guitar), John Kessler (bass) and Ammed Solomon (drums and percussion) formed the band Rhino Moon that was brought to Greenbrier County in 1982 by the Greenbrier Valley Arts and Humanities Council. On a Friday afternoon the band did a concert for the children at the East Rainelle Elementary School, and in the evening they performed to a full house at the Greenbrier Center. The concert was free for children who gave the band a standing ovation and begged for more.
While Rhino Moon dissolved, three of the Pickers, Ron Sowell, Ammed Solomon and Steve Hill, have had a long association with the house band on West Virginia PBS’s Mountain Stage.
Sources: Charleston Gazette-Mail, The Parkersburg Sentinel, West Virginia Daily News, The Pickers and Rhino Moon publicity documents.
