Lloyd Chandler was an American Appalachian Folk

Old-time music

Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre also...

 musician and Free Will Baptist preacher

Preacher

Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...

 from Madison County

Madison County, North Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 19,635 people, 8,000 households, and 5,592 families residing in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile . There were 9,722 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

.

Recent research has claimed that Chandler is the writer of "O, Death", a song featured on the acclaimed O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. Ralph Stanley

Ralph Stanley

Ralph Stanley , also known as Dr. Ralph Stanley, is an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing.-Biography:...

 won a Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for his rendition of this song.

Indiana University Press' The Journal of Folklore Research features articles in an 2004 issue asserting that "O, Death" is Chandler's song "A Conversation with Death", which he performed for several years while preaching in Appalachia

Appalachia

Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...

.

One of the articles is from folklorist Carl Lindahl, who researched claims from Western North Carolina

Western North Carolina

Western North Carolina is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains, thus it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It is sometimes included with upstate South Carolina as the "Western Carolinas", which is also counted as a single media market...

 that O Brother's "O, Death" is Chandler's composition.. The article states that Chandler authored the song after a vision from God in 1916. Lindahl also chronicles his unsuccessful research in trying to find any trace of the song before Chandler's version, debunking previous claims that the song traces back to a 16th century British composition. The other article is from Chandler's daughter-in-law, Barbara, who explains her claim that "O, Death" was based on Chandler's composition.

"A Conversation with Death" appears on Rounder Records 1975 release High Atmosphere: Ballads and Banjo Tunes from Virginia and North Carolina

High Atmosphere

High Atmosphere: Ballads and Banjo Tunes from Virginia and North Carolina is a 1975 compilation album released by Rounder Records. The album is composed of Appalachian folk music recordings gathered by musicologist John Cohen in North Carolina and Virginia.The album was originally released in 1975...

, a collection of recordings made by John Cohen.

Discography

• High Atmosphere: Ballads and Banjo Tunes from Virginia and North Carolina
  High Atmosphere
  High Atmosphere: Ballads and Banjo Tunes from Virginia and North Carolina is a 1975 compilation album released by Rounder Records. The album is composed of Appalachian folk music recordings gathered by musicologist John Cohen in North Carolina and Virginia.The album was originally released in 1975...
  
  , Rounder Records, 1975