Fiddlin’ Bud Zorn

The fiddle music of Georgia is rooted in the music of many ethnic groups. None exerted more influence on the songs and styles of white country fiddlers than African Americans. Valdosta's Fiddlin' Bud Zorn knows this from personal experience. Of German and Irish heritage, he grew up in the Chattahoochee River Valley of the 1920s and 30s, where he was deeply influenced by the music of his black neighbors. This is a story of crossing color lines in the segregated south and the man who inspired young Bud to a lifelong passion with the fiddle. Special thanks to Fiddlin' Bud Zorn. The Sounds of South Georgia is made possible with support from Valdosta State University, and from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

W.H. "Fiddlin' Bud" Zorn of Valdosta plays a replica of the first fiddle he made as a boy in Henry County, Alabama.

Photo by Laurie Kay Sommers, 1999.