Daniel Womack Now Lord Please Hear Me When I Call Piano

Recordings made by Kip Lornell & Michael Schlesinger

Photo by David Fulton in 1987

Daniel K. Womack born in Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA on the 24th of December in 1904, passed away on the 13th of February, 1996 in Peabody, Essex, Massachusetts, USA.

Daniel Womack, born to Alex Womack and Mary Manerva on a Pittsylvania County tobacco farm in 1904, He has been throughout his long life a rare musical treasure, and music and storytelling were constant traditions in the Womack household.

Daniel Womack, who became completely blind at the age of 14, took those traditions with him when he attended the Virginia State School for the Deaf and Blind in Newport News and at the school, Daniel taught himself to play the piano and formed the Virginia State School Quartet, an example of the African-American quartet tradition for which Tidewater has become famous for.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Daniel Womack became locally famous near his home in Pittsylvania County for his singing in various acapella harmony groups and, after learning to play the
guitar as a blues performer, after learning the distinctive Piedmont finger-picking style of playing the guitar, Daniel Womack drew large crowds at local tobacco auctions in Danville, Farmville, and South Hill Virginia.

from 1956 to 1971, Daniel Womack worked at the Hotel Roanoke, and his musical career experienced a hiatus, to be revived after his retirement when his music caught the attention of the Blue Ridge Institute at Ferrum College, Daniel Womack has since performed at national and international folk festivals,including the Winnipeg and Toronto Folk Festivals, the National Folk Festival at Wolf Trap, and the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife in Washington, D.C.

his unique talents and musical artistry have made Daniel Womack one of the finest of the Commonwealth's musical ambassadors and an invaluable representative of Virginia's folk heritage.

Daniel passed away on the 13th of February, 1996 in Peabody, Essex, Massachusetts, USA. at the age of 92.

Big thanks to Ferrum College, Kip Lornell & Michael Schlesinger for letting me put this series of recordings of Daniel Womack telling stories and playing music on guitar & harmonica on my channel.

Here's the original recordings and photo held at Digital Library of Appalachia.

Recording dates (12/16/1976) (06/15/1977) (10/22/1983) (1989)

Recording Locations, Roanoke, Virginia & Ferrum Virginia in Franklin County.

You can find videos of Daniel Womack playing Guitar, Harmonica & Mouth Bow here.

Contents of the Ferrum College collection belong to the Blue Ridge Institute, and can only be used for non-commercial, educational purposes.