Flora Molton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Flora Molton
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| Background information | |
| Born | March 12, 1908 Louisa County, Virginia |
| Died | May 31, 1990 (aged 82) Washington, D.C. |
| Occupation(s) | Street singer |
| Instruments | Slide guitar |
| Years active | 1942–1989 |
Flora E. Molton (born Flora Rollins; March 12, 1908 – May 31, 1990) was a talented street singer and slide guitar player. She performed gospel and blues songs in Washington, D.C. for many years. Flora played her unique slide guitar in a style called "bottleneck." She also played the harmonica and tambourine.
Flora was born with some vision problems. She grew up in Virginia and was deeply influenced by her religious family. She also loved the blues music of artists like Bessie Smith. When Flora started singing on the streets in the 1940s, she played blues music. Later, she focused more on gospel music and what she called "truth" music. This music was about staying strong through life's challenges.
Other musicians, like Phil Wiggins, often joined Flora Molton on the street. Sometimes, they performed as Flora Molton and the Truth Band. Other musicians noticed that Flora's singing often guided her guitar playing.
Flora didn't have scheduled concerts until 1963. A musician named Ed Morris helped her arrange performances at music festivals. She played at events like the Philadelphia Folk Festival and even at the Library of Congress. In 1987, she went on a music tour in Europe. Flora Molton is featured in documentaries like Spirit and Truth Music. There are also special historical markers in Washington, D.C., and Virginia that honor her.
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Flora Molton's Early Life
Flora Rollins was born on March 12, 1908, in Louisa County, Virginia. Her parents were William and Sally Rollins. She was partially blind when she was born. Her teachers taught her by memory because reading was hard for her. When she was eight, Flora had surgery for her eyes, and her vision got a little better. By her teenage years, she could read large print comfortably.
Religion was very important to Flora from a young age. Her father was a minister and also worked as a coal miner. Her mother played the organ and raised the children in Virginia. As a child, Flora listened to blues singers like Bessie Smith. She also learned to play the accordion, which her father played. She started preaching at 17. A few years later, Flora joined the Holiness Church and began a ministry from her home.
Flora had two children and found that preaching alone didn't earn enough money. In 1937, she moved to Washington, D.C., to find work. Her brother, Robert Rollins, was a pastor there. Flora soon learned to play the guitar. By 1942, she began singing on the streets.
Her Music and Street Performances
Flora Molton often performed at the corner of F Street NW and 7th Street NW. She played her guitar, sang, and tapped a tambourine with her foot. She even attached a plastic pail to her guitar for people to leave money. Later, she added a holder for her harmonica, a microphone, and a small amplifier. Sometimes, the police would try to stop her from performing. But by the mid-1960s, they left her alone. In 1969, she moved to a new spot near the Woodward & Lothrop department store.
In her early years, Flora sang the blues on the streets. "I was so young, in a wilder, different life then," she said in 1985. Later, she explained that she no longer performed blues music. She described her songs as a mix of gospel and "truth" music. This "truth" music talked about the challenges of everyday life. Music expert Bernice Johnson Reagon noted that Flora's music still had a blues sound in the 1970s. Flora cared more about singing sacred lyrics than about musical structure. She even wrote an anti-war song called "Sun's Gonna Shine in Vietnam Someday." Many different musicians joined Flora over the years. These groups sometimes performed as Flora Molton and the Truth Band. Phil Wiggins, a famous blues singer, was one of them.
Flora played slide guitar using a special technique called "bottleneck." She would slide a broken bottleneck along the strings. This created a unique, wailing sound. She often played three or four strings at once. This made a buzzing, chord-like sound. This sound was similar to traditional African music.
Music expert Mark Puryear said Flora's guitar playing supported her singing. Her main goal was to share the song's message. Phil Wiggins said Flora's unique rhythm made him a better listener. "She didn't really make chord changes," Wiggins explained. "So the main way to keep track was to follow her voice." Another blues guitarist, Eleanor Ellis, learned a lot from Flora. "The singer is the one to pay attention to," Ellis realized.
Flora Molton's Life Story
Flora Molton had four children: Bishop William H. Bruce, Johnny Bruce, Sarah Bruce, and Doris Anderson. She also had many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Flora was very independent, even with her vision problems. Phil Wiggins said she was "nobody's victim."
In the 1950s, Flora completed a job training program. She tried to find work outside of street singing. She got a temporary job, but it didn't last. Other social programs promised her jobs, but nothing permanent came through. "I just got disgusted," she said in 1974. "I just took the street for mine... If it hadn't been for the street, I would have been dead."
A short film about Flora, Spirit and Truth Music, was made by Edward Tim Lewis. She also appeared in the documentary Blues Houseparty (1989). Flora is one of eight women honored in Washington, D.C., with historical markers. Another marker dedicated to her is in Virginia.
Later Years and Legacy
In 1963, Flora met a guitar player named Ed Morris. He loved her music and started playing with her. Before this, Flora had never performed a scheduled concert. Morris helped her book shows at local places and festivals. She played at the 1967 Philadelphia Folk Festival. Flora often performed at places popular during the American folk music revival. Morris also became part of the Truth Band. After he passed away, Eleanor Ellis joined the band.
Flora also performed at famous places like the Library of Congress. She played at events like the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. In 1978, the Truth Band went to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. They didn't have a booking, but they convinced the organizers to let them play! The Rolling Stones even hired Flora Molton to perform backstage before their concert in 1981. The Truth Band recorded an album called Living Country Blues USA, Vol. 3 (1981) at Flora's home.
The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities gave Flora Molton four awards. In 1987, she went on a tour of Europe. While there, she and Eleanor Ellis recorded an album called Gospel Songs. The commission also gave her money to record another album, I Want to Be Ready to Hear God When He Calls (1987). Flora sold copies of her music on the street. In 1988, she was selling her album for $6.
By 1988, Flora said she still sang on the streets to support herself. "I have to do it," she said. "I need to." She passed away on May 31, 1990, in Washington, D.C., after she got sick. Even in her eighties, Flora continued to sing on the streets until about six months before she died. She was planning a second tour through Europe. Flora Molton was buried in National Harmony Memorial Park in Maryland.
Discography
- 1981: Living Country Blues USA, Volume 3 (with the Truth Band), L+R Records
- 1987: I Want To Be Ready To Hear God When He Calls, Lively Stone Records
- 1987: Gospel Songs (with Eleanor Ellis), Ocora
