One of the prevalent theories about clawhammer playing in the Blue Ridge is that there is relative “base” of tunes that nearly everyone plays in nearly the same way (“Sally Ann,” “Fly Around,” etc.) and then the further you move out from the base tunes, the more you hear regional dialects.  This theory supposes that the cross pollination that takes place at festivals and contests has brough players closer to a “base” style.  Giles Lephew is among the players who retained a regional style in their playing that is all their own.  Other regional players like Matokie Slaughter and Stella Kimble clearly had their own take on what a clawhammer lick consists of and Giles fits squarely into this group of outliers.

            Growing up in the more industrialized lead mining fields near Austinville, Giles was exposed, at an early age, to a variety of musicians in the mines and working for the railroads that hauled the ore out of the hollows of Wythe County.  Here he developed a sort of hybrid style that was all his own – the basic clawhammer lick interrupted by up picking (thumb and index) for emphasis.  In spite of exposure to other styles both in person and on radio and record, Giles maintained his unique and powerful style all of his life.

            Giles grew up expressing his banjo talents at house parties, miner’s halls, “working bees” and community dances in the area.  By 1935, when Giles was only eight years old, the first Galax Old Fiddler’s Convention was held, and locals like Giles who had innate talent and been playing since a very young age, were encouraged to celebrate the music they had learned at home.  Although his own quirky and original style did not necessarily match the playing of older players of the time, Giles was always respected and encouraged in jams and clawhammer competitions. As the “Galax Gallup” developed among players like Jimmy Boyd, Giles stuck to his “New River” style of playing that was characterized by low bass tunings and the infusion of occasional “up” picking.

            By the time Giles began to regularly compete in the Galax competitions, entrants came from across the country and the world to compete, so his older, Wythe County approach and tunes were well accepted among the traditionalists.  His personal hybrid style was celebrated and he frequently placed or won contests across the region.

            In 1985, he placed 6^th, and in 1990, Giles placed 3^rd in the Clawhammer Competition at the Old Fiddler’s Convention at Galax, just beating his dear friend and fellow clawhammer master, Enoch Rutherford of Grayson, County. He also competed and did well in the clawhammer category at other regional festivals and competitions.

            Giles legacy as an individualistic player who both held on to a traditional approach but freely adjusted that approach to match the local Austinville sound, has made him a master of clawhammer playing who is now being deeply studied as a resurgence of the two-finger hybrid style of clawhammer re-emerges in popularity.