Fred Cockerham (3 November 1905 - July 8, 1980) was an American fiddle and banjo player of American folk music.
Cockerham was one of the seven children of Elias and Betty Jane Cockerham in North Carolina. He was one of the most accomplished of all the Round Peak, North Carolina musicians but is most commonly known for being the banjo accompanist to Tommy Jarrell. He played the fiddle in a more modern style than Jarrell, but played the fretless banjo in an old clawhammer style much like that of his old mentor, Charley Lowe.
Discography Year Title Label Number Notes1965Clawhammer Banjo: Old Time Banjo and Fiddle TunesCounty701 reissued on County CD 2716, Clawhammer Banjo Vol 1 (2002) with extra tracks1968Down to the Cider MillCounty713 with Tommy Jarrell & Oscar Jenkins. This and the two below LPs were reissued with the exception of several tracks on 2 County CDs - 2734 & 2735 (2004) own vinyl and CD copies 1970Back Home in the Blue RidgeCounty723 1973Stay All Night and Don't Go HomeCounty741 1975High Atmosphere: Ballads and Banjo Tunes from Virginia and North CarolinaRounder0028recorded by John Cohen in 1965, reissued on Rounder CD 028 (1995) with 11 additional tracks1976Music from Round PeakHeritage 10 with Tommy Jarrell, Mac Snow et al.own vinyl copy1978Under the Double EagleSnowflake 103 Fred's solo fiddle album Southern ClawhammerKicking Mule KM 213 several solo banjo tracks recorded by Ray Alden1992Best Fiddle-Banjo DuetsCountyCD 2702with Tommy Jarrell, duets now on the 2 County CDs 2734-2735 plus field recordings from the collection of Ray Alden & Dave Spilkia (out-of-print)2004Fred CockerhamField Recorders' CollectiveFRC 101recorded by Ray Alden2008Round Peak Volume 1Field Recorders' CollectiveFRC 109recorded by Ray AldenRound Peak Volume 2Field Recorders' CollectiveFRC 110recorded by Ray Alden
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