Lefty Shafer can be heard on "Lefty's Favorites," an original 1999 release of classic treatments on 28 tunes, from "Muddy Lane" to "Elzik's Farewell."

If you don't see the album or the Appalachian artist you're seeking, drop us a line. We answer all our e-mail, though sometimes it may take a few days to get back to you.

The Emmett M. "Lefty" Shafer -- fiddler, whistler and singer -- was born in rural Roane County, W.Va., in 1915, and lived to the age of 88 in the Charleston area. He passed away in January 2004.

Lefty's clean and meticulous fiddling won him literally hundreds of awards over the years including the 1987 award for the West Virginia State Fiddle Champion.

As Goldenseal magazine once wrote, "Though he is a formidable competitor, Lefty is also a patient and encouraging teacher who has shared his musical knowledge with many aspiring fiddlers over the years."

Lefty grew up on Trail Branch at Hurricane Fork of Little Sandy Creek where both his parents were avid square dancers. Since his father also played fiddle, Lefty was immersed in the traditional music culture from his earliest days. He began playing fiddle in October 1930 and by the following summer was playing square dances in the community.

In 1933, he also learned to read shape-note music and began singing tenor in quartets. After a 22-month stint in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Lefty chose a career in education and often took his fiddle with him to the classroom so his students could be educated beyond the three R's.

In 1997, Lefty Shafer joined the ranks of those honored by the state Division of Culture and History when he received the Vandalia Avard for a lifetime of keeping traditional music alive.

He and his wife Velva met and married while working at Fletcher Enamel in Dunbar in the late 1930s. After his marriage, he worked for Equitable Life Insurance before and after World War II. He served as a Radarman Third Class on the USS LSM-31 in the South Pacific during the war. In 1952 he graduated from Morris Harvey College with a bachelor's degree in education. He then went on to Marshall College, where he obtained a master's degree in education. He began teaching in the elementary schools of Kanawha County and served as principal of Simmons Creek Elementary, Oak Ridge Elementary, Bigley Elementary and was principal of Midway Elementary when he retired in 1976.

Lefty was a member of the Appalachian Fiddler's Association, Mensa and the Kanawha County Elementary Principal's Association.