flora molton (1908-1990)

Early Life

For over forty years, Flora Molton was a fixture on the streets of Washington, D.C., where she performed what she called “Spiritual and Truth Music” (Bonner, 1981). Accompanying herself on slide guitar, harmonica, and foot tambourine, her work bridged the gap between secular and sacred traditions, leaving a lasting impact on the city’s musical soundscape.

Born Flora Rollins on March 12, 1908, in Louisa County, Virgina, Molton was raised in a deeply religious household. Her father was a preacher at their local Baptist church and her mother was an organist. Music and faith were central to Molton’s upbringing; Molton sang in the church choir and, like her mother, played the organ. Inspired by her father, she later learned to play the accordion and began preaching at age 17. She would eventually start her own ministry out of her home.

Molton was born partially blind, and though cataract surgery at age eight improved her sight somewhat, her vision remained limited throughout her life. Despite this challenge, she did not abandon her love for music or the gospel (Reagon, 1974).

Beyond the church, her love of music was fed by the “House hops” she and her siblings attended with their mother. These were informal house parties where families and neighbors would get together on Saturday nights “after the crop and things” to dance and sing the blues (Pearson, 2005; Weber, 1993). “They would be singing and dancing at these houses, [Molton recalled], then we young girls, we’d be in the other room we’d be dancing too” (Pearson 2005, p. 30). These gatherings introduced her to the blues, setting the stage for her blending of gospel and blues traditions.

In 1937, Molton moved to Washington, D.C. during the first wave of the Great Migration of Black Americans from the rural South to the urban North, seeking better opportunities for herself and her two children (Puryear, 2020). However, “the stigma of marginal sight” meant that she was deemed “unfit for employment” (Reagon, 1974, p. 39). Facing economic hardship, she was forced “to take to the street,” playing music to earn money. In her words, “If it hadn’t been for the street, I would have been dead . . . I tried hard. I sat down and said, ‘I wish some good Samaritan would come by and would hear me or something’” (p. 39). Despite regular harassment from the police, Molton “managed to survive off the meager offerings placed in her tin cup” (p. 39).

In 1943, she bought a stringless guitar for one dollar, taught herself to play using a slide technique, and began adding guitar to her street performances (Weber, 1993). Molton blended finger-picking styles from her native Piedmont region with the Delta blues slide method, creating a sound uniquely her own. She often performed in open D tuning, accompanying her slide guitar with harmonica and foot tambourine (“Molton Flora,” 2007). Initially, she sang and played the blues but eventually shifted to gospel music after getting “sanctified” (Bonner, 1981). Despite this shift, her gospel music retained elements of the blues, leading country blues musician Reverend Gary Davis to describe her music as “holy blues” (Weber, 1993).

Molton’s career expanded during the folk and blues revival of the 1960s. It was within this context that she met Ed Morris, a white guitarist from Virginia, who became her collaborator, helping her transition from street performances to venues like coffeehouses, music festivals, and eventually international tours. She performed at major events, including the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and the African Diaspora Smithsonian program series curated by Bernice Johnson Reagon and Rosie Lee Hooks (Puryear, 2020). In 1987, Molton toured Europe with musicians Eleanor Ellis and Archie Edwards, recording the album Gospel Songs in France.

Molton continued performing on the streets, becoming a fixture on the corner of 11th and F streets NW in front of the Woodward & Lothrop department store. There, seated in a beach chair, she played her guitar while tapping a tambourine with her foot and singing songs about perseverance and faith (Barnes, 1990). She also sold self-produced records through her label Molton Records to supplement her income. The records included the songs, “I Heard it Through the True Vine,” “The Sun will Shine on Vietnam,” “I Can’t Stand it,” and “Rejected Stone” (Puryear, 2020).

In addition to her solo performances, Molton led Flora Molton and the Truth Band, which included guitarist Ed Morris, harmonica player Phil Wiggins (whom she mentored), Bernice Johnson Reagon (founder and member of the acapella group Sweet Honey in the Rock), and Larry Wise (Bonner, 1981). In 1981, Flora Molton and the Truth Band recorded an album titled, Living Country Blues USA, Vol. 3.

In her later years, Molton continued to perform and record music, receiving support from grants like one from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities to produce the album I Want to Be Ready to Hear God When He Calls in 1987. The D.C. Commission also presented her with four awards for artistic excellence (Barnes, 1990). She was also the subject of Edward Tim Lewis’s documentary short, Spirit and Truth Music, and featured in the documentary Blues Houseparty, which was produced by her longtime friend and collaborator Eleanor Ellis.

Flora Molton passed away on May 31, 1990, at the age of 82. She is memorialized in a public art project in downtown Washington, D.C., where a bas-relief of her image adorns a repurposed call box at 13th and G Streets NW (DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID), n.d.). A historical marker in Louisa County, Virginia also honors her contributions to gospel and blues music.

Molton’s legacy as a pioneering street musician and a founder of the D.C. Blues Society endures. Her "holy blues," blending sacred and secular traditions, continues to inspire musicians and audiences alike. Through her music, she turned the challenges of her life into a testament to faith, resilience, and the power of song.

Lady Plays the Blues Project © 2024 by Yoli Bergstrom-Lynch is licensed under CC BY 4.0  

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