For most of his life, Boo Hanks only played music in his rural hometown of Buffalo Junction, Virginia, but his musical repertoire reflected his global, multi-ethnic heritage. When Music Maker traveled to meet Boo in his hometown of Buffalo Junction, Virginia, he had many stories to tell. He and his family had lived and farmed tobacco on the same piece of land since the days of slavery. He spoke of a man named Colonel Hargrove, the original owner of this tobacco plantation, who had bought Boo’s great-great-great-grandfather as a wedding gift for his wife. Ever since, Boo’s family had worked as sharecroppers on this land. His rich musical repertoire reflected his multi-ethnic heritage (white, African American, Occeenneechee Indian, and family folklore holds that they are descendants of Abraham Lincoln’s mother Mary Hanks.) But when Music Maker first connected with Boo, he was in his late 70s, and he’d never recorded or played his music far from his home. Boo came to Music Maker’s studio in North Carolina, sat down with Dom Flemons and Justin Robinson of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and recorded nearly 25 songs. Sixteen of those songs — plus a four-minute clip of Boo talking about his family’s history — became his very first album, “Pickin’ Low Cotton.” Boo went on to perform throughout the Southeast and in Europe and recorded his second album in 2012 named for his hometown, “Buffalo Junction.” Boo Hanks was born James Arthur Hanks on April 30, 1928. He died on April 15, 2016.