Although North Carolina native
Algia Mae Hinton began playing guitar in the late '30s at the age of ten,
Honey Babe, her first full-length album (an EP appeared in the mid-'80s on Audio Arts) wasn't released until 1999 when Hinton was nearly 70 years old. A casual collection of Piedmont blues, folk pieces, and gospel tunes,
Honey Babe is full of warmth and joy, and even features a little of
Hinton's trademark buck dancing. She sounds like a cross between
Etta Baker and
Elizabeth Cotten, also both from North Carolina, although she isn't quite as precise a guitarist as the former (
Hinton's title tune, "Honey Babe," is a variation on
Baker's signature "Railroad Bill" progression) or as timeless a writer as the latter (whose "Freight Train" and "Shake Sugaree" compositions have become folk-blues standards). She shares
Cotten's fragile, delicate singing style as well, although
Hinton's wry humor is all her own, and her sheer delight in music and motion is everywhere evident on this album. Among the highlights are "Honey Babe," "Snap Your Fingers," and an impressive turn at the banjo for "Out of Jail."