[6] Deeply moved by the hardship he witnessed underground, Rutherford decided to try to preserve the music and style of playing reminiscent of that heard during the 1920s.
[2] Rutherford had been photographed by Music Maker playing a guitar in his lap in Pinnacle, North Carolina in 1998.
[7] By this time, due to the ravages of black lung from his mine working days, Rutherford was reliant on a nebulizer.
[2] Recording songs he had amassed from his life working in coal, timber, and in music took place in his own cabin in 2001.
[8] Music Maker issued the recording,[2] with many of the songs on Turn Off the Fear related to the lives of coal miners.
"[9] Rutherford's tracks "Long Black Limousine", "Last Handloader", and "Flyin' High, Walkin' Tall," all appeared on the 2005 compilation album, The Last & Lost Survivors.
[11] On May 5, 2002, in Durham, North Carolina, a street festival featured a number of artists from the Music Maker stable, including Rutherford, Cool John Ferguson, John Dee Holeman, Lightnin' Wells, Little Pink Anderson, and Drink Small.
[1] Upon his death, Music Maker arranged, as per Rutherford's wishes, for his body to be donated to the Duke University School of Medicine.