This album is a reissue of a 1963 Smithsonian record, which captured a remarkable moment in North Carolina’s musical history. Doc Watson, in the earliest days of his ascent to international acclaim, plays and sings here with his very musical extended family. Featured are the gentle and eerie fiddling of Watson’s father-in-law, Gaither Carlton, multi-part hymns sung by the whole family, the ballad-singing of elderly kinfolks, and a moving duet by Watson and his wife Rosa Lee, singing her now-famous composition, “Your Long Journey.” Added to the original 1963 sessions are four recordings by Watson with his son Merle, who passed away in 1985, including Merle’s classic homesick blues, “Southbound.”
Details: Smithsonian Folkways 40012
Category: Old-time , Mountain