Bascom Lunsford (1882 – 1973), who was one of the luminaries in the early days of North Carolina folklore studies, was also a talented banjo player and sweet-voiced singer of ballads. The nineteen recordings on this album are drawn mostly from his “memory collection,” a 1949 recording session at the Library of Congress during which he preserved for posterity hundreds of the songs – ballads, blues, hymns, heart songs – that he had learned growing up in Madison and Buncombe Counties, and during his years of travels around the western part of the state. He introduces some songs with brief anecdotes about the circumstances of his learning them, giving the listener an affectionate portrait of long-past days and people in the North Carolina mountains.
Details: Smithsonian Folkways 40082
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