Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Skip to Ma Lou, My Darling - Uncle Eck Dunford, Iver Edwards, Ernest V. Stoneman, Hattie Stoneman
2. O' Molly Dear - B.F. Shelton
3. Walking in the Way With Jesus - Alfred Reed,
4. New Market Wreck
5. Soldier's Sweetheart - Jimmie Rodgers
6. Greasy String - West Virginia Coonhunters
7. Are You Washed in the Blood - Edna Brewer, Kahle Brewer, Eck Dunford, Irma Frost, Ernest V. Stoneman
8. Henry Whitter's Fox Chase - Henry Whitter
9. Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow - The Carter Family, A.P. Carter, Mother Maybelle Carter, Sara Carter
10. Jealous Sweetheart - The Johnson Brothers
11. When They Ring the Golden Bells - Alfred G. Karnes
12. Sandy Rover Belle
13. Sleep, Baby, Sleep - Jimmie Rodgers
14. Johnny Goodman
15. I'm Redeemed - Alcoa Quartet
16. Little Log Cabin by the Sea - The Carter Family
17. Old Time Corn Shuckin'

Disc 2:

1. I Want to Go Where Jesus Is - Ernest Phipps & His Holiness Quartet
2. Midnight on the Stormy Deep - Eck Dunford, Irma Frost, Stoneman
3. Wandering Boy - The Carter Family
4. To the Work - Alfred G. Karnes
5. Black Eyed Susie - J.P. Nestor
6. Passing Policeman - The Johnson Brothers
7. Tell Mother I Will Meet Her - Ernest V. Stoneman
8. Single Girl, Married Girl - The Carter Family
9. Pot Licker Blues - El Watson
10. Longest Train I Ever Saw - The Tenneva Ramblers
11. Ressurection - Ernest V. Stoneman
12. Storms Are on the Ocean - The Carter Family
13. Wreck of the Virginian - Blind Alfred Reed
14. Billy Grimes, the Rover
15. Standing on the Promises
16. Mountaineer's Courtship - Ernest V. Stoneman
17. Poor Orphan Child - The Carter Family
18. I Am Bound for the Promised Land - Alfred G. Karnes

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #247181 in Music
• Released on: 2000-09-12
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Original recording reissued

Amazon.com
Right there on the cover, Johnny Cash calls these sessions "the single most important event in the history of country music," and it's hard to argue with him. Sure, there'd been "Southern" music recordings before these, and of course the music itself had existed for decades. But when Victor executive Ralph Peer went to Bristol, Tennessee, for two weeks in the summer of 1927, he not only jump-started the hillbilly music market, he basically defined the parameters of what would come to be called country music. Peer ran what amounted to an open-mike recording session, inviting any and all rural musicians to record their renditions of hillbilly music: gospels and blues, fiddle and banjo tunes, old-time mountain ballads. He recorded 19 acts (all of whom are represented in this collection), among them Ernest Stoneman and the Johnson Brothers, who were both established recording artists at the time. He also unearthed the two most significant country stars of the day--Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family--as well as the protest singer Blind Alfred Reed. What's most amazing is that even the lesser-known musicians offer performances as engaging as those legendary figures do: the commanding gospel of Kentucky preacher Alfred Karnes, accompanied by his own distinctive harp-guitar; the modal blues of banjo player B.F Shelor; the harmonica showcase of Henry Whitter; the rich a cappella harmonies of the Alcoa Quartet; the spritely fiddle work of Charles McReynolds, grandfather of future bluegrass stars Jim and Jesse. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews

Superb Stuff
What a brilliant collection. The items by the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers are familiar. But the others, except for Blind Alfred Reed's 'Wreck of the Virginian', are new to me. And the majority really are very good. Uncle Eck Dunford's 'Skip to Ma Lou' gets the set off to a rollicking start, and the quality never lets up. Henry Whitter's harmonica playing is a revelation, and the various numbers by Ernest Stoneman reach the high standard expected of this fine traditional musician. For me, the high spot is the singing of Alfred G Karnes. What a superb voice this Kentucky preacher had. And his simple accompaniment on his Gibson harp-guitar complements his singing perfectly. This is the fountainhead of country music. And the sound quality is pretty good too - much better than might be expected from discs cut on primitive equipment at the dawn of the electrical recording era in a temporary studio set up in a one time furniture store. If you have any interest in country music, buy this and see where it all started. You won't be disappointed.

The Bristol Sessions
This set is required listening (and owning) for anyone interested in American traditional folk music and/or country music before Nashville. Only 80% or so of the recordings are absolute gems, but pople can disagree about which cuts aren't gems. These recordings are touted as "the birth of country music". While that's pretty silly, it's not all that far from the truth. The recordings here give a wonderful picture of the state of mountain music within 100 miles of around Bristol -- from eastern KY to around Galax, VA, to southern WV and western NC, to east TN. Even what I think of as the duds are interesting and good music. You'll find the raw power of Alfred Karnes, the sweetness of the Carter Family, Nestor and Edmonds walking down from the mountains, and the jazzy modernity of Jimmie Rodgers and the Tenneva Ramblers. It's a wonderful panoramic view of great music.

Sara Carter like you've never heard her
I agree with the sentiments of the other reviewers here. So I will only add that those who are drawn to Sara Carter's hauntingly beautiful voice will be treated to her higher singing range, seldom heard later in the 1930's. It's quite noticable. When you hear her in the later recordings in the the late 1930's and beyond, her voice is nearly an octive lower and sounds a bit weary, at times, comparatively. The Bristol sessions are her finest, I believe.