Track Listing

1. Brilliancy Medley
2. Texas Wagoner
3. Arkansas Traveler
4. Great Big Taters
5. Sally Goodin'
6. There's a Brown Skin Girl Down the Road Somewhere
7. Ragtime Annie
8. Amarillo Waltz
9. Done Gone
10. Island Unknown, Pt. 1
11. Island Unknown, Pt. 2
12. Sally Johnson/Billy in the Low Ground
13. Turkey in the Straw
14. Brown Kelly Waltz, Pt. 1
15. Brown Kelly Waltz, Pt. 2
16. Run Boy Run

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #163165 in Music
• Released on: 1999-06-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
Country music, scholars say, begins here. In 1922 RCA/Victor released a 78 featuring two songs that are now classic: "Sallie Gooden" and "Arkansas Traveler." The performer was Texan Eck Robertson, a long-bow fiddle champion. The popularity of that recording established RCA's hillbilly catalogue and opened the door for commercial old-time music across the South. While Robertson never saw much profit from these recordings, his early career--the whole of it is represented here--set a standard that country fiddlers still emulate. "Sallie Gooden" especially is an incredible, virtuoso piece, as rich and complex as a Charlie Parker solo, one of the most important performances in country music. These are old recordings, transferred directly from 78s, and so there are some pops and hiss, but the brilliance of Robertson's aggressive fiddle work sears right through. --Roy Kasten

Customer Reviews

Eck's brilliant 78 recordings finally available on CD
It's been a long time since Peter Feldmann's Sonyatone LP release of Eck Robertson's commercial recordings went out of print. County has finally assembled a strong collection of Eck's best. As you would expect with County Records, the sound quality is superb, since County insists on tracking down the cleanest 78 copies available for mastering. I'm fond of the graphics, too, because I did them(!) Now, if only County will reissue the LP of Eck's 1960s recordings that were originally produced by Mike Seeger!

Not the first, but one of the best!
Recently, when I came across a very old, pre-electric country fiddle 78 of "Arkansas Traveler" in a thrift store, I assumed that what I'd found was a knock-off of Eck Robertson's famous "first" country record, "Arkansas Traveler"/"Sallie Gooden," from 1922. Imagine my suprise when comparison-dating revealed my find to be from the year 1916! Recorded by one Don Richardson, the record also features "Old Zip Coon," and it was released on Columbia A2140. And who knows who might have beat Richardson to the studio?

But, even if Eck Robertson wasn't the first, he was one of the best of the "old-time" country musicians. This is superb vintage country, and the sound restoration is miraculous. This may be the best collection of its type, and, as such, your collection cannot be without it.

Uncle Eck
Eck Robertson just happens to be my great uncle, so it is with a great deal of pride that I reccommend this cd to everyone who is intrested in good fiddle music. Uncle Eck was truly one of the greatest musicians of all time.