DOLLY PARTON, NORMAN BLAKE AMONG THE ARTISTS ON ANTHOLOGY OF TRADITIONAL AMERICAN MUSIC
FROM THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS, ‘ON TOP OF OLD SMOKY: NEW OLD-TIME SMOKY MOUNTAIN MUSIC’
In the image of the fiery phoenix’s rebirth, Great Smoky Mountains Association is set to launch its third album of traditional American music featuring artists of today recreating songs performed by Smoky Mountain residents at the time of the development of a national park. The North Carolina launch event is set for Saturday, Aug. 20, at Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee.
“On Top of Old Smoky: New Old-Time Smoky Mountain Music,” one of several National Park Service Centennial-recognition projects produced by GSMA this year, features new recordings of traditional songs ballads, and tunes by leading American roots music luminaries, including Dolly Parton, Norman Blake, Bryan Sutton, Alice Gerrard, Tony Trischka, Stephen Wade, Sheila Kay Adams, Martin Simpson, Dom Flemons, Jody Stecher, Kate Brislin, Courtney Hartman, and David Holt.
Haywood County’s French Kirkpatrick and Friends, whose support during GSMA’s production of “Carroll Best and the White Oak String Band” in 2014 proved to be invaluable, are scheduled to open the event at 3 p.m. Additional performers set to appear during the Aug. 20 launch party include Corbin Hayslett, Trevor McKenzie, and Bill and the Belles.
“This new album offers 23 never-before-released performances of the classic American folk music repertoire,” said Ted Olson, professor of Appalachian Studies and Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies at East Tennessee State University and one of the album’s producers. “These remarkable performances reinterpret field recordings collected in the Smokies by folklorist Joseph S. Hall, who documented the musical culture of Smokies residents as they were leaving their homes and farms during the park’s development.”
Hall, a trained linguist from Southern California and named one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in GSMNP History, was commissioned by the National Park Service to document the speech of the people being displaced by the park’s creation. Begun in 1937, his work continued and his appreciation for the people of east Tennessee and western North Carolina grew into a four-decades-long mission to dispel the negative stereotypes of the region’s people. Hall’s recordings went unheard until 2010, when GSMA released Old-Time Smoky Mountain Music, a work that would go on to be nominated for the Best Historical Album Grammy award.
“Hall’s recordings from the Smokies have subsequently inspired many of today’s roots musicians by providing authentic examples of folk music from previously unknown but talented regional musicians,” said Olson. “The same qualities showcased on Old-Time Smoky Mountain Music can be heard throughout On Top of Old Smoky, as these new performances by some of America’s most respected roots musicians are in equal parts resonant, raw and real.”
The new CD includes “Come, All You Young Ladies” performed by Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin; “Man of Constant Sorrow” by John Lilly; “Ground Hog” by Alice Gerrard; “John Hardy” by Martin Simpson with Dom Flemons; “Mole in the Ground” by Sheila Kay Adams; “I Wonder How the Old Folks Are at Home” by Bryan Sutton; “The Dying Cowboy” by Norman and Nancy Blake with the Rising Fawn String Ensemble; “Conversation With Death” by The Brother Boys; and “Little Rosewood Casket” by Dolly Parton.
According to Steve Kemp, GSMA’s interpretive products ad services director, On Top of Old Smoky: New Old-Time Smoky Mountain Music completes the circle, honoring Hall’s field recordings and the people who made those recordings in the 1930s and ’50s.
“By presenting contemporary performances of gems from the Smokies’ regional repertoire by many of America’s finest roots musicians, GSMA is pleased to have worked with the best in the business to once again give new life to these performances,” Kemp said.
“Whether established or emerging artists, the musicians on this album respect older performing styles and older repertoire and are culture-bearers, much like the musicians that Hall recorded way back when,” said Olson.
The public is invited free of charge to this 3 p.m. launch event, which will immediately follow OVC’s 1-3 p.m. Back Porch Old-Time Music Jam, during which area musicians are invited to bring acoustic instrument and join in. A second launch event is being scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 10, on park headquarters lawn near Gatlinburg, Tenn.
Since its inception in 1953, Great Smoky Mountains Association has supported the preservation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park by promoting greater public understanding and appreciation through education, interpretation and research. A non-profit organization, GSMA has provided more than $34 million to the park during its 60-year history.
For more information, visit www.SmokiesInformation.org. CDs are available at all eight official national park visitor center locations, as well as GSMA’s webstore. All proceeds from CD sales support Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Twenty-three-song compilation, released by the Great Smoky Mountains Association, features compelling performances of timeless Appalachian regional classics by leading roots musicians, including Dolly Parton, Norman Blake, Bryan Sutton, Alice Gerrard, Tony Trischka, Stephen Wade, Sheila Kay Adams, Martin Simpson, Dom Flemons, Jody Stecher, Kate Brislin, Courtney Hartman, and David Holt.
Track Listing
- On Top of Old Smoky – Carol Elizabeth Jones
- Come, All You Young Ladies – Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin
- The Girl I Love Don’t Pay Me No Mind – David Holt
- Lost Indian – Travis and Trevor Stuart
- Ground Hog – Alice Gerrard
- Something’s Always Sure to Tickle Me – Corbin Hayslett
- Mole in the Ground – Sheila Kay Adams
- Bonaparte’s Retreat – Bruce Greene
- I Started Out A-Courting – Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin
- Don’t Forget Me, Little Darling – Ed Snodderly
- Man of Constant Sorrow – John Lilly
- Black-Eyed Susie – Stephen Wade
- I Wonder How the Old Folks Are at Home – Bryan Sutton
- The Ramshackle Shack – The Brother Boys
- Mule Skinner Blues – John Lilly
- Black Mountain Rag – Travis and Trevor Stuart
- Goin’ Down This Road Feelin’ Bad – Amythyst Kiah, with Roy Andrade
- John Hardy – Martin Simpson, with Dom Flemons
- The Dying Cowboy – Norman and Nancy Blake, with the Rising Fawn String Ensemble
- Chinquapin Hunting – Tony Trischka and Courtney Hartman
- Conversation With Death – The Brother Boys
- Little Rosewood Casket – Dolly Parton
- Will The Circle Be Unbroken – Dale Jett and Hello Stranger