hypersongs

The Watson Family

A 1963 Folkways LP of field recordings of the Watson family and neighbors, with the first recording of "Your Long Journey".
Doc Watson, 1963

Ralph Rinzler recorded the material between 1960 and 1963, with help from Eugene Earle, Archie Green and Peter Siegel; Wikipedia credits Jeff Place and Rinzler as producers. The Smithsonian Folkways CD reissue of 1990 added eleven tracks to the original fifteen, making 26 in all. The family's fiddler Gaither Carlton, Rosa Lee's father, plays a gentle, eerie fiddle, according to North Carolina Folk, and others on the record include Merle Watson, Arnold, Willard and Annie Watson, Dolly Greer and Sophronie Miller Greer. AllMusic's Brian Whitener called it a classic and a must-listen for any serious fan of American music.

Track listing

  1. Ground Hog2:17
  2. Every Day Dirt2:03
  3. Bonaparte's Retreat1:28
  4. The House Carpenter4:26
  5. I'm Troubled2:38
  6. Your Long Journey2:31
  7. When I Die2:13
  8. The Train That Carried My Girl from Town2:15
  9. Down the Road1:37
  10. The Lone Pilgrim3:02
  11. Texas Gales / Blackberry Rag1:53
  12. Darling Corey2:34
  13. The Triplett Tragedy5:25
  14. Muddy Roads1:20
  15. The Lost Soul2:51

Sources

  1. The Watson Family, Wikipedia
  2. The Watson Family, Mainly Norfolk
  3. The Doc Watson Family, North Carolina Folk (2013)