Old Time North Carolina Mountain Music

Born in North Carolina in 1911, Bill Johnson started playing the banjo at the age of eight. With his son Billie Ray on guitar and grandson David on fiddle, he leads three generations of talented mountain musicians in this collection of murder ballads and folk songs.

All the instrumental songs are what Johnson calls “old tunes.” They have been handed down through the generations and can still be heard on front porches and at dances in the Western North Carolina Mountains. Vocal tunes, including “Knoxville Girl” and “Poor Ellen Smith,” are also featured.

Track Listing

101	Knoxville Girl	Bill, Billie Ray and David Johnson	04:48
102	Ruben	Bill, Billie Ray and David Johnson	02:57
103	The Wreck of the Old 97	Bill, Billie Ray and David Johnson	02:40
104	Roll on Buddy (Nine Pound Hammer)	Bill, Billie Ray and David Johnson	02:27
105	Poor Ellen Smith	Bill, Billie Ray and David Johnson	02:20
106	Possum Blowed His Horn	Bill, Billie Ray and David Johnson	02:54
107	Banks of the Ohio	Bill, Billie Ray and David Johnson	02:44
201	Jimmy Sutton	Bill, Billie Ray and David Johnson	02:03
202	Down in the Willow Garden	Bill, Billie Ray and David Johnson	02:33
203	Cumberland Gap	Bill, Billie Ray and David Johnson	02:30
204	Going Down the Road Feeling Bad	Bill, Billie Ray and David Johnson	02:29
205	Sugar Babe	Bill, Billie Ray and David Johnson	02:05
206	Pretty Polly	Bill, Billie Ray and David Johnson	02:48
207	Sourwood Mountain	Bill, Billie Ray and David Johnson	01:58