Johnson, David & Bill & Billie Ray Old Time North Carolina Mountain Music

(2012/Folkways) 14 tracks digisleeve
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.