From child ballads and British broadsides, to fiddle-and-banjo-driven dance tunes, this album offers a cross-section of mountain sounds that seem to resurface with surprising regularity. The Freight Hoppers recorded “How Many Biscuits Can You Eat This Morning?” for their debut release. “Pretty Saro” and “Am I Born To Die?” were included on the soundtracks of Songcatcher and Cold Mountain, respectively. And Carrie Fridley’s rendition of “Early, Early In The Spring” owes much to the version found on this record.
Recorded in the mid-’60s and first released in 1977, Tradition mines the vast repertoire of Doc Watson and his extended family, all of whom approach their craft with equal parts passion, humor and talent. Cousin Dolly Greer brings to this diverse collection a pair of historical ballads (“Bill Banks” and “Omie Wise”) in which she recounts stories of robbery, rape and murder in their home state of North Carolina. Greer also contributes a set of children’s nursery tunes: “Julie Jenkins”, “Hushabye”, “Baa Nanny Blacksheep” and “Sheepy And The Goat”. As with the ballads, some of these lullabys are well over a century old. Tina Greer, another cousin, sings “One Morning In May”, a song that appeared in print as early as 1675.
But it is Gaither Carlton, Doc Watson’s father-in-law, who emerges as the real star of this project. He contributes to nearly half the tunes, accompanying himself on both fiddle and banjo as he sings “Little Maggie” and “Jimmy Sutton”. Doc appears mainly in a supporting role throughout, playing guitar or banjo as Carlton fiddles tunes such as “Fish In The Mill Pond”, “Reuben’s Train”, “Tucker’s Barn” and “Give The Fiddler A Dram”. Doc’s brother, Arnold, occasionally joins in on banjo as well, and his wife, Rosa Lee, and son, Merle, also make brief appearances.
Sacred music, of course, played a significant role in the Watsons’ music. Indeed, Doc’s earliest musical memories are of his mother singing hymns; when he was older, his father purchased religious recordings for their Victrola. The gospel tradition is best represented here by the robust a cappella trio “The Faithful Soldier”, sung by Doc and Arnold, along with their mother, Annie.
