A Man and His Music, recorded in 1974 by Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, captures Stanley in the period when he was asserting his independent identity most forcefully — no longer the surviving half of a celebrated duo but an artist whose connection to Appalachian tradition ran deeper than any commercial framework. "Rocky Island" is a piece that goes back to the camp-meeting and shape-note singing traditions of the nineteenth-century mountains, and Stanley's bare-toned, undecorated approach to such material was becoming increasingly recognized as a distinctive and irreplaceable artistic position. The Clinch Mountain Boys of this period were a lean, purposeful ensemble shaped entirely around their leader's vision.
Tracklist
- 1 Shout little Luly 1:56
- 2 Little Birdie alt version 1:59
- 3 Hard Times alt version 2:47
- 4 Gold Watch and Chain alt version 1:53
- 5 Reuben alt version 2:53
- 6 You know I'll be lonesome 2:03
- 7 John Henry alt version 3:12
- 8 Old time pickin' 1:30
- 9 Bound to Ride alt version 1:45
- 10 Rocky Island Source Recording 1:51
- 11 The Orphan Girl alt version 2:52
- 12 The Lonesome River alt version 2:42
