Old Memories: The Songs of Bill Monroe, released by The Del McCoury Band in 2011, is a tribute album with unusual authority behind it. Del McCoury worked with Monroe himself during a formative period, and his engagement with this material carries biographical weight that most tribute projects cannot claim. The Del McCoury Band at this point included his sons Ronnie on mandolin and Rob on banjo, giving the ensemble a family coherence well suited to Monroe's own band-as-extended-family model. The album approaches the Monroe songbook with reverence and instrumental seriousness, resisting any impulse to update or reframe. For listeners new to either Monroe or McCoury, Old Memories serves as an honest and capable introduction to both.
Tracklist
- 1 Watermelon on the Vine alt version 2:15
- 2 Live and Let Live alt version 2:47
- 3 Lonesome Truck Driver's Blues 3:28
- 4 Brakeman’s Blues alt version 2:40
- 5 Close By alt version 2:33
- 6 In Despair alt version 2:20
- 7 Girl in the Blue Velvet Band 3:40
- 8 John Henry alt version 2:32
- 9 I’m Blue I’m Lonesome alt version 2:57
- 10 Used to Be alt version 2:05
- 11 Alabama Waltz 2:55
- 12 Lonesome Road Blues alt version 2:52
- 13 Heavy Traffic Ahead alt version 2:52
- 14 Reuben alt version 2:53
- 15 My Rose of Old Kentucky alt version 2:58
- 16 Y’all Come alt version 0:33
