Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's is among the most historically significant American folk recordings of the twentieth century. Recorded in 1961 by Ralph Rinzler for Folkways, the album introduced a young Doc Watson — then largely unknown outside his home region of western North Carolina — to the national folk revival audience. Watson had been playing in a rockabilly dance band before Rinzler found him through his connection to the banjo player and singer Clarence Ashley, and the acoustic guitar flat-picking style Watson displayed at these sessions was immediately understood to be something extraordinary. His combination of speed, precision, and musical depth had no obvious precedent in the folk revival context, and the album effectively launched one of the most influential careers in American acoustic music. Ashley's own old-time banjo and singing anchor the traditional material, but Watson's guitar is the revelation.
Tracklist
- 1 Crawdad Song alt version 2:31
- 2 Sitting on Top of the World alt version 1:59
- 3 Lee Highway Blues 1:45
- 4 Free Little Bird 2:09
- 5 The Cuckoo alt version 2:49
- 6 Rising Sun Blues 2:58
- 7 Looking T'ward Heaven 2:31
- 8 Rambling Hobo - 1 1:30
- 9 Rambling Hobo - 2 1:39
- 10 Shady Grove alt version 2:59
- 11 Cumberland Gap alt version 3:44
- 12 Tough Luck 2:29
- 13 Humpbacked Mule 1:30
- 14 My Home’s Across the Blue Ridge Mountains alt version 2:42
- 15 Way Down Town 2:32
- 16 Banks of the Ohio alt version 4:12
- 17 Little Sadie alt version 2:46
- 18 Carroll County Blues 1:43
- 19 Cluck Old Hen alt version 2:34
- 20 Chilly Winds (Lonesome Road Blues) 2:40
- 21 Sweet Heaven When I Die alt version 2:09
- 22 Fire on the Mountain alt version 2:03
- 23 Will the Circle be Unbroken alt version 5:38
- 24 Old Daniel Prayed alt version 2:25
- 25 Amazing Grace alt version 2:57
- 26 Sally Ann alt version 3:01
- 27 Richmond Blues 1:36
- 28 Old Ruben alt version 2:04
- 29 Willie Moore 3:35
- 30 Walkin’ Boss alt version 5:17
- 31 Shout Lulu 1:27
- 32 Skillet Good and Greasy 2:08
- 33 Pretty Little Pink alt version 2:29
- 34 Run, Jimmie Run 3:09
- 35 Hicks' Farewell 5:26
- 36 Old Man at the Mill alt version 1:55
- 37 A Short Life of Trouble 3:22
- 38 Brown's Dream 1:44
- 39 Footprints in the Snow alt version 2:39
- 40 I'm Going Back to Jericho 1:55
- 41 Peg and Awl 2:15
- 42 Maggie Walker Blues 2:56
- 43 God's Gonna Ease My Troublin' Mind 3:07
- 44 I Saw a Man at the Close of Day 2:41
- 45 Handsome Molly alt version 2:16
- 46 John Henry alt version 3:12
- 47 Honey Babe Blues 3:47
- 48 Wayfaring Pilgrim 5:05
