Once Upon a Time (CMH CMH-C 8000, 1992) compiles Marty Stuart's earliest studio recordings, made when he was playing mandolin in Lester Flatt's Nashville Grass in the late 1970s — some sessions previously issued on Curly Seckler's 1980 CMH album Take a Little Time. The lineup is a who's-who of the traditional bluegrass world Stuart came up in: Clarence "Tater" Tate (fiddle), John Ray "Curly" Seckler (rhythm guitar, vocals — the former Foggy Mountain Boy who anchored Flatt & Scruggs for a generation), Kenny Ingram (banjo), Pete Corum (bass), and Charlie Nixon. Stuart's mandolin work throughout documents the formative experience that shaped his musicianship before his crossover country career began, and the album remains the clearest record of his bluegrass apprenticeship.
Tracklist
- 1 Take a Little Time 2:47
- 2 Dim Lights, Thick Smoke alt version 3:06
- 3 Orange Blossom Special alt version 2:56
- 4 Mother Maybelle 3:08
- 5 The Bluebirds Are Singing for Me 3:40
- 6 Till the End of the World Rolls Round alt version 2:21
- 7 Roanoke alt version 2:13
- 8 Cannonball Blues 1:54
- 9 I Don’t Love Nobody alt version 2:11
- 10 The Sun's Coming Up 2:27
- 11 What Would You Give in Exchange For Your Soul alt version 3:09
- 12 Bluegrass Shuffle 2:18
- 13 Black Mountain Rag alt version 2:40
- 14 Somebody Loves You Darling alt version 2:52
- 15 Sugar Lee 2:18
- 16 Two in the Morning 2:33
