Orthophonic Joy: The 1927 Bristol Sessions Revisited, released in 2015 and curated by Dolly Parton, reassembles contemporary artists to reinterpret the material recorded by Ralph Peer at the landmark 1927 Bristol, Tennessee sessions that produced the first commercial recordings of the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers. Parton, as a Tennessee native with deep roots in the same musical tradition, is a natural steward for the project, and the assembled cast — drawn from country, bluegrass, and Americana — approaches the material with appropriate gravity. The Bristol Sessions are foundational to virtually everything that followed in American vernacular music, and this revisitation, timed to the 88th anniversary, serves as both a tribute and a reminder of how directly the contemporary tradition connects to that original moment of documentation.
Tracklist
- 1 Don't Deny Yourself the Sheer Joy of Orthophonic Music 4:23
- 2 I'm Redeemed 4:06
- 3 All They Needed Now Was Talent 3:30
- 4 Bury Me Beneath the Willow alt version 3:19
- 5 Tonight He is Playing the Old, Old Tune at Police Headquarters 2:58
- 6 Black Eyed Susie alt version 2:03
- 7 An Early Tradition of Scrapping for Rights and Royalties 2:12
- 8 When They Ring Those Golden Bells alt version 5:09
- 9 I Wish I Had Some Rocks to Throw at Them 3:53
- 10 The Storms are on the Ocean alt version 2:51
- 11 Any Song with a Story Will Go to the People's Hearts 4:12
- 12 I Am Resolved 3:38
- 13 A Hoedown Social In a Mountain Cabin 3:08
- 14 Sweet Heaven When I Die alt version 3:28
- 15 Daddy Never Knew When He Would Come up with an Idea for a Song 3:21
- 16 The Soldier's Sweetheart 3:30
- 17 Where the Blues Meets the Church 2:12
- 18 To the Work 3:23
- 19 Singers Who Had Not Visited Bristol During Their Entire Lifetime Arrived 2:14
- 20 Where We’ll Never Grow Old alt version 2:35
- 21 Love, Loss, and the Perils of the Moonshine Business 2:29
- 22 Darling Cora 3:44
- 23 Ramblers Riding the Longest Train I Ever Saw 2:00
- 24 In the Pines alt version 3:10
- 25 Twenty-One Good Years at the Throttle 3:07
- 26 The Wreck of the Virginian 4:21
- 27 Prized and Practical, Brutal Ballads 2:08
- 28 Pretty Polly alt version 3:33
- 29 Tremendous Heart Punch and Appeal 3:30
- 30 Out in the Cold World alt version 3:10
- 31 Gotta Catch that Train 1:52
- 32 Train on the Island alt version 1:44
- 33 History Saws and Strums Along with Itself 2:15
- 34 Johnny Goodwin / The Girl I Left Behind 2:33
- 35 Introducing the Orthophonic Choir 2:05
- 36 Shall We Gather at the River 3:22
- 37 The Birthplace of Country Music 2:45
