Way Back in the Hills of Old Kentucky (Starday SLP 260, 1964) is one of several Starday LPs from David "Stringbean" Akeman, the Kentucky-born old-time banjoist and comedian who was a beloved Grand Ole Opry regular for decades and later a cast member of Hee Haw. Stringbean played in the frailing tradition inherited largely from Uncle Dave Macon — clawhammer-style banjo, mountain ballads, and comic songs rooted in the upland South — rather than the three-finger bluegrass picking style that had become dominant by the time of this recording. Recorded at Starday Sound Studio in Nashville in 1963, the album stands as a document of living old-time performance at a moment when such playing was increasingly overshadowed by its commercially ascendant bluegrass cousin, preserving Stringbean's singular synthesis of old-time music and American comedy.
Tracklist
- 1 Little Pink 1:52
- 2 Big Ball in Nashville alt version 1:50
- 3 Poor Ellen Smith alt version 2:16
- 4 Old Cumberland Gap 2:11
- 5 Little Adobe Shack 2:04
- 6 Roving Gambler alt version 3:10
- 7 Black Eyed Susy 2:03
- 8 Short Life And Trouble 2:36
- 9 Little Sally Goodin' 1:56
- 10 Banjo Pickin’ Girl alt version 2:24
- 11 Rye Whiskey alt version 3:39
- 12 Honey Babe I'm Bound To Ride 1:56
