“Deep River” was written by Paul Williams and Sam Humphrey English, and first recorded in 1968 by Bill Emerson and Cliff Waldron with the Lee Highway Boys — an influential late-1960s band from the Washington, D.C., area whose lineup at one point included the Dobro player Mike Auldridge.
The song became part of the repertoire that group helped popularize, and it has been carried forward by traditional bands since. Livewire recorded it on their 1990 album Wired!, keeping a piece of the late-1960s D.C. bluegrass scene in circulation.