Carroll Best and the White Oak String Band: Old-Time Bluegrass From The Great Smoky Mountains

[Compilation CD featuring 1950s-era field recordings]

Recently recovered recordings of Haywood County, N.C., musicians made nearly 60 years ago – which an Appalachian music expert describes as “the missing link between old-time string music and bluegrass” – are once again seeing the light of day and finding a new audience thanks to Great Smoky Mountains Association.

Four years after the release of their Grammy-nominated “Old-Time Smoky Mountain Music,” GSMA producers follow up now with “Carroll Best and the White Oak String Band: Old-time Bluegrass from the Great Smoky Mountains, 1956 and 1959.” The new collection features more than 30 tracks, including such old-time favorites as “Tennessee Wagoner,” “Arkansas Traveler,” “Old Joe Clark,” “Soldier’s Joy,” as well as such modern tunes as “Banjo Boogie” and “Smoky Mountain Melody.”