The Best in Acoustic Music Performance

Unsung Father of Country Music

Ernest V. Stoneman

5SPH001

2-CD Box Set; 44 Page full-color booklet

Ernest V. Stoneman, pioneering composer & country performer, defined the formula of "three chords and the truth" and became the first rural singer/songwriter of the 20th century to record. This collection features 46 beautifully re-mastered performances of Ernest V. Stoneman and his circle of talented friends & family. Sentimental love songs, early gospel hymns, fiddle-breakdowns, and disaster songs are included in this set with over 20 never before reissued. Ernest V. Stoneman's earliest recordings bridged the span between authentic field recordings and studio produced country music and demonstrate the highest quality of musicianship with a unique sensitivity for both traditional tunes, comedy skits, and original handmade songs, while only his great knowledge and love of local and traditional music made Ralph Peer's famous 1927 "Bristol Sessions" -- at which the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers were discovered --possible.

With an introduction by Patsy Stoneman Murphy, the two-CD box set with a 44 page booklet-which contains many rare & haunting images-was respectfully crafted by the Grammy award winning team of producers Christopher C. King, Henry "Hank" Sapoznik and designer Susan Archie, who helped create Charley Patton: Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues; You Ain't Talkin' To Me: Charlie Poole and The Roots of Country Music; and People Take Warning: Murder Ballads and Disaster Songs 1913-1938.

Disc: 1

  • Goodbye, Dear Old Step Stone - Ernest V. Stoneman, Crider, A.J.
  • John Hardy
  • The Resurrection - Ernest V. Stoneman, Street, G.R.
  • West Virginia Highway
  • The Titanic
  • The Spanish Merchant's Daughter - Ernest V. Stoneman, Wakefield, A.M.
  • The Burial of Wild Bill - Ernest V. Stoneman, Wallace Crawford, C
  • Sweeping Through the Gates
  • Long Eared Mule
  • The Religious Critic
  • Possum Trot School Exhibition, Pt. 1
  • Possum Trot School Exhibition, Pt. 2
  • I Am Resolved - Ernest V. Stoneman, Hartsough, Palmer
  • A Message from Home Sweet Home
  • The Wreck of the Old '97
  • Old Joe Clark
  • Mountaineer's Courtship
  • No More Good-Byes - Ernest V. Stoneman, Latta, E.R.
  • The Raging Sea, How It Roars
  • The Face That Never Returned
  • Ramblin' Reckless Hobo
  • Hop Light Ladies
  • All I've Got's Gone

Disc: 2

  • Goodbye, Dear Old Step Stone
  • The Railroad Flagman's Sweetheart
  • There's a Light Lit Up in Galilee
  • Sourwood Mountain
  • The Orphan Girl
  • Too Late
  • The Fate of Talmadge Osborne
  • I Know My Name Is There - Ernest V. Stoneman, Warner
  • Flop Eared Mule
  • The Lightning Express - Ernest V. Stoneman, Helf, J. Fred
  • Old Time Corn Shuckin', Pt. 1
  • Old Time Corn Shuckin', Pt. 2
  • Are You Washed in the Blood? - Ernest V. Stoneman, Hoffman, Elisha A.
  • When the Snowflakes Fall Again
  • The Wreck on the C&O
  • Once I Had a Fortune
  • The Road to Washington
  • He Is Coming After Me - Ernest V. Stoneman, Hacker
  • Say, Darling, Say
  • The Old Hickory Cane - Ernest V. Stoneman, Furmanw, Josephine
  • New River Train
  • Nine Pound Hammer
  • All I Got's Gone