Bill Owens And The Kinfolk - Songs Of The Smokie Mountains CD

In 1967, Bill Owens’ music career was on the rise. As a songwriter for Combine Music he was writing or co-writing hits for Bill Phillips, Skeeter Davis, Porter Wagoner, and his niece, Dolly Parton, who was on the edge of stardom herself. In spite of this success, he hadn’t “gotten above his raisin’” as the expression went, and the desire to honor his roots and family musical traditions led to a most unusual album.

Songs of the Smokie Mountains by Bill Owens and The Kinfolk, was both a time capsule of the music Owens had grown up with and a tribute to his greatest musical influence, his father, the Rev. Jake Owens. Recorded in the East Tennessee home of Bill’s sister, Dorothy Jo Owens, the album featured 16 recordings of traditional mountain songs and hymns. In addition to solo performances by Bill, Dorthy Jo joined in on some songs on banjo and vocals, and several cuts featured their father, Jake Owens on vocals and fiddle.

The result is a fascinating record of East Tennessee mountain music and performance. The same type of family musical jam session that Dolly Parton and her siblings grew up hearing on the front porch of their Tennessee mountain home. Released on the small independent label, REM Records in 1967, this limited album became a sought-after collectible by traditional folk music fans, and is now available in this new edition.

TRACKLIST

1. On Top of Old Smoky
2. Gently Are the Weeping Willows
3. Old Mountain Dew
4. Barbara Allen
5. Tum A Gee Wah
6. I Live in Glory
7. Oh, I Want to See Him
8. Maggie
9. Bury Me Beneath the Willow
10. Free as a Little Bird
11. Tom Dooley
12. Careless Love
13. Down in the Valley
14. Amazing Grace Melodies
15. Ninety and Nine
16. Matthew 24