Molly O'Day And The Cumberland Mountain Folks CD - Import

Contains tracks recorded for Columbia from 1946 to 1951. Includes a 44-page booklet with photos and detailed session notes.

Molly O'Day and the Cumberland Mountain Folks is a double-disc, 36-track collection that compiles all of the recordings O'Day made for Columbia Records between 1946 and 1951. Though her music presages the upcoming honky tonk era, O'Day was more closely tied to the mountain music that dominated country music in the first half of the 20th century. As such, her music can be a little difficult for contemporary ears -- her thick nasal twang is something that modern listeners will have to accommodate. For country historians, however, Molly O'Day and the Cumberland Mountain Folks is a worthwhile. Not only did she bridge the gap between string bands and honky tonk with her old-timey banjo playing and twang, but she was one of the first country artists to record a Hank Williams song. As such, this double-disc set is worth investigation for serious musicologists. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The double-disc set Molly O'Day & the Cumberland Mountain Folks contains all 36 tracks that O'Day recorded for Columbia Records between 1946 and 1951. O'Day was one of the most important female country singers of the '40s, but she never attained the stardom she deserved because she retired from the business in 1951. Nevertheless, her music has come to be regarded as some of the finest of her era, especially considering how she could make traditional mountain music, both sacred and secular, come alive. Molly O'Day & the Cumberland Mountain Folks preserves her classic sides in a classy fashion, and any musicologist or dedicated fan of string bands needs the compilation in their collection. ~ Thom Owens

2-CD set of Columbia recordings from late 40's - early 50's + 44-pg. booklet

& The Cumberland Mountain Folks.

Personnel: Molly O'Day (vocals, guitar, banjo); Lynn Davis (vocals, guitar); James "Jimmie" Selph (steel guitar); George "Speedy" Krise (dobro); James "Slim" Martin (fiddle, harmonica); Cecil "Skeets" Williamson (fiddle).

Liner Note Author: Ivan M. Tribe.

Recording information: Castle Studio At The Tulane Hotel, Nashville, TN (12/16/1946-08/04/1951); Columbia Recording Studio, Chicago, IL (12/16/1946-08/04/1951).

Illustrators: Colin Escott; Ivan M. Tribe; Charles Wolfe; Lynn Davis .

Photographers: Colin Escott; Ivan M. Tribe; Charles Wolfe; Lynn Davis .

Arrangers: Lynn Davis ; Molly O'Day.