Frank Proffitt of Reese, Nc

Fourteen songs originally recorded for the Folkways label in 1962, available on CD-R and cassette on a made-to-order basis from the Smithsonian/Folkways website. Proffitt's homemade banjo and parched voice are just about as simple as it gets, even when it comes to unpretentious mountain music. Though best known for his definitive rendition of "Tom Dooley," the songster stuck to less familiar songs for this set: a handful of Childe ballads, a Civil War song, and a battered blues. Some of the songs Proffitt sings and plays on this album would turn up in similar renditions many years later, performed by younger generations of revivalists, including Mike Seeger and the Freight Hoppers. Photocopies of the album's original notes and lyric sheet are included with each order.