Folk Songs of the Hills: Back Home / Songs of the Coalmines [Import]

Merle Travis | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 8, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Bear Family
• ASIN: B0000282VL
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,754 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #14 in Music > Indie Music > Country > Western Swing

Track Listings

1. Nine Pound Hammer

2. That's All

3. John Bolin

4. Muskrat

5. Dark as a Dungeon

6. John Henry

7. Sixteen Tons

8. Possum Up a Simmon Tree

9. I Am a Pilgrim

10. Over by Number Nine

11. Barbara Allen

12. Lost John

13. Black Gold

14. The Harlan County Boys

15. Pay Day Comes Too Slow

16. The Browder Explosion

17. Bloody Brethitt County

18. Here's to the Operator, Boys

19. The Miner's Wife

20. The Courtship of Second Cousin Claude

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

In 1946, Capitol approached Travis with the idea of cutting a folk album, and although he wasn't an especially folk-oriented artist, he agreed to give it a go. Although the resulting 1947 record (released as a 78 rpm album) didn't sell well, it was a respectable effort performed by Travis on solo acoustic guitar. Folksy introductions embellish the songs, which include standbys like "John Henry" and "Nine Pound Hammer." Travis added a few songs of his own penned in the folk style, and one of these, "Sixteen Tons," would prove to be his most famous composition, reaching number one when it was covered by Tennessee Ernie Ford in the 1950s. The CD reissue combines the eight songs from the 1947 release with four songs from the Capitol Electrical Transciption series that were added to the batch when the album was reissued as Back Home in 1957; it also adds a song from the 1946 sessions that was previously unreleased in the U.S., "This World Is Not My Home." ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best albums of all time!, March 8, 2007

By 

Ronald G. Jordan "blue-72" (Sugar Grove OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Folk Songs of the Hills: Back Home / Songs of the Coalmines (Audio CD)

If you have any appreciation whatsoever for traditional American music, this collection is absolutely essential for your collection. One of the best and most classic albums i've ever heard from one of the most profound song writers and guitar wizards of our time. I don't know if the music was digitally remastered, but the sound quality is excellent and really adds to the feeling.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Songs From One Of The Greats Of Folk And Country Music, December 30, 2007

By 

Chris Luallen (Nashville, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Folk Songs of the Hills (Audio CD)

After hearing Merle's "Dark As A Dungeon" on the classic "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" album I decided to buy this CD and I'm glad that I did.

Like many people, after I hard's day work I have often found myself singing "Sixteen tons and what do you get? / Another day older and deeper in debt." But until I purchased this record I never knew that "Sixteen Tons" was a Merle Travis song. From the excellent liner notes, I also learned that Merle grew up in the small coal mining town of Ebenezer, Kentucky in the early 1900's. But he didn't follow in his father's coal miner footsteps. Instead he sought out a career as a professional musician. He played with Grandpa Jones and the Delmore Brothers at a Cincinnati radio station before finally heading to Hollywood where, in 1946, he was signed by Capitol Records.

Capitol A&R guy Lee Gillette saw some potential in folk music and had Merle record "Folk Songs Of The Hills", which featured the first 8 songs on this CD. But this record was a flop commercially and Merle returned to playing a more popular style of country music, with hits like "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (That Cigarette)" and "Divorce Me C.O.D.". In 1956 "Sixteen Tons" was played on Tenneessee Ernie Ford's TV show and suddenly became a big hit. So Capitol re-released Merle's 1946 recordings. But the new album included 4 additional songs and was titled "Back Home". Merle then became part of the emerging folk music revival and even played Carnegie Hall with Flatt and Scruggs. In 1963 Merle recored twelve new original songs on a LP called "Songs Of The Coal Mines" and these make up the second half of this CD.

In total this CD features 24 songs, with 19 originals and 5 traditionals. The songs include humorous and clever tunes such as "The Courtship Of Second Cousin Claude" and "Miner's Strawberries" as well as more serious numbers such as "The Harlan County Boys", about the violent coal miner union strikes of the 1930's. A few tunes, such as "That's All", come across as simple minded and just don't work for me. But the vast majority of the music here is excellent. Merle is a highly descriptive lyricist and really captures the beauty and essence of an earlier time in American history, of hard but glorious living in the hills of Kentucky. Highly recommended!

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Travis, December 27, 2009

By 

Richard W. Schultze (La Grange, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Folk Songs of the Hills: Back Home / Songs of the Coalmines (Audio CD)

I'm a guitar-picker, and just need to hear Merle Travis play to remind me of greatness playing guitar.