Ernest Stoneman was quite an important figure in the early history of country music. One of the very first authentic mountain musicians to record, he left a large repertoire of good songs, as well as a large family who have contributed much to country music over the years. He was the most significant old-time artist to record for Thomas Edison in terms of number of recordings, at least, and happily his entire set of pieces for this label has been preserved at the Edison National Historic site and all of his 1928 cuts appear here through its courtesy. There are 22 in all, some which were never issued before in any form, plus one or two that only came out on cylinders and are consequently extremely rare. These are some of Stoneman's nicest recordings, with very pretty fiddle, banjo & harmonica accompaniments in addition to Stoneman's own guitar. It is likely that Eck Dunford, George Stoneman, Bolen Frost and Hattie Stoneman contribute the backing. An important & fascinating old-time re-issue. IT'S SINFUL TO FLIRT, UNLUCKY ROAD TO WASHINGTON, GOODBYE DEAR OLD STEPSTONE, ALL GO HUNGRY HASH HOUSE, PRETTY MOHEA, I REMEMBER CALVARY, WE PARTED AT THE RIVER, WATCHMAN RING THAT BELL, etc.
