Fragments of yesteryear

As a youth, I obtained a scratchy old 78rpm record of ""The Prisoner's Song"" sung by Vernon Dalhart. I also sang and, and sang and played American Folk songs on an old acoustic guitar with a harmonica rest strapped around my neck. It was at that time that I wondered, who were these early recording artists? What was their background? How old really, were these Folk and Country songs, How and where did they originate? ""Fragments"" is intended to give some answers to these questions, in the hope ...

Table of contents; foreword; preface; early country music -- origins; transition -- folk ballads to commercial recordings; first country recording; early ballads -- origins; early recordings; who wrote that song?; billy boy; fond affection; the ocean dead; the ocean burial; bury me not on the lone prairie; the gypsy's warning; in the shadow of the pine; louisville burglar; the old chisholm trail; when the work's all done this fall; i'd like to be in texas for the roundup in the spring; a flower from my angel mother's grave; by the old oaken bucket, louise; wild bill jones; bright sherman valley.

The cowboy's dreamoh, for the wild and woolly west; wreck of the six wheeler; 'long side of the santa fe trail; when the moon shines down upon the mountain; the hill billies; sweet bunch of daisies; goebel reeves; the grave by the whispering pine; edward l. crain; god pity the life of a cowboy; rambling red foley; the lone cowboy; homer callahan; i've rode the southern and the l & n; ernest v. stoneman; kenny wagner's surrender; she's a flower from the fields of alabama; frank marvin; when the moon comes over the mountain; frank luther; the death of jesse james; mcfarland and gardner.

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