This song began as an 1870 broadside entitled “Package Of Old Letters”; a tune was eventually added, composed by Louis P. Goulland and Charles A. White. First recorded in 1924, by Ernest Thompson as “The Little Rosebud Casket,” “Little Rosewood Casket” has been recorded by such urban folk revival musicians as Jean Ritchie and by such country stars as Hank Thompson and Marty Robbins. Dolly Parton, a native of Sevier County, Tennessee, originally recorded the song in 1987 for the Trio album (with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt); that version was credited as having been arranged by Parton’s mother Avie Lee Parton, who was her daughter’s first musical influence (Dolly Parton’s classic 1971 song “Coat Of Many Colors” conveyed how powerful that influence was). The version of “Little Rosewood Casket” on this album is a new interpretation by Parton of a song deeply significant to her and her family members in the beloved place she referred to in another song as “my Tennessee mountain home.”

Dolly Parton, "Little Rosewood Casket"

Norman and Nancy Blake, with The Rising Fawn String Ensemble, "The Dying Cowboy"

Big Bend Killing: The Appalachian Ballad Tradition is an album celebrating Appalachia's rich legacy of songs that tell stories, a tradition traceable back to the British Isles.  Big Bend Killing features 32 exciting new recordings of old ballads sung by many prominent roots musicians, including Rosanne Cash, Doyle Lawson, Alice Gerrard, David Holt, Archie Fisher, Martin Simpson, Sheila Kay Adams, Carol Elizabeth Jones, John Lilly, Elizabeth LaPrelle, Amythyst Kiah, Corbin Hayslett, Laura Boosinger with The Kruger Brothers, and Bill and the Belles.  All proceeds from the sale of this album--which includes an essay, track-by-track notes, lyrics, and photographs--will support Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Big Bend Killing can be ordered here: https://www.smokiesinformation.org/

Big Bend Killing: The Appalachian Ballad Tradition

Doyle Lawson - Banks Of The Ohio

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