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Black Mountain Rag

Composer: Traditional / Leslie Keith

Recordings

no info Curly Fox, 194?
no info Tommy Magness, 194?
no info Square Dances Without Calls, Red Herron Orchestra with Charlie Linviles and Curly Fox, 1956
no info Single, Gordon Terry, 1957
no info Mother Maybelle Carter, Maybelle Carter, 195?
info The New Lost City Ramblers, Vol. 3, The New Lost City Ramblers, 1961
no info Single, Carroll County Ramblers, 1963
no info Doc Watson, Doc Watson, 1964
info Country Music And Bluegrass At Newport, Various Artists (Doc Watson), 1964
info Square Dances Played by Tommy Jackson, Tommy Jackson, 1964
no info Learn To Fiddle Country Style, Tracy Schwarz, 1965
info Raymond Fairchild & the Maggie Valley Boys, Raymond Fairchild & the Maggie Valley Boys, 1967
info Fiddle Jam Sessions, Various Artists (Lonnie Pearce), 1967
no info Cluck Old Hen, Spark Gap Wonder Boys, 1970
info Bluegrass Guitar , Dan Crary, 1970
no info All the Way Home, Gary Scruggs, 1970
no info Baker's Dozen - Country Fiddle Tunes, Kenny Baker, 1970
info Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, 1972
info Earl Scruggs: His Family and Friends, Earl Scruggs, 1972
info Elementary Doctor Watson!, Doc Watson, 1972
info The Essential Doc Watson, Doc Watson, 1973
no info Battling Banjos, Arthur Smith, 1973
no info Grassy Licks, Roger Sprung, 1973
no info Uncle Wade - A Memorial To Wade Ward, Old Time Virginia Banjo, Wade Ward, 1973
no info Johnny Whisnant, Johnny Whisnant, 1974
no info Memphis Jellyroll, Stefan Grossman, 1974
no info Early Days Of Bluegrass, Vol. 5 - The Rich-R-Tone Story, Various Artists (Glan Neaves and The Grayson County Boys), 1974
no info The Fiddle Collection, Benny Martin, 1976
info Superbow, Vassar Clements, 1976
info Kentucky Colonels 1965-1967, Kentucky Colonels, 1976
no info Banjoman, Various Artists, Doc and Merle Watson), 1977
no info Banjo Bandits, Roy Clark and Buck Trent, 1978
no info Hot Guitar - Doc Watson Guitar Album, Doc Watson, 1979
no info Country Guitar Giants, Merle Travis and Joe Maphis, 1979
no info The White Brothers / The New Kentucky Colonels: Live In Sweden 1973, The White Brothers, 1979
no info Pickin' and Fiddlin', Dillards With Byron Berline, 197?
no info Fiddlers On The Rocks, Buck Ryan, 197?
no info Platinum Fiddle, Buddy Spicher, 1980
info Tellulive, Various Artists (Doc Watson, Norman Blake, Dan Crary, Sam Bush), 1980
info Early Dawg, David Grisman, 1980
no info Wild Over Us, Duffy Brothers, 1982
no info Fiddletown, Ray Park, 1982
info Coyote Night, Hickory Hill, 1982
no info The Guitar Album, Doc Watson, 1983
info Flat Pickin' Favorites, Glenda Faye, 1987
no info Blind Dog, Norman Blake, 1988
no info Pickin' On Country, Chet Atkins, 1988
info Dust On The Needle, Tony Trischka, 1988
info Steve Kilby, Steve Kilby, 198?
info Mandolin and Other Stuff, Ron Thomason, 198?
no info Gold Plated Banjo, Bill Emerson, 1990
info Guitars & Banjos: The Heroes, Various Artists (Eddie Adcock), 1990
no info Essential Roy Acuff 1936-1949, Roy Acuff, 1992
info 1959-1963, Flatt and Scruggs, 1992
info 1964-1969, Plus, Flatt & Scruggs, 1992
no info Carolina Calling Me, Bass Mountain Boys, 1992
no info Remembering Merle, Doc Watson, 1992
info Once Upon A Time, Marty Stuart, 1992
info Satisfied Mind, Clay County, 1992
info The Festival Tapes / Tellulive, Various Artists (Doc Watson, Norman Blake, Dan Crary, Sam Bush), 1992
no info Galloping Guitar, Chet Atkins, 1993
no info Bluegrass Guitar Duets, Sandy Rothman and Steve Pottier, 1994
info The Vanguard Years, Doc Watson, 1995
info The Vanguard Years Sampler, Doc Watson, 1995
info That's Bluegrass!: CMH Records 20th Anniversary Collection, Various Artists, 1995
info The First Fifteen Years, Hickory Hill, 1995
info Stanley Series, Vol. 4 #1, Stanley Brothers , 1996
info Close to Home: Old Time Music from Mike Seeger's Collection (1952-1967), Various Artists (McGee Brothers and Fiddlin' Arthur Smith), 1997
info The Sensational Sounds of Bluegrass, Various Artists (Osborne Brothers), 1997
info That Was Now....This Is Then, Frank Wakefield, 1997
info The Best of Doc Watson: 1964-1968, Doc Watson, 1999
info Bottom Line Encore Collection, Vassar Clements, 1999
no info Sara and Maybelle Carter, Sara and Maybelle Carter, 199?
info Badass Bluegrass, Rollin' In the Hay, 199?
no info 1963-64 Newport Folk Festival Recordings, Doc Watson, 19??
no info Clyde and Sue and the Southern Bluegrass Boys, 19??
no info Fiddlin' Charlie McDowell, 19??
no info Voices of Bluegrass, 19??
no info Single, Glen Neaves & the Grayson County Boys, 19??
info 33 Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals, Clarence White, 2000
info American Roots Music, Various Artists (Doc Watson), 2001
info Route 50: Vanguard Records 50th Anniversary Sampler, Various Artists (Doc Watson), 2000
info Earl Scruggs: His Family and Friends / Nashville Airplane, Flatt & Scruggs, 2000
info The Definitive Bluegrass Collection, Various Artists (Eddie Adcock, Sam Bush and Vassar Clements), 2001
info Tribute to Bluegrass, Chet Atkins, 2002
info Still Pickin', Dallas Smith, 2002
info DocFest: A Tribute to Doc Watson and His Musical Partners Merle Watson and Jack Lawrence, Various Artists, 2003
no info Fresh Out of the Barn, Red Star Express, 2003
info Pickin' and Fiddlin'/Wheatstraw Suite/Copperfields, The Dillards, 2004
info Live at the Ragged Edge, Tom Adams and Michael Cleveland, 2004
info Can't You Hear Me Callin': Bluegrass: 80 Years of American Music, Various Artists (Roy Acuff), 2004
no info Choices, Krüger Brothers, 2004
info Rural Rhythm Fiddle Collection, Various Artists (Curly Fox), 2004
info Bluegrass Heritage, Vol. 2: Roots and Branches: 25 More Bluegrass Classics, Various Artists (Mac Martin), 2005
info Long Live Bluegrass! CMH Records 30th Anniversary, Various Artists (Eddie Adcock, Sam Bush and Vassar Clements), 2005
info Vintage Recordings 1948-1956, The Mayfield Brothers, 2006
info Forever Changing: The Golden Age of Elektra 1963-1973, Various Artists (Dillards), 2006
info Runnin' Water, Robert Feathers, 2006
info True Bluegrass Essentials, Various Artists (Kenny Baker), 2006
info Sound Traditions: The Best of Bluegrass, Various Artists (Curly Fox), 2006
info Classic Bluegrass Collection, Vols. 1-4, Various Artists (Doc Watson), 2007
info Front Porch Pickin', Various Artists, 2008

Notes

Played by the Black Mountain Boys on the 7th March 1964.

Neil Rosenberg in Bluegrass - A History (1985) outlines the origins of this piece. It was devised as a fiddle tune, initially called Black Mountain Blues, by Leslie Keith in the 1930's and was based on a traditional song The Lost Child. Keith did not record it at this point but played it often at concerts and on radio broadcasts. Other fiddlers heard it in this way and it became a popular tune. It was a hit for Curly Fox in the 40s as Black Mountain Rag.

Sometimes credited to Tommy Magness, Leslie West or others but usually as traditional.