HOLCOMB, ROSCOE - Across The Rocky Mountain (LP)

A magical collection of Kentucky's own Roscoe Holcomb, one of the most legendary figures of Appalachian music and a huge influence on the 60s folk scene. Playing banjo, guitar, and singing in that beautiful high lonesome sound, this compilation spans his recordings from the late 50s and early 60s, mostly done in the "field" with a single microphone. A coal miner for most of his life, Roscoe knew the world he sang of all too well, his authenticity is unassailable. Though he found some success in the 60s thanks to the Greenwich Village scene, Holcomb stayed a laborer in Kentucky and passed away in 1981 at the age of 68, suffering for years from asthma and emphysema, the results of his years in the coal mines. Essential Americana.