Traveling Down the Road

Dave Macon was over 50 years old when, in the early 1920s, the emergence of motorized trucking caused him to give up his mule-drawn freight-hauling business and try his hand at entertaining. By 1927, when Nashville's WSM radio renamed its Barn Dance show The Grand Ole Opry, the ever-grinning, banjo-strumming "Uncle" Dave was its biggest star--and he remained a fixture there until his death in 1952. Along the way he made nearly 200 recordings for a variety of labels, and this collection features some of his most popular works, which influenced not only generations of country musicians, but folk artists as well. They include banjo primers ("Cumberland Mountain Deer Race," "Over the Mountain"), gospel tunes ("Just One Way to the Pearly Gates"), blues ("Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy"), and novelties ("She's Got the Money, Too")--all done in Macon's irresistibly infectious style. --Billy Altman