Personnel includes: Roy Acuff (vocals, fiddle); Sam "Dynamite" Hatcher (vocals, harmonica); Jess Easterley (guitar, mandolin, bass); Lonnie Wilson (guitar); Pete "Oswald" Kirby, Clell Summey (dobro); Jimmie Riddle (harmonica); Frank "Red" Jones, Velma Williams, Joe Zinkan (bass).

Recorded between 1936 & 1951. Includes liner notes by John Rumble.

This compilation of early Roy Acuff recordings, from 1938 to the mid-'40s, is interesting because it focuses less on Acuff's singing than it does on his underappreciated virtues as a fiddle player. In fact, on this version of Acuff's signature song, "Wabash Cannonball," Acuff only plays the fiddle and blows the train whistle; the vocals are handled by another member of Acuff's Smoky Mountain Boys, the delightfully-named Dynamite Hatcher. Though Acuff does sing on several tracks, COLUMBIA HISTORIC EDITION places his earliest recordings in their proper historical context, a feat that a surprisingly small number of country music compilations seem to manage. The remastered sound is miles ahead of any earlier reissue of this music, and the music itself is undeniable.