I Wonder Where You Are Tonight

In the 1990s, Del McCoury became one of the world's most admired bluegrass artists, but his playing career actually dates all the way back to the late 1950s. Arhoolie Records honcho Chris Strachwitz remembered being impressed with McCoury's soaring tenor voice after catching the singer during his yearlong stint in Bill Monroe's band in the early 1960s, and he finally got a chance to record McCoury in December of 1967.

For his debut as a leader, McCoury assembled a crack pickup band that included fiddler (and fellow Monroe alum) Billy Baker, banjo player Bill Emerson (between tenures in the Country Gentlemen), and mandolin veteran Wayne Yates. The sound, setting, and repertoire are as straightforward as can be, as this talented crew runs through staples from the books of Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, the Osborne Brothers, Jimmy Martin, and other first-generation stars.

At this point, McCoury hadn't quite settled into the style that would make him famous, but the seeds of his later success are plain for all to hear. --Marc Greilsamer

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