The Lonesome Pine Office on Youth announces the release of the two-CD set “Music
of Coal: Mining Songs from the Appalachian Coalfields.” Two
years in the making, this pair of audio CDs contains 48 songs addressing various
aspects of coal mining history and culture, including black lung, union organizing,
environmental impacts and the contribution of coal to the national economy. The
CDs are accompanied by a richly detailed book of liner notes with striking historical
photographs.
“This
has been a collaborative effort involving many people in the Wise County area
as well as noted experts across the country,” said Paul Kuczko, director
of the Lonesome Pine Office on Youth and executive producer of the CD project.
“We’ve assembled more than two hours of music that truly gives the flavor
of our coal mining heritage.”
According
to Jack Wright, who produced the CDs and wrote the liner notes, the musical collection
is a “hybrid” of old and new songs - some previously recorded, others
produced specifically for this project. “We chose some songs that came out
previously on independent labels and may not have been well known, but are vital
in telling original stories from the heart of the coalfields,” Wright said.
“In addition, we have well established artists represented here, like Ralph
Stanley, Dwight Yoakum, Natalie Merchant, Tom T. Hall, Blue Highway and the Carter
Family.”
