The Circle Will Never Be Unbroken On The Crooked Road

As a kid who was raised in the 1950's middle America, and heavily influenced by Country Music, I grew up on Hank Williams, George Jones, and Ernest Tubb with a little bit of Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash sprinkled in. I spent many Saturday nights listening to the Grand Ole Opry and thought I understood where it all came from.

It was the 1972 collaboration of some long-haired kids from California called The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and a whole bunch of famous people on an album called "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" that I realized I had found the music I truly loved.

It was one of the first boxed albums to ever come out, and included five 33 1/3 records with some of the best music I had ever heard.

There was Earl and Randy Scruggs, Doc Watson, Vasser Clements, Mother Maybell, and Johnny Cash, to name a few, and those long-haired kids from California who no one had heard of.

At a time when the country was in complete turmoil over the war in Vietnam, where I had already spent 3 and 1/2 years of my life, and was knee-deep in what is now called Classic Rock. Will the Circle Be Unbroken came as a breath of fresh air that seemed to join various factions of people fighting to end the war, and factions around the music business as well.

It reminded us of simpler times, and proved you didn't need big amplifiers with distortion pedals to produce music that was enjoyable and easy to listen to. It was simple, acoustic and very enjoyable.

It wasn't long afterwards that Emmy Lou Harris came with her first big album that included a Louvin Brothers tune call "If I Could Only Win Your Love". Her band featured a young Mandolin player by the name of Ricky Skaggs and I realized this music was back, and in good health.

I spent the 80's, 90's and the early part of the 21st century wondering where the good old music went. Then in 2007 I came to Big Stone Gap, Virginia for the first time, and I found it.

What I found was, the music never went anywhere, it just took me half of a lifetime to find it. It has always been here in the mountains, and after spending a couple of years up here, I finally understand what the old album was all about.

I finally understood what the unbroken circle was all about. It's all around me everyday here. People sitting on their back porches picking the best music in the world.

The festivals and jam sessions on The Crooked Road is where the music lives year-round, and people who spend time with their children to teach them the the music and dances of the mountains insures us that the Circle will never be Unbroken!