The tapes were moldy, badly damaged, and missing for nearly five decades. What came back from that recovery is one of the most compelling archival stories in roots music this year.
Boone Creek’s self-titled 1977 debut arrives June 26 via Craft Recordings and HighTone Records, reissued on vinyl for the first time since its original pressing and making its CD and streaming debut. The album features four previously unreleased bonus tracks salvaged from session tapes that had been stolen by an engineer, tracked down decades later, and painstakingly restored. Lead single “I’m Gonna Settle Down,” a soul-stirring take on the Flatt & Scruggs classic, is streaming now. Pre-order now here.
Boone Creek formed in 1976 when Ricky Skaggs and Jerry Douglas, fresh off their tenure with J.D. Crowe & the New South, joined forces with guitarist Wes Golding and banjoist Terry Baucom. The band pulled from jam-band looseness, timeless pop craft and the soft-rock textures of the era, incorporating electric guitar, drums, piano, horns and synthesizers while keeping their tight bluegrass-inspired harmonies front and center. Rounder initially found portions of the debut “too commercial,” prompting additional sessions in a more traditional vein. The resulting album combined both sets of recordings into something that pushed well past the accepted boundaries of bluegrass in 1977.
The four recovered bonus tracks push even further. “Hitchhiking to California” is freewheeling and loose, while the horn-laced “Dream Song” drifts into subtly psychedelic territory. “Misty Wind” features a harmony vocal from a then-unknown bass player named Vince Gill. Grammy-winning reissue producer Scott Billington oversaw the restoration. “The recovery of the four new tracks was a years-long research and restoration project,” Billington says. “The end result was worth it, because we get a glimpse into the creative minds of these four outstanding musicians that will surprise and delight many listeners.”
Skaggs went on to earn 15 Grammy Awards and played a defining role in multiple waves of American roots revival. Douglas has collected 16 Grammys and remains one of the most influential instrumentalists of his generation, currently with Alison Krauss and Union Station. Baucom, a founding member of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and IIIrd Tyme Out, passed away in December 2023 and received a Distinguished Achievement Award at that year’s IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards. “We thank everyone involved for their tenacity and forward thinking in bringing this remastered lost treasure back into the light,” Douglas says.
“It’s been over 50 years since Boone Creek made these recordings and it’s great to hear them remastered,” Skaggs adds. “They sound better than ever, and I never thought the previously unreleased cuts would see the light of day.”
Boone Creek is available for pre-order and pre-save now ahead of its June 26 release.
Vinyl Tracklist:
Side A
- Dixieland
- Dark Is The Night
- Walkin’ In Jerusalem
- Gonna Settle Down
- Drifting Too Far From The Shore
- White House Blues
- Boone Creek
- The Memory of Your Smile
Side B
- Intro
- Satisfy My Mind
- Sugar Daddy
- Ain’t Nobody Gonna Miss Me
- Hitchhiking to California*
- Misty Wind*
- Georgia Sunrise*
- Dream Song*
*Previously unreleased
CD/Digital Tracklist:
- Dixieland
- Dark Is The Night
- Walkin’ In Jerusalem
- Gonna Settle Down
- Drifting Too Far From The Shore
- White House Blues
- Boone Creek
- The Memory of Your Smile
- Intro
- Satisfy My Mind
- Sugar Daddy
- Ain’t Nobody Gonna Miss Me
- Hitchhiking to California*
- Misty Wind*
- Georgia Sunrise*
- Dream Song*
*Previously unreleased