Among the second generation of bluegrass artists, few entertainers maintain a higher profile than Del McCoury. His current band is the most awarded group in the history of the International Bluegrass Music Association. Their broad fan base includes tie-dyed PhishHeads and Steve Earle rockers, alongside ardent disciples of Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and the Stanley Brothers.
McCoury reached his present level of popularity the old-fashioned way: He paid his dues. Following a yearlong stint as a Blue Grass Boy (during which Monroe moved him from the banjo slot to lead singer-guitarist), McCoury eventually formed his own band, the Dixie Pals, and recorded his first album for Arhoolie in 1967. Originally offered on CD in 1992, I Wonder Where You Are Tonight is now being reissued a second time.
McCoury has long been an interpreter of others’ work. Today, Del and the Boys are likely to cover anything from Tom Petty and Richard Thompson to Willie Nelson and Kevin Welch. In 1968, however, McCoury opted for more traditional fare. This album borrows from the catalog of Monroe (“Used To Be”), Jimmie Rodgers (“Blue Yodel”), Flatt & Scruggs (“Roll In My Sweet Baby’s Arms”), Kitty Wells (“Whose Shoulder Will You Cry On”), and the Osborne Brothers (“Hey, Hey Bartender”).
The album’s fourteen tracks also include the traditional “I’m Coming Back But I Don’t Know When”, the old hymn “A Beautiful Life”, and “The Prisoner’s Song”, first popularized by Vernon Dalhart in the mid-1920s. There’s nothing here you haven’t heard before — you just haven’t heard it done by a 28-year-old Del McCoury.
Though McCoury has matured into a fine songwriter himself, “Dreams” stands as his lone contribution to this album. The song lacks the bluesy soul of his later work such as “I Feel The Blues Moving In”, “Lonely For My Only” or “The Look Of A Perfect Diamond”, but McCoury’s piercing tenor is unmistakable.
And the playing is strong throughout. From Del’s powerful G-run that opens the album, to Billy Baker’s ornate fiddling, to Bill Emerson’s banjo workout on “Fire On The Mountain”, these songs are a preview of greater things to come.
