Subtitled "A Green Hill Instrumental Classic."
Credited to Craig Duncan, an artist described on Discogs as "the featured instrumentalist on over ninety record albums with sales in excess of five million copies. He has produced numerous recordings for the gift shop market in a variety of musical styles." Gift shop market, huh? Welp, somebody's gotta do it.
With a title like Christmas In The Smoky Mountains, I was expecting more bluegrass, and there's definitely some of that, but with the strings, hammered dulcimer, pennywhistle, and mandolin, this music often leans more towards subdued Irish New Age, which I guess I should have expected for the "gift shop market." Imagine walking into a locally-owned small town boutique in a quaint, revitalized downtown storefront where the aromas are strong, the spiced cider is complimentary, there's a bright Christmas tree in every corner, and prices are full retail. This is the music playing while you tread the restored hardwood floors. And copies of the CD just happen to be sitting by the cash register.
Tracks: I enjoy Sleigh Ride, White Christmas, Silver Bells, and The Christmas Songs.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I inherited this disc from my parents, who very well may have picked this up at a store similar to the one described above. I'm guessing somewhere in the Texas Hill Country: Kerrville, Fredricksburg, Wimberley, etc.
I have a CD from 1988 called "A Smoky Mountain Christmas" with many different songs. Duncan is one of several featured artists. It's one of my favorite Christmas instrumental CDs. I bought it in a Christmas shop in Gatlinburg, TN in 1991. It was summer, but the store was playing it to promote sales and I took the bait. You can find it here on ebay.
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