After stints with Columbia and Capitol, Acuff’s legend was still in the making when he formed Hickory Records with Fred Rose in ’54. Backed by his Smoky Mountain Boys, Once More rounds up his primitively recorded hillbilly 45s: skeletally arranged, sharpening the edges of Acuff’s trademark lonesome whine. 1962’s King Of… (the same year he became the first living member of Country Music’s Hall Of Fame) is superior, rewiring his ’30s/’40s hits for the stereo crowd and frequently besting them (“Unloved And Unclaimed”; “Night Train To Memphis”).
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