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GUEST,elijah wald Origins: On Top of Old Smoky (31) origins of 'On Top of Old Smoky' 07 Dec 04

For an upcoming Dave Van Ronk release for which I'm doing the liner notes, I am looking for information about the origins of "On Top of Old Smoky."

The earliest recording I know is by Libby Holman, with Josh White on guitar, in 1942. I gather that Libby got much of her folk repertoire from Alan Lomax, but do not have my reference books handy, and don't know if he had published the song before that.

From there, it was recorded by Hally Wood with Pete Seeger for Lomax's radio ballad opera "The Martins and the Coys," and later by the Weavers and Burl Ives.

But where and when was it collected, and who produced the version we all know? Anyone know?

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