Got it right here. I went and pulled it out of the bookcase so I could be specific about it, because it was so good and still is. Bit of an oddity but great:

Bob Atcher, Early American Folk Songs, Columbia 10" HL 9006, one of the first LPs, issued c. 1950.

Included: Barbary Allen, De Ladies' Man, Methodist Pie, Devilish Mary, Young Rogers the Miller, Old Smoky, The Hunters of Kentucky

Atcher, son of a fiddle champion father, began as a working cowboy in North Dakota. He became a successful country singer on radio and records during the 1930s and 40s, particularly in his duets with Bonnie Blue Eyes. He was staff vocalist at WBBM in Chicago in the early 40s. But he put away all the fancy studio backing and professionalized singing for this record (and for one other, a 10" of cowboy songs, also on Columbia).

On this LP he goes all the way back to his roots with bone-simple authentic singing, fine fetching traditional style fingerpicking guitar, and some terrific songs. I have to say this record gave me a really good start.

Bob