Jim Smoak: HowToBuyCD's

The real train, The Orange Blossom Special was designed to take people from the cold northeast to the sunny shores of Florida. It was a winter train.
This recording is designed to put sunshine in your life with it's variety of songs about love, life, cats, dogs, hymns, and yes, trains. This is four seasons music.
The fun of making this disc is also evident, especially when Jim Smoak and Michael Cleveland team up with harmonica and fiddle on The Orange Blossom Special.

When bluegrass fans first heard the solid, tasteful banjo backup on Bill Monroe’s “Close By” and “Put My Little Shoes Away” back in 1954, they might have jumped for joy for it was indeed a Carolina boy providing that crisp banjo sound! Jim Smoak was that Carolina boy -- “fresh off the farm at 18” as he says, touring with the legendary Bill Monroe. Today Jim Smoak brings us a wonderful sampler of his masterful talent as a songwriter and banjoist. Whether it is the sincerity of a tribute to the great Jim McReynolds (of Jim & Jesse fame) or the jaunty cleverness of “Pickin’ In The Pokey,” Jim Smoak performs with energy and clarity. When you hear his “knocking the banjo in overdrive” on “Going Back To Harlan” you’ll know “that’s a Carolina boy!” “Mighty Powerful,” Bill Monroe would say!

Bluegrass from banjo master Jim Smoak and the Louisiana Honeydrippers. Smoak began his career in 1952 with Carl and Pearl Butler. Within two months he was hired by Bill Monroe to play banjo in the Bluegrass Boys, with whom he is heard on the classic tunes "Close By," "My Little Georgia Rose," and "Put My Little Shoes Away." He also played with Little Jimmie Dickens, Bruce Broussard, Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith (he replaced Don Reno), and Hylo Brown. His songs have been covered by the Newgrass Revival, J.D. Crowe, and the Dixie Chicks. Smoak is still active today, playing regularly with the Mountain Dew Hillbillies. This title contains previously unreleased material, as well as the original material recorded by Dr. Harry Oster.