"He brings good cheer to the mountain folk" was how the Gennett label advertised the recordings of the blind troubadour David Miller, who basically claimed the rolling hills of West Virginina as home, although he happened to have been born ten miles over the state line in Ohio. Miller was one of the earliest artists to record old-time music, cutting sides for the Starr Piano Company label beginning in late 1924. He continued recording for this outfit in 1927 and 1930 and also made several records for Paramount, another label that pioneered in recording Appalachian artists in the '20s and '30s. His recordings tended toward sentimental ballads such as "Since Mother's Gone" or harsh accounts of bad times such as "It's Hard to Be Shut Up in Prison." He knew about roughing it first hand. Miller Read More