Back in the 50s a young country singer named Cast King, with his band The Country Drifters, recorded a number of sides on Sun Records, but never made a huge splash.

In fact I would not have heard his music at all if not for a guy named Matt Downer, who came across Cast King living in Old Sand Mountain in Alabama, and discovered King not only still played but had numerous original tunes.

Downer recorded King, and played electric guitar along with King’s acoustic on a recording, which became Saw Mill Man, released in 2005. I stumbled upon it on a music blog shortly after it was released. The recording, stark, raw, powerful, stopped me in my tracks.

Apparently King was preparing another set of tunes, but unfortunately he died in 2007 at 81.

I often think that there is a wealth of fantastic music around we rarely get to hear. It was serendipitous that I stumbled across Cast King, just when he reappeared out of the blue with great collection of tunes. It’s already a decade since Saw Mill man was released although to me it doesn’t seem nearly so long. It’s a very personal album, rough around the edges, tough as nails. I hope you enjoy this taste.