With his warm, assuring vocals,
Red Foley brought class to a country genre that at times was too ragged and reckless for its own good in the 1930s and '40s, and if he didn't stretch boundaries, he didn't really need to, and ended up landing some 41 songs on the country charts between 1944 and 1959. This set has most of the key tracks from his Decca years (1944-1951), including 1944's "Smoke on the Water," 1947's "New Jolie Blonde," and 1948's "Tennessee Saturday Night" (although he was born in Kentucky,
Foley may have set a record for most songs recorded about the state of Tennessee), although it lacks his signature song, "Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy," from 1950, and 1951's surprise gospel hit "(There'll Be) Peace in the Valley."