A powerful reminder that one of the most-recorded songs of the 1960s had deep roots in … bluegrass.

That’s the composer – the late, great John Hartford – on banjo. He’s joined by Glen Campbell and Ricky Skaggs at the Grand Ole Opry for “Gentle On My Mind”.

Ah, the 70s! If you didn’t like the music, there was always the onstage fashion show. But, I think you’ll like this music.

It was 1978. The Dillards had come a long way -- ahem! -- from Mayberry and The Darlin Boys. Doug Dillard and Mitch Jayne had left the band, and there was an electric bass – a hangover from their experimental, country-rock days (a phase of their career well worth investigating).

Despite that, they never lost touch with their roots, as you’ll hear, both when Rodney Dillard brings John Hartford to the stage, and when Hartford launches into a good ole good ‘un that their grandfathers likely played up there in the Missouri Ozarks.

This is “Boil Them Cabbage Down”.

This is so sad and beautiful! It’s almost as though John Hartford is under-performing to keep his emotions from spilling over.

That said, it’s on the instrumental breaks that these musicians really shine.The late Junior Huskey is on bass, Jerry Douglas on dobro, Vassar Clements on fiddle, Mark O’Connor laying aside his fiddle for the mandolin, and Tony Rice on guitar.

It’s funny: Usually, folks are dazzled by O’Connor’s fiddling and Rice’s blinding speed. Yet O’Connor on mando, and Rice taking his sweet time to be thoughtful with the melody, turn in the two best performances on “Old Time River Man”.