Here’s some more info on the upcoming Del McCoury Band CD, Family Circle. It’s due for release October 27 on Del’s McCoury Music label, recorded with his regular band – sons Rob on banjo and Ronnie on mandolin, with Jason Carter on fiddle and Alan Bartram on bass.

The songs come from some familiar sources, with a few surprises as well.

Billy and Terry Smith co-wrote I’m Justified with Del, a Gospel song. Actually, Del said that they sent him a finished demo, but feeling it was a bit short, he added another verse. When he got their approval, he decided to cut it.

Barbaric Splendor is one of two Joe New songs on the CD.

Blue Highway may have been the first major bluegrass band to record a song from Mark Knopfler, whose Marbletown was the title of their 2005 CD. Now Del has one of his own, Prairie Wedding, though Del had to raise the key substantially from Knopfler’s original cut.

Surely my favorite is I Remember You, the two-time hit for Slim Whitman. Del’s voice is a natural for the warbly, yodelly chorus.

Del and Ronnie McCoury are credited as producers, though Del says that he picked the material himself.

“I guess I produced it. With Rob and Ronnie and Jason and Alan out doing more on their own now as the Travelin’ McCourys, I pretty much put this together on my own‚Äìand I really like it!  I didn’t start out to do something different, but that’s how it turned out!”

This brings up a question that has been on the minds of many a Del fan this year. The Travelin’ McCourys have many more dates booked than does The Del McCoury Band, and Del-heads are starting to wonder how much longer Del will be out on the road.

Will this be the last Del McCoury project? Is Del drifting towards retirement? At 70 years old, hasn’t he surely earned it?

We’ll be sure to ask him next week at IBMA.