Giving Up On You from Lost & Found

Mountain Fever Records has released another single from the final recording from southwest Virginia bluegrass stalwarts Lost & Found.

This legendary group hasn’t been active for some time, owing largely to the difficulty founder, bass player, and vocalist Allen Mills has touring these days. Allen is doing well, but getting around isn’t so easily since his recent surgeries, but he is upbeat and clear headed as he approaches his 85th birthday this weekend. And he is very happy to see these tracks getting out almost a decade after they were cut.

Mills brought the band into Mountain Fever Studios in 2013 when he realized he was losing some of his mobility, during the band’s 50th anniversary year. Those files had laid dormant ever since, until Mark Hodges with the label came across them one day and reached out to Allen to see if he might be interested in releasing them.

They cut six songs and an instrumental with that last edition of the band: Dan Wells on guitar, Scott Napier on mandolin, and Ronald Smith on banjo. The late Jason Moore played bass, fulfilling a lifetime dream to play with Lost & Found.

Sammy Shelor of Lonesome River Band, who engineered the session in repayment for some work on his bus by Mills, says that he feels privileged to have been involved.

“It was such an honor to be a part of a project by Lost & Found. They have been heroes of mine since my teenage years, and to get to work in the studio with them was a dream come true. Their brand of bluegrass had a certain class and sound that made them stand out from the rest. And they maintained that sound through 45+ years of recording and touring. These last recordings are a treasure, and I’ll always be grateful to have been part of it!”

This latest single was written and sung by Dan Wells, and Allen told us this morning that it came from a time when Dan “was having some woman problems,” which led to this song, Giving Up On You.

Check it out…