The Good Old Songs: The Cream of the Old Music was first published in 1913 by Eld. Claudis Hopkins Cayce (1871-1945) of Thornton, Arkansas. Like the Primitive Baptist Hymn and Tune Book, this book is among the early Primitive Baptist hymnals that used any kind of music notation.
Cayce had noticed that some people were drifting away from the old songs. Some were adopting modern "jigs" and operatic tunes instead. In Cayce's opinion, the singing was not as "sweet and soul-cheering" as it once was.
Cayce did have the assistance of A. N. Whitten, of Dublin, Texas. Cayce gives thanks to Whitten in the preface of the book and mentions no other individual. Cayce said that Whitten had been a "great help" in the preparation of this book. Whitten would later publish a book of his own, The Harp of Ages, in 1925.
Most of the songs that Cayce included in his book can be found in The Southern Harmony, The Sacred Harp, or The Christian Harmony. There are a few songs that were composed by Aldine S. Kieffer. In Cayce's words, "This book contains none of the 'modern sort.'" Of the songs that did not have an alto part in the source book, either Cayce or Whitten composed much of the alto.
Cayce also worked to make sure the poetry was in an agreement with Primitive Baptist beliefs. He would make word changes where they were needed so the wording would agree with Primitive Baptist teachings. He then acknowledged that it was possible that there could be some errors that may have been overlooked. Cayce did ask that should the reader find an error to bring it to his attention, and it would be corrected for future printings.
Cayce also was the editor of a church paper, The Primitive Baptist. He also owned a printing company, The Cayce Publishing Company. The publishing company did the printing of the hymnal and church paper. After Cayce's death, his son, Eld. Hartsel Cayce took over The Cayce Publishing Company, the continuation of the church paper, and printing more hymnals. The younger Cayce did make a couple of changes to the poetry to make them more in line with Biblical teachings.
In the early 1990s, the Primitive Baptist Heritage Corporation (PBHC) acquired the rights of The Good Old Songs. The PBHC is lead by Eld. David Montgomery of San Antonio, Texas. Two promises were made for the acquisition of this the book: it would never be changed, and it must remain in print.
In 2013, the PBHC published a centennial edition. This edition includes the preface that Cayce wrote, with the additional prefaces written by Montgomery as well as Eld. Mark Green and Eld. James Isaac, both from Arkansas. The one significant change with this edition is that only one song was added to the back of the book. The song is a tune that is used by the Primitive Baptists in Arkansas and was written out with harmonization by Montgomery's nephew, Daniel Montgomery.
Many Primitive Baptist Churches in Texas were using either the 1973 or 1977 edition of The Harp of Ages. About 2000 The Harp of Ages went out of print. Others tried to compile similar books to fill the void, but none of these books would achieve the success that The Harp of Ages enjoyed. The Good Old Songs also had a drawback of having several hymn texts not attached to music.
In July 2020, Montgomery released a revised version of the book, titled The Good Old Songs: Second Volume. In this book, all hymn texts are set with music. New tunes were added from the Cooper and Denson revisions of The Sacred Harp, The Christian Harmony, and The Harp of Ages. There were also tunes that were added from other sources. Many of the songs are located with the same song number as the older Good Old Songs, or The Harp of Ages. There were also some new compositions.
Montgomery writes in his preface that they did not find the first book to be faulty, but that they felt that it would be profitable to have a second volume that was compiled in the same spirit as the first volume. They hoped that it would be a continuation of Eld. C. H. Cayce's vision.
The first volume of The Good Old Songs was used in most Primitive Baptist churches in Arkansas, a few in Oklahoma and Texas, several in Northern Alabama, Mississippi, Eastern Tennessee, and in parts of Virginia and North Carolina.
Sources:
Cayce, Elder Claudis Hopkins. The Good Old Songs: The Cream of the Old Music. (San Antonio: Primitive Baptist Heritage Corporation, 2013).
Cayce, Elder Claudis Hopkins. The Good Old Songs: Second Volume. (San Antonio: Primitive Baptist Heritage Corporation, 2020).
Drummond, R. Paul. A Portion for the Singers. (Atwood, TN: The Christian Baptist Library & Publishing Company, Inc., 1988).
Montgomery, David Blair, and Mark Green. Biographical history of Primitive or Old School Baptist ministers, volume II: also, a sampling of photographs from around the country of various and interesting subject material that is reflective of the Primitive Baptist Church. (Lampasas, TX: Primitive Baptist Heritage Corporation, 2001).