Mance was in his own words primarily "a sharecropper and songster" who, after a week of hard work in the fields, would supply the music for both blacks and whites at weekend social gatherings in and around his hometown of Navasota, Texas. The Best of Mance Lipscomb contains 22 tracks hand-picked by Arhoolie Records founder and president Chris Strachwitz, the man who originally made the recordings in the 1960s. This collection of songs gives a glimpse into the understated brilliance of this Texas songster.