Allen`s archive of early and old country music.

Charlie Collins & Friends LP on the Royal American label

2012-01-15T10:47:00.003-06:00

Charlie Collins passed away Thursday, January 12th. So, I thought I`d post this LP he made in the 1970`s. Charlie did have a cd out with this title, and some of these songs are on it, but not all the titles are the same.
Charlie played guitar for Roy Acuff, starting in about 1967 till Roy passed away. Also, Bashful Brother Oswald and Charlie made a team of their own that toured some by theirselves for many years. Charlie was one of the best rhythm guitar players. He was also a flat picked guitar virtuoso. He was also quite good on fiddle and mandolin and was a good singer.
I met Charlie several times in the last 8 years or so, and he was a great guy. One of the nicest, most polite people I ever met.
There is one thing a lttle odd about this LP. They misspelled Charlie`s first name as Charley. Oh Well, everything can`t be perfect!

Click here to download Charlie Collins & Friends

The Hill-Dillies 45

2012-01-01T10:45:00.002-06:00

Here`s something I know nothing at all about. It appears to be a privately pressed disc. I have no idea who the Hill-Dillies are, but I suspect the two people that get writing credit on the label for The Eden Valley Fox Hunt are likely the Hill-Dillies. The flip side has the Wabash Cannonball on it. The sound sort of folk-country and feature guitar and pretty simple dobro.
Give it a listen, it`s pretty odd!

Click here to download The Hill-Dillies 45

Justin Wilson Ember 45

2012-01-01T10:36:00.002-06:00

Here`s something a bit unusual. It`s a 45 of Justin Wilson talking a little bit about driver safety. Apparently, Justin had been a safety officer and this may have been how he sort of got started as a comedian by giving talks at safety meetings and such.
The disc itself is a little odd as it has the same track on both sides, and is also issued on a promo disc. Below is a paper that was inserted in the record sleeve...

As I said, the disc has the same track on both sides, so the download has only one track in it. I used the side with the best sound quality on it.

Click here to download Justin Wilson - Safe Driving

Link repaired for An Evening With Archie & Phil Campbell LP

2011-12-26T20:59:00.001-06:00

I just realized that the link to download the An Evening With Archie & Phil Campbell was bad. I repaired the link in the LP post. You can also download it by clicking below----

Click here to download An Evening With Archie & Phil Campbell

Justin Wilson Christmas 45

2011-12-23T12:11:00.003-06:00

Here`s a Christmas treat for you! The old Cajun comedy man and cook, Justin Wilson.
I remember and first became aquainted with him when I was a teenager on PBS tv with his Cajun cooking show. He was very funny on there. Then I just discovered 2 or 3 years ago that he had made several comedy LP`s. Then I recently found this 45 with "Cajun-ized" Christmas tunes on it. Merry Christmas everyone!!

Track list---
1. Randolph The Rouge Nosed Reindeer
2. Santa Claus Done Brought Himself To Town

Click here to download Justin Wilson Christmas 45

J.E. Mainer on Rural Rhythm - Vols. 19&20

2011-12-18T19:59:00.004-06:00

Well folks---It`s been a while since I posted much of anything. I`m gonna try to get a little more regular again.
Here is the last two volumes of J.E. Mainer put out on the Rural Rhythm label. I`m sorry, but these 2 LP`s aren`t in very good condition, they are crackly and have some skips.
I still have some other J.E. Mainer items to post on other labels. When I get done with J.E.`s stuff I likely will start posting material of his brother, Wade, Who recently passed away at 103 years old!

Track list for Volume 19---
1. Donkey On The Track (an old tune that I believe originated with Al Hopkins in the 20`s)
2. Possum Up A Gum Stump (a common old time fiddle tune)
3. McNickles Break Down (I believe this is pretty much the same tune as Grayson & Whitter`s Lee Highway Blues)
4. Round Town Gals (this tune seems to be a cross between Ragtime Annie and something else)
5. Get In There Rabbit (an ancient tune that was first recorded by the first woman to record a country record named Samantha Bumgarner about 1924)
7. Shoot The Turkey Buzzard (an old fiddle tune that I believe originated in east Tennessee)
8. Ride Old Buck To Water (an old Skillet Lickers number)
9. Flop Eared Mule (another common old fiddle tune)
10. Old Dan Tucker (this version uses sort of a different, unique tune that the same old words are sung to)
11. Jolly Blacksmith (another old fiddle number that I think originated from east Tennessee)
12. Mainer`s Blues (this tune is sort of a different version of Lee Highway Blues)
13. Seven And One Half (I have no idea where this tune comes from)
14. Cacklin` Hen (the common old fiddle tune)
15. Blue Ridge Break Down (this is another tune I`ve never heard anyone else play, sounds related to I Don`t Love Nobody)
16. Polly Put The Kettle On (a common old fiddle tune, sometimes Polly is called Molly)
17. Bucking Mule (another common fiddle tune where the fiddle sort of imitates a mule bray with the fiddle)
18. Rabbit In A Log (the common old words sang to a unique tune)
19. Chicken Reel (an ancient old fiddle tune)
20. Run Mountain (this seems to be a Mainer original tune)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer Vol. 19

Track list for Volume 20---
1. Diggin` Taters (an old fiddle tune from north Georgia called Liberty that had been recorded by about all of the north Georgia fiddlers, most people now call it Liberty, Off Of The Corn Licker Still, as the Skillet Lickers played it on one of their Corn Licker Still In Geoegia records)
2. Johnson Boys (an old number that I believe Al Hopkins may have rcorded first in the 1920`s)
3. Old And In The Way (an old tear-jerker first recorded by Fiddlin` John Carson)
4. Fill Me U A Bottle (I don`t know where this comes from, but there is a Skillet Licker tune very similar to the tune here)
5. Raise A Ruckus (an old tune that I believe originally came from pop music in the `teens or maybe even a little earlier)
6. Rim Street Brake Down (I believe this is a Mainer original)
7. Jimmy And Johnny (I don`t know anything about this one)
8. Granny Kickin` Up Her Heels (I don`t know anything about this one either)
9. Somebody Waiting For You (likely an old pop tune originally, Sam & Kirk McGee recorded it in the 1920`s)
10. Cripple Creek (one of the most common old numbers)
11.Dance Around Little Lou (this sounds related to Skip To My Lou)
12. Lost Indian (a fiddle tune that I believe was written by an early fiddler for Roy Acuff named Tommy Magness, who also adapted the tune Black Mountain Blues into the tune we now call Black Mountain Rag)
13. Johnny Get Your Gun (several early Georgia artists recorded this in the 1920`s, so I`d say it may originate from north Georgia)
14. Then I`ll Come Back To You (this was a pop tune that Charlie Poole recorded in the 1920`s)
15. Man In The Wood Pile (an old fiddle tune with several different names, such as Nigger In The Woodpile, Buck Creek Girls and a few more that I can`t recall at the moment)
16. Rock That Cradle Lucy (a tune that may have originated from the Skillet Lickers)
17. Jordan Am A Hard Road To Travel (an old minstrel show number that had been recorded pretty early in the country field by Riley Puckett)
18. Weary Miner Blues (I think this was an old honky tonk tune from the early 1940`s)
19. Johnson`s Old Grey Mule (an old tune that I believe was first recorded by Earl Johnson)
20. Jim Boy`s Break Down (this sounds a little related to the old Liberty tune mentioned above)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer Vol. 20

New link for Bradley Kincaid on the Blue Bonnet label, Vols. 1&2

2011-11-28T18:07:00.003-06:00

Here is a new link to repair the old one for the Bradley Kincaid on the Blue Bonnet label Vols. 1&2
I also repaired the link on the original post.

Click here to download Bradley Kincaid On The Blue Bonnet Label, Vols. 1&2

New link for Bradley Kincaid on the Blue Bonnet label, Vols. 5&6

2011-11-13T08:50:00.008-06:00

Here is a new link to download Bradley Kincaid on the Blue Bonnet label, Volumes 5 & 6. I also repaired it on the actual post, which can be found by searching the blog at the top, left hand side of any page of the blog.

And here is the new link to the download

Click here to download repaired link for Vol. 5&6

A Visit With Tex Ritter & Roy Acuff

2011-08-28T09:41:00.002-05:00

As many of you know, I`m a Roy Acuff fan. So when I saw this on ebay, I grabbed it. This disc is a typical 7 inch 45. It is a conversation between Roy Acuff (who was on the CMA board at the time) and Tex Ritter, who was president of the CMA. It`s just sort of a promotional disc, telling of the good things the CMA was working on and what they stand for. The CMA sounds like sort of a musicians union by what Roy and Tex talk about on the disc. If you listen to it, you will see what the CMA was originally trying to do for the industry.
Listen & enjoy!

Click here to download A Visit With Tex Ritter & Roy Acuff

J.E. Mainer on the Rural Rhythm label, Vols. 17 & 18

2011-08-14T09:03:00.002-05:00

Track list for Vol. 17---
1. Two Happy Hearts (sounds like 1950-60`s county)
2. Old Man Below (no idea of the origin of this song)
3. Rebuilding Bridges (another 1950-60`s-ish sounding tune)
4. Hoop It Up Liza (one of the many Liza Jane tunes)
5. Uncle Eph (from the catalog of Grandpa Jones)
6. Down At The Cider Mill (an old Skillet Licker tune)
7. Roll On Buddy (an old Tennessee tune, often performed by Sam & Kirk McGee on the Grand Ole Opry, also often performed by Bashful Brother Oswald)
8. I`ll Hate Myself Tomorrow (another 1950`s sounding number)
9. High Ball Gal Of Mine (usually titled That High Born Gal Of Mine, an old coon song often performed by Sam & Kirk McGee, also an Uncle Dave Macon & Bashful Brother Oswald tune)
10. Kansas City (a fairly common 1940-50`s blues number)
11. Tabby Let Your Hair Hang Down (likely taken from Bascom Lamar Lunsford as his tune Tempe Let Your Hair Hang Down)
12. Bring Me A Leaf From The Sea (possibly from the Carolina Tar Heels 78)
13. Cain`t Get You Off My Mind (yet another 1950`s sounding country tune)
14.Nobody`s Business (a common old time number)
15. Tax On A Hole In The Ground (J.E. announces he wrote this number)
16. Sold Down The River (still another 1950`s sounding tune)
17. Shout Lula (a very common old time banjo tune, possibly best known now as a tune Ralph Stanley plays clawhammer style)
18. If You Should See Your Sister (an old tear jerker from the early 1900`s)

Click here to download Vol.17

Track List For Vol. 18---
1. Keep On The Sunny Side (the old Carter Family song)
2. Where We`ll Never Grow Old (the old gospel standard)
3. Heavenly Airplane (no idea where this tune comes from, likely a 1930`s tune)
4. These Bones Gonna Rise (I think this is an old black spiritual tune)
5. Those Lonely Tombs (a tune originally recorded in the 1930`s by the Mainer`s)
6. Give Me That Old Time Religion (the old gospel standard we all used to learn as a child)
7. Where You Gonna Hide (I believe this is an old southern gospel number)
8. Job`s Coffin (no idea where this one comes from, sounds like it could have black spiritual roots)
9. An Unfriendly World (no idea where this one comes from)
10. Keep Inching Along (another one that sounds sort of like a black spiritual tune)
11. Coal Miner`s Grave (not really a gospel number, but an old coal miner lament type tune)
12. River Jordan (an old tune, I believe the Carter Family tune)
13. He`s Coming To Us Dead (the old Grayson & Whitter tune, again, not a gospel number)
14. Gambling On The Sabbath Day (I believe this may come from the old George Reneau 78)
15. Tell It On The Mountain (this possibly has black spiritual roots)
16. Wasn`t That A Mighty Storm (this also sounds like it may have black spiritual roots)
17. Log Cabin In The Lane (not a gospel tune, likely from the old Fiddlin` John Carson 78, the first country 78 issued with vocal on it)
18. The Gospel Way (possibly a southern gospel tune)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer Vol.18

A note on the Leslie Keith post

2011-07-18T19:14:00.002-05:00

I have deleted the download ling on the Leslie Kieth post. The owner of the rights to the LP contacted me to take it down as the LP is actually still available from them. The company is Sierra Records and you can look at there site here---

www.sierrarecords.net

J.E. Mainer Vol. 16

2011-06-29T09:19:00.002-05:00

As you all know, I had been posting these Rural Rhythm LP`s of J.E. Mainer two at a time. I do not have Volume 16. I`d appreciate it if some of you all have this if you`d send a file of the LP and a picture of the cover. If someone sends it, I`ll post it---Allen

J.E. Mainer - Vol.15 with Morris Herbert

2011-06-29T09:01:00.003-05:00

Here is Volume 15 in this series.

Track list---
1. Just A Standby (no idea where this tune comes from, sounds like 1950`s county)
2. Eatin` Goober Peas (an old time number supposedly from Civil War times)
3. Silver Threads Among The Gold (an old pop tear-jerker from the erly days of the recording industry)
4. Baby Keeps Stealing (sounds like 1950`s country)
5. You`re As Welcome As The Flowers In May (an old pop tune, the first country artist to record it was Hugh Cross)
6. Bonaparte`s Retreat (the old-time fiddle tune)
7. Bird In A Guilded Cage (another ancient old pop tune)
8. I Shall Not Be Moved (the old spiritual tune)
9. Wise Guy (another country tune, possibly from the 1950`s)
10. Tell It On The Mountain (another old spiritual type song)
11. 8th Of January (the old-time fiddle number)
12. What Does The Deep Sea Say (an old-time song)
13. Lost Indian (a great old-time fiddle number)
14. Sunny Home In Tennessee (an old Charlie Pool number he got from an old pop record)
15. Bar Fly (sounds like a 1940`s-50`s novelty type song)
16. Greenback When I`m Hard Up (another old time number)
17. Georgia Railroad (an old Georgia number originally recorded by Gid Tanner & Riley Puckett, the tune is the same as Peter Went `A Fishin`)
18. Turkish Lady (no idea where this comes from, the music sounds old-time-ish, I like the tune. Possibly English in origin?)
19. Old Rattler (this is of course the old Grandpa Jones tune)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer Volume 15 with Morris Herbert

Blue Grass Special 45 with Jimmie Skinner & Rusty York

2011-06-29T08:53:00.004-05:00

Here is a 45 I bought on ebay because it had Jimmie Skinner on it. For some reason I didn`t notice it wasn`t all Jimmie Skinner songs (I really like Jimmie Skinner). So... anyhow.... here`s still a good `un!

Click here to download Blue Grass Special

Lake Howard - Radio And Record Star

2011-06-05T20:30:00.004-05:00

Here is an artist that I don`t know anything about except what I can read on the cover and hear on the record. He is very Carter style influenced on guitar. I Can`t say much about this LP except that it`s a good `un!

Click here to Download Lake Howard - Radio And Record Star

Roy Acuff on a Howard home recording disc

2011-06-05T20:15:00.003-05:00

Here is quite an odd-ball find. It is a 7 inch home recording disc. You could get about two minutes on one side of these blanks.Before people had tape recorders and more modern ways to record stuff, you had to have a home disc cutter. Some were stand alone units that you could plug a radio or a microphone into, and some were a combination radio-disc cutter. The material here is recorded from radio broadcasts.
I`m guessing this is from the mid 1940`s, but that`s a total guess. The sound quality is pretty bad, I cleaned it up the best I could without compromising the audio.
The first cut is a mystery, the 2nd cut is from a live Grand Ole Opry performance by Roy Acuff with The Solemn Old Judge, George D. Hay announcing the number, the last cut is by Fats Waller. Quite a variety for sure.
Happy listening!

Track list---
1. no idea who the first cut is or the tune, it`s a pop number
2. Roy Acuff - Wabash Cannon Ball from a live Grand Ole Opry show
3. Fats Waller - I Understand

Click here to download Howard Home Recording Disc

J.E. Mainer - Volume 13 & 14

2011-05-15T09:03:00.002-05:00

Here we are with the next two volumes in the J.E. Mainer series. Volume 13 is the first volume issued after J.E.`s death----

Track list----
1. Hush Money (sounds like a 1940`s hillbilly tune)
2. Diggin` Taters (this is actually the old time Liberty like the Skillet Lickers recorded, appears to be a Georgia tune)
3. You`ll Come To Me (don`t know this one)
4. Flop Eared Mule (the common old fiddle tune)
5. The Right Side (never heard this anywhere else)
6. After The Ball (the familiar old song, possibly with English roots)
7. Raggedy Ann (a common alternate title for Ragtime Annie)
8. Trusting You (sounds like a 1950`s-ish country tune)
9. Fatal Derby Day (an old English ballad popularized by Bradley Kincaid, also performed some by Grandpa Jones)
10. Bucking Mule (this don`t really sound like any mule fiddle tune I know except for the fiddle doing the mule bray)
11. Would You Care (an old tune Roy Acuff recorded, could be J.E.`s source)
12. Southern Melody (sounds like a tune made up by J.E.)
13. An Unfriendly World (don`t know this number, sounds almost Carter Family-ish)
14. Lie To Me Baby (sounds like a sort of 1940`s tune, I can imagine hearing this on a juke box in an old country beer joint somewhere way back in the woods)
15. Dance Around Little Lou (actually the tune is Skip To My Lou)
16. A Sinner`s Song (don`t know this song)
17. Keep Inching Along (sounds like this could have originally been a spiritual type religious song)
18. Nobody (a pop song hit from the early part of the 1900`s sung by Bert Williams)
19. Willie Green (never heard this one anywhere else, may have been inspired by some old blues song)
20. Chicken Reel (the common old fiddle tune)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer - Volume 13

Track list-----
1. I Don`t Mean To Cry When You`re Gone (unfamiliar song to me)
2. Peggy`s Special (this is an old Jenks "Tex" Carman tune he called Hillbilly Hula)
3. Gonna Raise A Rukus Tonight (common old song, I believe originally was a minstrel tune)
4. Sheeps In The Meadow (tune sounds similar to the Skillet Lickers tune Ride Old Buck To Water)
5. Blind Fool Crazy Fool (the common old song called Cabbage Head, or also Three Nights Drunk)
6. The Farmer Is The Man (an old Fiddlin` John Carson song)
7. Rattle Snake Daddy (an old Bill Carlisle he recorded in the 1930`s)
8. Kitty Wells (an old song that may have English origins, recorded originally by Bradley Kincaid and also Vernon Dalhart among others)
9. Old Joe Clark (the common old tune)
10. I`m Going Home (the tune is a common old tune for several different old songs, this set of words is unfamiliar to me though)
11. New Kingdom Coming (an old tune dating back to Civil War times, recorded in the 1920`s by Sam & Kirk McGee as Old Master`s Run Away. Often played as an instrumental)
12. Concord Rag (J.E.`s signature tune)
13. Long Journey Home (common old-time & bluegrass song, also called Black Smoke sometimes)
14. Georgia Black Bottom (the Cofer Brothers record from the 1920`s may have been the source for this tune)
15. Cripple Creek (one of the most common old numbers)
16. Bully Of The Town (a well known Uncle Dave Macon tune, originally a minstrel show and vaudeville number)
17. Why Did I Get Married (an unfamiliar song to me, done to the music from the Prisoner`s Song)
18. Johnson Boys (the common old number)
19. Snake In The Grass (an unfamiliar tune to me, may have spiritual type song roots)
20. You`re The Same Old You (not sure about this one, I believe I may have heard it as You`re The Same Old Used To Be)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer - Volume 14

Here is the text on the back of both of these LP`s----

My 78`s #6

2011-05-01T15:41:00.004-05:00

Stroup Quartet - Columbia 15299-D
The Man Behind The Plow / Dreaming - recorded April 20, 1928
A neat record that I thought would be gospel, but it isn`t. These are just two songs that sort of show off quartet singing. This is the only record this group made. They were likely from the Atlanta, Georgia area as this was recorded in Atlanta. Atlanta was a sort of a music center in the south that Columbia had at least two sessions a year. Columbia recorded MANY old-time country and blues artists in Atlanta.

Bennett Brothers/Brown & Edwards - Lyric 4146
The Memphis Blues/Dolores - likely recorded in the mid teens
A neat record with the famously popular tune Memphis Blues backed with an accordion duet on Dolores

Price Family Sacred Singers - OKeh 40796
I Went Down Into The Garden/Ship Of Glory - recorded March 27, 1927
Another group likely from the Atlanta area, as that is where it was recorded.

W.F. Narmour & S.W. Smith - OKeh 45242
Captain George, Has Your Money Come?/The Sunny Waltz - recorded February 15, 1928
Here is some of the oddest fiddle music ever recorded in my opinion. They are great, but do some things that today is mighty uncommon. Extra notes or beats in a line of music, or dropped beats in a measure etc. I really can`t believe that no company has ever issued their complete recordings.

Billy Golden/??? - Standard Disc Record A295 (I believe this would have been made from Columbia masters)
Turkey In The Straw/Why Don`t You Write When You Don`t Need Money - likely recorded between 1905 &1910-ish
CAUTION---this is an old "coon song" record. if you are offended by such material, please do not listen to this disc.
On the first side we have the delightful Billy Golden rendering his wonderfully ridiculous Turkey In The Straw. I know I`ve posted Billy Golden Turkey In The Straws before, but he recorded it for many different companies and each version has some variations in them.
I have no idea who the artist is on the other tune. I will never understand why they issued records with no artist credit, unless it was to dodge royalties, which were not a common practice at the time anyhow. Most artist in this era were payed a per side payment instead of royalties on disc sales.

John McGhee (as Jesse Oakley) - Supertone 9674
When The Harvest Days Are Over Jessie Dear/You`re Welcome As The Flowers In May - recorded February 3, 1930
Two old love songs. John McGhee recorded many, many sides. Most were either gospel type tunes or old songs of the type on this disc.

Billy Golden & Joe Hughes/Steve Porter - Victor 16141
Shipmates/Flanagan On A Farm - likely recorded around the late teens
CAUTION---side one is an old "coon comedy" and the other side is an Irish type comedy.
Billy Golden was mentioned above. Steve Porter was a comedian that usually performed as an Irishman. Such stereotypical comedy is taboo now but was very common from the mid 1800`s up into the 1920`s.

Rev. J.M. Gates - Victor 20365
Just As Soon as My Feet Strike Zion, Lord I Won`t Be Troubled No More/Adam And Eve In The Garden - likely recorded around 1927
A great preaching record by Rev. Gates. He recorded MANY discs and must have been popular.

Hilo Hawaiian Orchestra - Victor 21465
My Hula Love/Kawaihau Waltz - likely recorded about 1928
A couple of good Hawaiian numbers. Hawaiian songs were extremely popular from about 1900 on into the 1940`s.

Biltmore Kalaluhi Hawaiian Orchestra - Columbia A-2200
Medley Of Hawaiian Melodies/Kaui Kahio Medley - likely recorded around 1924
Seems every Hawaiian artist or band recorded a side called Medley Of Hawaiian Melodies. Good music.

Emry Arthur - Decca 5085
I`m Always Thinking Of You/Look Out For The Window - recorded January 17, 1935
This is a pretty rare record. Emry Arthur is likely most well known now for being the first person to record I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow, which became famous in the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou.

The Jenkins Family - OKeh 40214
The Church In The Wildwood/If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again - recorded August 28, 1924
Blind Andrew Jenkins was the leader of this family group. He was a blind preacher that lived in Atlanta. He wrote many gospel and topical songs in the 1920`s.

Billy Golden - OKeh 4249
Turkey In The Straw/Rabbit Hash - likely recorded in the teens.
These particular sides may not have actually been recorded by OKeh. They may have leased these sides from another company.
CAUTION---these are both "coon type" sides, performed in black dialect (but not necessarily in a racist way). Billy Golden was very well known for the performance of these two sides. They range from ridiculous to downright outrageous. There is certainly no way to describe Rabbit Hash. You just have to listen.

Van Eps-Banta Dance Orchestra - Pathe 20087
Pretty Baby/Teasing The Cat - likely recorded 1915-1920-ish
Two classic style banjo numbers. Fun stuff to listen to.

Click here to download My 78`s #6

Wayne Raney LP - The Big 18 (or...We Need A Lot More Of Jesus)

2011-05-01T14:19:00.004-05:00

Here is a good Wayne Raney LP that had been re-issued on the Old Homestead label. I don`t know why they changed the name of the LP. Oh well---listen and enjoy.

Click here to download Wayne Raney - The Big 18 aka We Need A Lot More Of Jesus

Jackie Phelps - Both Sides Of Jackie Phelps

2011-04-17T18:40:00.002-05:00

Here is a 7 inch LP of Jackie Phelps on the Edna label. I believe this was recorded soon before he passed away and was issued after his death. If you like it be sure to check out the other Jackie Phelps post in my blog.
Hope you like it!

Click here to download Jackie Phelps - Both Sides Of Jackie Phelps

J.E. Mainer - Vol. 11 & 12

2011-04-17T18:01:00.002-05:00

Here is the next two volumes in this J.E. Mainer series on the Rural Rhythm label---

Track list for Volume 11---

1. Wasn`t That A Mighty Storm (this is a unique tune to me, never heard it before)
2. Fishing Bait (likely from the Dixon Brothers 78)
3. Coney Isle (likely from Cowboy Copas` tune Alabam, which is a version of the old Frank Hutchison 78 titled Coney Isle)
4. Play Mates (an old pop tune that had been recorded by Riley Puckett, which could be the source of this version)
5. Dig A Hole (maybe from Bill Monroe`s Darling Cora)
6. The Swapping Song (possibly from Buell Kazee)
7. Take Your Blues And Go (I`ve never heard this anywhere els)
8. Put Your Arms Around Me (I know I`ve heard this before, but don`t know where from)
9. Where The Red Roses Grow (I`ve also heard this, but don`t remember where)
10. Fix Your Wagon (never heard this one before)
11. J.E.`s Hoedown (just an old fiddle tune J.E. may or may not have made up himself)
12. Down By The Railroad Track (could be from the Bradley Kincaid 78)
13. The Golden Willow Tree (possibly an old English ballad)
14. Punching Dough (never heard this one anywhere else)
15. Weary Miner Blues (don`t know this one, sounds a little Jimmie Rodgers-ish in style)
16. Pride Of The Prarie (another unknown to me)
17. He`s Coming To Us Dead (the old Grayson & Whitter tune)
18. Fox Chase (common old harmonica show-off tune)
19. Back To The Mountains (yet another one I`ve heard but can`t place where, uses the same music as Roy Acuff`s Gathering Flowers From The Hillside)
20. Wrong Key Hole (never heard this one anywhere else)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer - Vol. 11

Track list for Volume 12---

1. Two Little Girls In Blue (an old Bradley Kincaid tune)
2. Sally Ann (the common old fiddle number, related to Sail Away Ladies)
3. Go Right Back (don`t know this one)
4. Job`s Coffin (a very unique tune I`ve never heard anywhere else)
5. Bring It On Down To My House (the old Bob Wills number)
6. All Quiet Along The Potomac (never heard this one before)
7. Little Old Sod Shanty (tune from the depression years related, or inspired by, The Little Old Log Cabin In The Lane)
8. Old Fashioned Picture (an unknown tune to me)
9. Sister Kate (neat tune, unknown to me)
10. The Blue Juanita (a unique number unknown to me)
11. The Fatal Wedding (an old English ballad made popular by Bradley Kincaid, Grandpa Jones also used to sing it)
12. County Fair (Another one unknown to me, sort of has a show tune sound to it)
13. Traveling Man (a version of the old Dock Walsh number, also know as a Doc Watson tune)
14. Where You Gonna Hide (a gospel number unknown to me)
15. Just That Kind (another one I`ve heard but can`t place)
16. Six King`s Daughters (I believe this is an old English ballad)
17. A Baby For Sale (I think this is an old Bradley Kincaid number)
18. Bitter Creek Breakdown (just a bluegrass banjo number)
19. Keep Knocking (never heard this one anywhere before)
20. Old Napoleon (recorded by Riley Puckett as Wal I Swan, also recorded by the Skillet Lickers at a faster tempo as Giddap Napoleon)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer - Vol. 12

Armed Forces Radio & Television Service LP

2011-04-10T17:43:00.002-05:00

Here is sort of a unique item. I don`t really know anything about this type disc, except they were issued to be played over radio stations operated by the various branches of the service or at service recreation halls for entertaining the troops.
Hope you all enjoy it!

Scan of the paper sleeve it was issued in. I believe these were meant to be played only by the services a few times and then thrown away.

Click here to download Armed Forces Radio & Television LP

Bradley Kincaid 45 on the Royale label

2011-04-10T17:39:00.002-05:00

Here is a neat one. I don`t care to collect 45`s myself, but I do like this red one. Also, they are a couple of good recordings of these titles for Bradley.
If you like Bradley Kincaid, be sure to search my blog, there is several other Kincaid records on here.

Click here to download Bradley Kincaid - Royale 45

Juniorette Special - In The Best Circles They Are Dancing Square

2011-04-03T10:37:00.004-05:00

Here`s is something of an oddity. This is a 7 inch 78 made of paper, coated with, most likely, clear acetate. There is no artists names or song titles mentioned on the disc. This likely was issued in a paper sleeve that had that information on it. Of course, I don`t have the sleeve. The material is of what I`d say a late 1940`s version of an old time string band. Hope you like it!

Tracks list---
1. Little Brown Jug
2. Golden Slippers

Click here to download Juniorette Special - In The Best Circles They Are Dancing Square

Wayne Raney - Songs Of The Hills

2011-04-03T10:18:00.003-05:00

Here is a pretty good LP. It has about the biggest hits Wayne had on the King label. I`m not going to go into any history on Wayne, as I have posted another Wayne Raney LP before and Wrote about all I knew about him then. Just search my blog for Wayne Raney to find the other post. Hope you all enjoy this one!

Click here to download Wayne Raney - Songs Of The Hills

J.E. Mainer - Vol. 9 & 10

2011-03-26T11:02:00.003-05:00

Here is the next installment of the J.E. Mainer series. As can be heard, the farther along we get in the volumes, the more "bluegrassy" they sound, as more and more the band features Morris Herbert in sort of a lead role, almost replacing J.E. We are getting close to when J.E. passed away, maybe he was having some health problems and couldn`t come up with as many tunes to record, although he doesn`t sound like he is losing any of his musicianship as time goes on through the series.

Track List For Vol.9---
1. Rim Street Breakdown (not a familiar tune to me)
2. Silver Haired Daddy (first made popular by Gene Autry, before he was a cowboy)
3. Hang It In The Henhouse (a totally unfamiliar tune to me)
4. Six Months Ain`t Long (maybe from the Emry Arthur or the Rutherford & Foster 78)
5. Night Time In Nevada (no idea where this may have came from)
6. The Old Wooden Rocker (unfamiliar tune to me)
7. When The Roses Bloom Again (possibly from the Ernest Stoneman 78)
8. Tired Of The Same Thing (another unknown to me)
9. My Wife`s In Europe (likely from the Fiddlin` John Carson 78, called I`m Glad My Wife`s In Europe, concerning the ban on ocean travel during World War One)
10. I Found You Out (another unfamiliar tune to me)
11. Bread & Gravy (likely a depression era composition)
12. Coal Miner`s Grave (don`t know this one either)
13. Sally Goodin (the old fiddle tune)
14. Down In Arkansas (maybe from the old Sid Harkreader 78)
15. Hold Onto The Sleigh (likely from the Uncle Dave Macon 78)
16. Ghost Train (Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper recorded this, could be J.E.`s source for the tune)
17. Good Old Summertime (an old pop song, maybe from the Uncle Dave Macon parody of the tune)
18. Bachelor Blues (unknown tune to me)
19. Storms In The Ocean (likely from the Carter Family)
20. Lavender Cowboy (likely from the Vernon Dalhart 78, one of his last recordings)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer - Vol.9

Track list for Vol.10 - The Good Old Rebel---

1.The Rising Sun Blues (the common old song by this title, I believe first recorded in the mid 30`s by Roy Acuff)
2. I`m A Good Old Rebel (a unique set of words here to a common old tune, source unknown)
3. Somebody`s Waiting For You (sounds like this may be inspired by the Sam & Kirk McGee 78)
4. Pallet On The Floor (a common old tune, likely originating from an old blues tune)
5. Farmer Who Wouldn`t Hoe Corn (I know this was recorded in the 78 era, but I can`t remember by who)
6. Highway Man (likely from the old Charlie Poole 78)
7. Then I`ll Come Back To You (another old Charlie Poole number)
8. Don`t Whip Your Wife On Sunday (likely from an old Fiddlin` John Carson 78)
9. Black Jack David (the old English ballad)
10. Hold Onto The Plow (a common old tune with unique words with a slight gospel message)
11. Cherry Tree Caroll (an unknown song to me)
12. Al Smith For President (likely from the Uncle Dave Macon 78)
13. Dry & Dusty (a good fiddle tune, not an uncommon one)
14. Trade It For A Boy (I believe this was an old pop tune)
15. Way Down In Georgia (I don`t know this tune)
16. I Never Will Marry (I`m sure from the old Carter Family 78)
17. Knoxville Girl (a very common old English ballad, first recorded by Arthur Tanner I believe)
18. Old Man Came A`Courting (the old Uncle Eck Dunford 78 of Old Shoes & Leggins)
19. Farmer & The Devil (can`t recall where I`ve heard this, it`s a familiar one though)
20. Down Yonder (originally an old pop tune with words, adopted by old-time fiddlers, recorded many times in the 20`s)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer - Vol.10-The Good Old Rebel

Apology

2011-03-26T09:41:00.001-05:00

Sorry if you have had trouble downloading the Lonnie Glosson LP. The file service I use has changed the way they do things and I got the link to work, then it wouldn`t. Now I think I have it fixed ok.

Lonnie Glosson - All Harmonica - Volume One

2011-03-26T08:34:00.019-05:00

Here is an LP for a good blog friend of mine. I can`t really tell you any history of Mr. Glosson, other than what`s on the back of the LP cover. The only other thing is I believe I`ve heard that he lived up into his 90`s and still performed some up until nearly the time of his death.
I see this LP is called Volume One. As far as I know, there has never been a Volume Two. At least I`ve never saw a Volume Two.
Enjoy!

Click here to download Lonnie Glosson - All Harmonica-Volume One

J.E. Mainer - Vol. 7&8

2011-03-15T17:54:00.005-05:00

Here are the next two volumes in the J.E. Mainer series on the Rural Rhythm label.

Track list for Vol.7---

1. Cook`In In The Kitchen (no idea where this may have came from)
2. Stern Old Bachelor (from the old Carter Family 78)
3. Last Night When Willie Came Home (an old Uncle Dave Macon tune)
4. Carve That Possum Children (another Uncle Dave number)
5. Ain`t No Bugs On Me (likely from the Fiddlin` John Carson 78)
6. Baldheaded End Of The Broom (likely from the Walter Smith or George Reneau 78)
7. Rabbit In The Log (an old Monroe Brothers tune, but this isn`t similar to that version)
8. Everybody Works But Father (maybe from the Riley Puckett or Fiddlin` John Carson 78)
9. Tell `Em Lies And Feed `Em Candy (an old Porter Wagoner tune!)
10. Walking In My Sleep (I believe Fiddlin` Arthur Smith was likely the source for this)
11. Loving Henry Lee (not sure about this tune, it`s familiar but I don`t know where I`ve heard it)
12. Pat The Cross Eyed Butcher (a version of an Uncle Dave Macon number)
13. I`ve Still Got "99" (similar to the Riley Puckett 78 I`ll Never Get Drunk Anymore)
14. Good Old Bowling Green (maybe from Cousin Emmy)
15. Katie Dear (maybe from the Blue Sky Boys 78)
16. Old Dan Tucker (a common tune from a way long time ago)
17. Eat`In Up The Gravy (maybe from the Weems 78 of Davy)
18. George Collins (may be from the Roy Harvey 78)
19. Who Broke The Lock On The Hen House Door (could be from the Riley Puckett 78)
20. Did You Ever See The Devil, Uncle Joe? (no idea about this one, not similar to other tunes I`ve heard by this title)
21. The Gospel Way (don`t know this tune)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer - Whittlin` Fiddlin` And... - Vol.7

Track list for Vol.8---

1. Fallen Leaf (an unfamiliar tune about an Indian maiden)
2. Cacklin` Hen (very common fiddle tune, popular partly due to the fiddle "imitating" a cacklin` hen)
3. Mary Of The Wild Moor (likely from the Blue Sky Boys)
4. Let`s Go To Town (usually titled Goin` Down Town by Dr. Humphry Bate`s Possum Hunters or Lynchburg Town)
5. Picking Up Corn (don`t know this number)
6. Young Rodger The Miller (an ancient tune of English origin)
7. Your Bound To Look Like A Monkey (likely from the old Roy Harvey 78)
8. If You Should See Your Sister (not familiar to me)
9. Old Pine Tree (I believe this was originally an old pop tune)
10. Wild Cat Woman (an old Cliff Carlisle tune)
11. Bring Me A Leaf From The Sea (could be from the old Carolina Tar Heels 78)
12. Gambling On The Sabbath Day (maybe from the old George Reneau 78)
13. Alabama Gal (common old tune usually called Buffalo Gals now)
14. Short Life Of Trouble (the old Grayson & Whitter tune)
15. Swanee No Tunnel (likely from Buell Kazee`s Swannanoa Tunnel tune)
16. Big Ball In Town (an old Skillet Licker number)
17. Big Eyed Rabbit (common old banjo tune first recorded by Samantha Bumgarner)
18. Old And In The Way (likely from the Fiddlin` John Carson 78)
19. Over The Waves (the common waltz number)
20. Shadow Of The Pines (maybe from the old Kelly Harrell 78)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer - Vol.8

Tennessee Ernie Ford - When Pea-Pickers Get Together

2011-03-12T11:28:00.002-06:00

Well here`s something a little different. A 7 inch "LP". This was issued in 1963 I believe. I`m not going to go into any history on Tennessee Ernie Ford. There should be plenty of information on the web about him. After hearing this, I wonder of "Ol` Ern" may have been the original voice for the Jolly Green Giant.
The rear of the sleeve lists 4 tracks, there are actually an extra at the end that does not have Tennessee Ernie on it. Too bad the back of my sleeve has that tear on it. Enjoy!

Click here to download Tennessee Ernie Ford - When Pea-Pickers Get Together

J.E. Mainer - Volumes 5&6

2011-03-10T11:48:00.004-06:00

Here are the next two LP`s in this J.E. Mainer series.

Track list for Vol.5---

1. Man In The Wood Pile (likely from the Skillet Lickers record of Nigger In The Wood Pile, the tune is known as an instrumental by the titles Stoney Point & Wild Horses among a few others))
2. I Tickled Nancy (the old Uncle Dave Macon song)
3. Give Me Back My Five Dollars (another Uncle Dave Macon number)
4. Quit Kicking My Dog Around (another Skillet Licker tune)
5. Rise When The Rooster Crows (may have came from the Binkley Brothers record, they were an early outfit on the Grand Ole Opry)
6. Alimony (no idea where this comes from, sounds like something that may have been a novelty number from the 40`s or so)
7. I`m A Child To Fight (yet another Uncle Dave Macon tune)
8. My Gal Rides In A Wheelbarrow (a version of Uncle Dave Macon`s parody 78 of Listen To The Mocking Bird)
9. Great Big House (a version of The Old Grey Mare, sort of similar to the Skillet Licker`s record)
10. Down In Rockingham (a slower version of Earl Johnson`s 78)
11. Old Molly Hare (seems similar to the Skillet Lickers record)
12. My Daughter Wants To Marry (likely from the Uncle Dave Macon 78)
13. Farm Relief (another tune from the Uncle Dave Macon catalog)
14. Sugar Babe (not familiar to me, same tune as Fiddlin` John Carson`s It`s A Shame To Whip Your Wife On Sunday)
15. I Got Mine (likely from Fiddlin` John Carson or maybe the Skillet Licker`s 78)
16. When A Man Falls In Love (taken from Uncle Dave Macon`s Kissin` On The Sly)
17. I Don`t Reckon It`ll Happen Again (joke is likely from the old Charley Chase comedy record of about 1905-ish, song sounds similar to the Binkley Brothers 78 to me, but was a common tune of the 20`s)
18. Jordan Am A Hard Road To Travel - (maybe from the Riley Puckett 78)
19. Tell Me How Long (a version of Hesitation Blues, done by Charlie Poole as If The River Was Whiskey - Hesitation Blues was a very common tune to old-time music and blues pickers)
20. Hard Times On The Farm (from Gid Tanner`s 78 of Down On Tanner`s Farm)

Click here to down load J.E. Mainer - Vol.5

Track list for Vol.6---

1. Fill Me Up A Bottle (there is a 78 from the 20`s with this number on it, but I can`t seem to find who`s it was or the correct title they used)
2. All The Way Around My Susan (no idea where this comes from, I never heard it anywhere else)
3. Cotton Mill Colic (likely from the Dave McCarn 78)
4. Death Of Floyd Collins (a HUGE hit of a real event, written by Blind Andy Jenkins and recorded By Vernon Dalhart to great success)
5. Same Old Man At The Mill (I`ve heard this by The New Lost City Ramblers, no idea where J.E. may have got it)
6. My Baby`s Got Money All The Time (likely taken from Charlie Poole`s 78 of If I Lose, Let Me Lose)
7. Going To Georgia (probably from the Skillet Lickers 78)
8. Sinking Of The Titanic (written & recorded by Ernest "Pop" Stoneman, Vernon Dalhart also had a huge hit with it, a very popular song about 1925)
9. Keep Peace With Uncle Sam (there is a Charlie Oaks 78 titled The Kaiser & Uncle Sam, but I`ve never heard it, so I don`t know if they are related tunes)
10. Monkey On A Dog Cart (I`ve heard a similar tune, but can`t recall the title)
11. Do Around My Lindy (from an old Fiddlin` John Carson 78)
12. Good-Bye Booze (likely inspired by the Charle Poole 78, or possibly he may have had the Gid Tanner & Fate Norris 78, it was the same song but a much more comical version)
13. Baptized Sister Lucy Lee ( a great Lew Childre tune)
14. Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight (an old pop tune from the teens, likely J.E. got it from the Skillet Lickers 78)
15. Riley, The Furniture Man (likely from the old Cofer Brothers 78)
16. Where Were You When The Train Left Town (might be from the old Frank Hutchison 78)
17. Georgia Railroad (likely from the Gid Tanner & Riley Puckett 78, Fiddlin` John Carson done it as Peter Went A` Fishin`, surely a very old Georgia tune)
18. Knocking On The Hen House Door (surely from the old Dock Walsh 78)
19. Birminghan Will Win The Prize (this seems to be sort of a unique number to J.E., seems related to Darby & Tarlton`s 78 of Birmingham Town)
20. Going West In The Fall (not sure where this may have came from)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer - Vol.6 - Fiddling With His Girl Susan

Aunt Molly Jackson

2011-02-28T12:33:00.003-06:00

Here is an LP I couldn`t decide if I wanted to post or not. I really don`t care for this type of thing, but I know some of you folks who check out my blog will like it.
The only information I know about Aunt Molly Jackson is what`s on the LP cover and in the little booklet inside, which I have included in the post.

Here is scans of the booklet---

Click here to download Aunt Molly Jackson - Library Of Congress Recordings

J.E. Mainer on the Rural Rhythm label - Vol. 3&4

2011-02-26T11:02:00.003-06:00

Ok folks, here`s the next installment of this series. Sorry to be slow posting this, my computer has been in the shop and I`ve had to re-load much of my music on it.
One comment on the last J.E. Mainer post mentioned that his style is sort of the bridge between old time and bluegrass music, which is exactly right.
Some of these records are not in the best of condition, so---there may be some skips here and there, so I hope you still enjoy them.

Here is Volume 3---

Track list for volume 3---
1. Seven And A Half (seems to have been a Mainer tune)
2. Devilish Mary (likely the source for this was the Skillet Lickers)
3. Hannah (likely inspired by the Chris Bouchillon or the McGee Brothers 78)
4. Baby Buntin` (source unknown to me)
5. Ride Old Buck To water (an old Skillet Lickers tune)
6. Casey Jones (this was a VERY popular song when J.E. would have been young, recorded by many country and early pop artists)
7. Arkansas Traveler (would have been a very common tune, originally from the minstrel show stage)
8. Change In Business All Around (not sure of where this may have came from)
9. Polly Put The Kettle On (sometimes it`s Molly, likely from the Skillet Lickers version)
10. Shady Grove (the common old tune, done here in a major key, often played in a minor key, with the Jew`s harp)
11. Old Blind Horse (no idea where this comes from, possibly Chris Bouchillon)
12. Papa`s Billy Goat (likely from the Fiddlin` John Carson 78)
13. Burglar Man (likely from the Uncle Dave Macon 78)
14. Don`t Tax The Girls (likely from the Blind Alfred Reed 78)
15. Eleven Cents Cotton (likely from hearing Uncle Dave Macon on the Grand Ole Opry)
16. Home Sweet Home (commonly played as an instrumental in the county areas)
17. Shortenin` Bread (likely from the Skillet Lickers)
18. Johnny Get Your Gun (likely from the Earl Johnson 78)
19. I Had An Old Grey Mare (don`t know where this came from)
20. Alabama Camp Meeting (the actual tune seems related to an old song Uncle Dave Macon used to do on the Opry sometimes called Pray For The Lights To Go Out, the talking parts may come from an old "coon" comedy 78 I have heard somewhere)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer - Volume 3

And here is Volume 4---

Volume 4 track list---
1. Shoo Fly (a common old fiddle tune)
2. Darn Little Ford (possibly inspired by the old Oscar Ford records about Ford cars)
3. In The War (All Night Long) (likely inspired by another war type comedy song about the Spanish-American war)
4. Run Boy Run (likely from the Skillet Lickers as the tune Run, Nigger, Run , Also called Run Johnny Run)
5. Preacher And The Bear ( likely from Riley Puckett, this was a hugely popular song recorded around 1905 by either Arthur Collins or Byron Harlan, who were very big recording stars in the early days of the recording industry)
6. Jimmy And Johnny (no idea where this tune comes from)
7. Down In Union County (Roy Acuff often performed this in the late 30`s, Acuff was from Union County, Tennessee which is north east of Knoxville)
8. Why Do You Bob Your Hair Girls (from the Blind Alfred Reed 78)
9. Behind The Parlor Door (J.E. claims to have wrote this, but the Pickard Family had a tune similar to this, maybe J.E.`s inspiration for the tune, sort of a different interpitation of the Pickard`s tune)
10. State Of Arkansas (sort of a version of Uncle Dave Macon`s Misery In Arkansaw tune)
11. Girl I Love Don`t Pay Me No Mind (written and recorded by Fiddlin` Arthur Smith in the 30`s)
12. Cumberland Gap (the common old fiddle tune)
13. What`ll I Do With The Baby-O (Mainer`s record from the 30`s may have been the first)
14. Dixie Bee Line (this is, of course, the old Uncle Dave Macon tune)
15. From Jerusalem To Jericho (also known as an Uncle Dave Macon number)
16. I Killed Poor Liza Foster (likely inspired by the Grayson & Whitter 78 of Tom Dooley)
17. Living On The Farm (I have no idea where this comes from)
18. Whoa Mule Whoa (the common old fiddlin and banjo tune)
19. Chewing Gum (from the Carter Family version, not the Uncle Dave Macon tune)
20. Saving Up Coupons (sort of a popular tune during the depression, but I don`t know where it came from)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer - Volume 4

J.E. Mainer on the Rural Rhythm label - Vol. 1&2

2011-02-12T14:47:00.004-06:00

Here is a sort of a series I`m going to start. J.E. Mainer had at least 20 LP`s released on the Rural Rhythm label, as I have up to Vol. 20 (I`m missing Vol.17). There really isn`t a lot to say about J.E. as there is plenty of information about him on the web.
One thing I will say is that when he was learning to play that he must have listened to many 78`s, as his material covers many classic performances. I will give a few examples as we go through the collection.
The first two releases posted here didn`t have a volume number, but I call them Vol.1&2 due to the catalog numbers. I guess these two released sold enough to warrant more records being made. A few of the tunes in this series has been released on cd, but certainly not as a set of any kind.
I have not included scans of the backs of these LP`s as there is only lists of other Rural Rhythm releases in type so small you couldn`t read the scans anyhow. A few of the discs in this series do have information on them, and those that do will be scanned onto the blog page.

So... here we start with "Vol.1" titled Old Time Mountain Music

Track list for "Vol.1"---
1. Watermelon On The Vine ( a Skillet Licker & Uncle Dave Macon tune)
2. Hoop It Up Liza Jane (a Bradley Kincaid tune)
3. Sweet Sunny South (a Charlie Poole tune)
4. Shoot The Turkey Buzzard (an east Tennessee tune associated especially with Roy Acuff`s fiddling)
5. Oh! Those Tombs (another Roy Acuff tune)
6. Kenny Wagner (a Vernon Dalhart song)
7. Run Mountain (this tune seems to be unique to the Mainer`s)
8. Rock The Cradle, Lucy (a Skillet Licker song)
9. Don`t Go Out Tonight Little Darlin` (I think a Grayson & Whitter song)
10. Granny Kickin` Up Her Heels (I never heard this one anywhere else)
11. Johnson`s Old Grey Mule (Gid Tanner & Earl Johnson both had good versions of this in the 20`s)
12. Ticklish David (an old tune written & recorded by Cal Stewart aka Uncle Josh, also Uncle Dave Macon did this one)
13. Stayed In The Wagon Yard (a Lowe Stokes tune, also Grandpa Jones did it)
14. Gettin` There Rabbit (Samantha Bumgarner tune)
15. City On Mt. Zion (don`t know where this came from, likely a shape note song book)
16. Don`t Cry Honey (Riley Puckett sang this one with the Skillet Lickers)
17. Dance Around Molly (just a fiddle tune, recorded by Tommy Magness in the late 40`s for one)
18. Taby Let Your Hair Hang Down (unknown to me)
19. Me And My Gal (another mystery to me)
20. Jim Boy`s Breakdown (don`t know this one either)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer - Old Time Mountain Music (Vol.1)

Next is More Old Time Mountain Music (Vol.2)

Track list---
1. Jolly Blacksmith (a Theron Hale tune for one)
2. Hop Along Peter (a 20`s recording that I can`t remember the artist of right now)
3. Mainer`s Blues
4. Shout Lula (a common tune)
5. Wildwood Flower (of course we know this is a Carter Family tune!)
6. Down The Old Plank Road (an Uncle Dave Macon song)
7. Keep My Skillet Good And Greasy (another Uncle Dave tune)
8. Forty Years Ago (likely started as an old parlor tune)
9. Glass Number One (no idea about this one)
10. Railroad Bill (Riley Puckett recorded this one)
11. Blue Ridge Break Down (no idea about this one either)
12. Courtin` In The Rain (a Dock Walsh song)
13. Old Hen Sitting In A Chimney Jamb (a Skillet Lickers tune)
14. Donkey On The Track (likely from the Al Hopkins record)
15. Adam And Eve In The Garden (no idea here)
16. Get Away Old Man (a Vernon Dalhart number)
17. Jay Goose Is Dead (??? no idea)
18. Climbing Up The Mountain (don`t know this one)
19. Goodbye Little Bonnie (a popular song in the 30`s titled Bonnie Blue Eyes usually)
20. Hand Me Down My Peg And Awl (a Kelly Harrell tune)

Click here to download J.E. Mainer - More Old Time Mountain Music (Vol.2)

Pop Stoneman Memorial Album

2011-02-02T10:49:00.002-06:00

Here is one of my favorite Pop Stoneman LP`s! It`s all solo, just his voice and the autoharp.
I`m not going to go into any biographic information as there was a biography in the LP that I have copied to the posting.
ENJOY!!

Here is the biography from the LP. Just click on any picture to enlarge it.

Click here to download Pop Stoneman Memorial Album

Fred Van Eps & Vess L. Ossman - Kings Of The Ragtime Banjo

2011-01-24T09:34:00.003-06:00

If you like the old classic style banjo, this is a good record! I won`t go into any bio information on the men, there is plenty information about them on the web. The material is taken from old 78`s, maybe even some cylinders, but the sound quality is good.
Classic style banjo is a finger picking style using at time all 5 digits on the picking hand by some who play this style, so if you are thinking bluegrass or old time country styles of finger picked banjo sounds, you will be suprised by what you will hear. This style was applied almost exclusively to ragtime music. It`s almost shocking what they can play of music written mostly for piano. Ragtime is VERY notey music, so this is high quality picking... and these two men were certainly in the top five players of their time period. A few others that recorded this style that were some of the best that come to mind were Fred J. Bacon & A.A. Farland.
If you are unfamiliar with this style banjo playing, you should download this if you are a fan of banjo sounds. The style they played is not to be confused with tenor or plectrum banjo playing of later ragtime music and early jazz. ENJOY!

Click here to download Fred Van Eps & Vess L. Ossman - Kings Of The Ragtime Banjo

Jerry Byrd - Nani Hawaii 45 set

2011-01-12T11:33:00.003-06:00

Hello neighbors, we have had snow and it was 1 degree when I got up this morning. So, I thought a posting of Hawaiian music would be a good idea for today.
I posted another Jerry Byrd LP before, so if you want to read what I know about him, search for the other posting. This is a pretty cheap box set, there wasn`t even a track list on or in it. There are 3 45`s in this set, I think maybe it had 4 discs though. Of the 3 discs I have, there is a record number missing in the sequence, so that`s why I say that.

Track listing---
1. I Regret To Say Aloha
2. Maui Chimes
3. Little Lani Jo
4. Makalapua
5. Kaimana Hila
6. Hilo March

Click here to download Jerry Byrd - Nani Hawaii

Original Edison Recordings -First Recorded Railroad Songs By Vernon Dalhart

2011-01-02T10:40:00.003-06:00

Here is the other Vernon Dalhart LP of all Edison label recordings that I mentioned in my last post.
ENJOY!

Click here to download Original Edison Recordings First Recorded Railroad Songs By Vernon Dalhart

An Edison Memorabilia Of Vernon Dalhart - The First Singing Cowboy On Records

2010-12-25T11:05:00.004-06:00

This LP of Vernon Dalhart is made from Edison records. I`m not going to go into too much about Dalhart. It`s easy enough to find out about him on the internet.
I will say a few things. One fact was he had the first county record to sell 1,000,000 copies (Wreck Of The Old `97 / The Prisoner`s Song). He recorded for practically every label in existence in the 1920`s. He also used somewhere around 100 aliases to get around contract obligations between record companies.
Some Edison record company facts----Dalhart apparently auditioned at Edison to the man himself, Thomas Edison, who was practically deaf! Edison used a unique recording process where the sound was recorded on the disc (and cylinders) vertically (the sound waves on the records are up and down in the grooves, not side to side as most other companies). The vertical process (also called lateral or hill and dale by other companies that used this process) gives a little better sound quality usually than a horizontal groove to my ear. Edison pattended this process and defended it fiercely, forcing all other companies to use the horizontally recorded groove. This effectively drove Edison out of the record buissness because you had to have a special reproducer to play a vertically recorded record. Not a smart move for Edison. As far as I know, ALL records recorded since about 1930 (including LP`s to this day) are recorded with the horizontal groove system.
One little funny thing I find about this LP, it calls Dalhart "The First Singing Cowboy On Record", but, there is not one single cowboy song on the LP. He did record some cowboy material, so I don`t know why they didn`t find at least one for this LP.
Most of the songs are the old tear-jerker type. Also, there are a couple of bona-fide old-time songs mixed in with some topical songs of the times. Dalhart`s specialty seems to have been topical songs that were recorded as soon as written after some disaster of the day, such as a storm, mine cave-in, train or air-ship wrecks and murders.
I have another Dalhart record of Edison material I will post in a week or so-----hope you enjoy this one.

Click here to download An Edison Memorabilia Of Vernon Dalhart - The First Singing Cowboy On Record

Homer & Jethro Fracture Frank Loesser - 45 set

2010-12-14T20:45:00.005-06:00

I am not a fan of 45`s! Just the size of them are un-handy to me. When you try to clean them it`s really hard to keep them from slipping around. Also, the quality of the sound is never up to par with an LP to my ears for some reason. It`s time consuming to get them copied off also. I`d rather use that time on 78`s myself. Anyhoo....
Here is Homer & Jethro. They were a team that started in the 4o`s sometime, they may have even got going some in the late 30`s. Homer Haynes played guitar and Jethro Burns played mandolin. They were influenced by jazz music and were EXCELLENT pickers. They also had pretty good harmony together singing also.
I always thought Homer seemed funniest, come to find out Jethro wrote most of their songs and jokes.
Most of their material consisted of novelty songs, especially what Lonzo & Oscar called "No.2 songs" (Homer & Jethro`s And Lonzo & Oscar`s material was very similar, they even recorded many of the same tunes). A No.2 song was a mainstream song, usually one that had been a No.1 hit, that was taken and made a parody of. A good example is Baby, It`s Cold Outside (with June Carter). Often, a No.2 song would actually use No.2 in the title. An example would be Hank Snow`s hit Movin` On, which was parodied and recorded by both Lonzo & Oscar and Homer & Jethro as Movin` On No.2
All the song parodies here was written by Frank Loesser, thus the title. I don`t know anything about Mr. Loesser. Apparently, Mr. Loesser was a fan of Homer & Jethro`s parodies and loved it when Homer & Jethro parodied a song he wrote. I seem to remember reading somewhere once that he requested Homer & Jethro to do this album. I guess Mr. Loesser was a believer in the old saying "There is no such thing as BAD publicity." I wonder if any of these parodies boosted the sale of the "legitimate" version of the songs.
In my opinion, this is not one of Homer & Jethro`s better albums. I posted it just to get the 45`s out of the way so I could put them on the shelf. This album also came out on an LP. I`d say the LP may have been a 10 inch LP due to the number of songs. If it came out as a 12 inch LP I`d say it may have a couple more songs on it than this 45 set. I just don`t know about the LP size (or sizes) issued of this album.
ENJOY!

The next two scans are from the inside of the album---

This last scan is from the back of the album---

Click here to download Homer & Jethro Fracture Frank Loesser

My 78`s #5

2010-12-07T11:53:00.013-06:00

Obed Pickard / Columbia 15141-D
Bury Me Not On The Prairie/Kitty Wells / Recorded March 31, 1927
This is the first recording issued by Obed "Dad" Pickard. It`s neat the label says "of Station WSM, Nashvilee, Tenn" on it. Supposedly, Goerge D. Hay (who "invented" The Grand Ole Opry") set up this recording session for the Pickards, as they were artists on the Opry at this time.

Dan Hornsby Novelty Quartet / Columbia 15444-D
Take Me Out To The Ball Game/Hinky Dinky Dee / recorded April 14, 1929
Dan Hornsby worked for Columbia, apparently looking for hillbilly talent. He made several records on his own and was on many of the Skillet Licker skit records. It`s neat to hear a complete version of Take Me Out To The Ball Game, a great American tune.

Virginia Female Jubilee Singers / OKeh 4430
O Mary, Don`t You Weep, Don`t You Mourn/Lover Of The Lord / recording date unknown to me
Here`s a pretty neat record of a female quartet, likely recorded around 1926-ish. I know nothing about them. O Mary, Don`t You Weep, Don`t You Mourn is known as a tune mostly sung back then by black people and is a great old tune.

Vess L. Ossman / Victor 5056
Pretzel Pete March / recording date unknown to me
8 inch disc. Good classic style, finger picked banjo picking on this single sided disc.

Uncle Am Stuart / Vocalion 14841
Sally Gooden/Leather Breeches / recorded July 7, 1924
Good old-time fiddlin` Tennessee style. Apparently got a recording session for winning a fiddling contest. One of the earlier country records. Although many fiddlers recorded solo at this time, the record company, for some unknown reason, paired him with a studio musician on tenor banjo named Gene Austin, who went on to have a hit of his own a few years later in the pop field called My Blue Heaven, which was a HUGE hit.

Roy Acuff / un-issued test pressing
Coming From The Ball / recorded April 11, 1940
Great old-time tune featuring "Sister" Rachel Veach on 5-string banjo and harmony singing. Rachel Veach was a cousin of Sam & Kirk McGee, which one of them got Roy to audition her to join hi band. After she was with Roy awhile he started getting mail asking how a little single country girl could travel with a bunch of boys and keep her "respect". So, to please the fans she made his dobroist her partner as her brother. This is where Pete got the name of Bashful Brother Oswald, from Roy`s imagination.

Billy Golden & James Marlow / Par-O-Ket No. 78
The Liars/The Darkies Oration On "Woman" / likely recorded in the early teens
7 inch disc. Here is an old "Coon" record. So, BEWARE, if you are offended by this type of material, please do not listen to it. The Liars is sort of a contest to see who can tell the biggest lie. A fun record to hear on a very unusual, rare label. The record label is actually molded into the record. I included a picture of the sleeve also because it`s pretty neat.

Rev. J.M. Gates / Paramount 12416
Baptize Me/After A While - likely recorded about 1926 or 27
Pretty neat record with some preaching and acapella singing. There were many preaching records in the 20`s, but I have just recently discovered them myself and think they are fun to listen to.

Orchestra / Little Wonder 156
Kentucky Home / likely recorded in the teens
Neat record, a 5 inch disc.

Pappy "Gube" Beaver / Capitol 284
You Can Be A Millionaire With Me/Automobile Of Life / likely recorded about 1948-ish
I know nothing about Mr. Beaver. I don`t often get 78`s that are recorded after World War 2. I got this because Automobile of life is a Roy Acuff song, I believe written by Roy.

Billy Golden & James Marlowe / Pathe 29126
A Coon`s Attempted Suicide/The Curiosity Hunters / likely recorded in the teens
11 inch disc. BEWARE, this is a "coon"record. Pretty funny skits here, though.

Ed McConnell & Family / Columbia 15291-D
I Want To Be Like Jesus/My Loving Brother / recorded April 18, 1928
I know nothing about the McConnells. My Loving Brother is a fine gospel quartet side.

Len Spencer / Starr Record 3607
Musical Moke / likely recorded in the early teens
Single sided disc. BEWARE, this is a "coon" type side. Neat recording though.

Bob Ferguson & Charlotte Miller / Columbia 15657-D
Corn Pone And Pot Likker, Part 1&2 / recorded March 9, 1931
A comedy skit that`s pretty un-funny.

Charlie Oaks / Vocalion 15345
Home Of The Soul/Just Before The Battle, Mother / recorded August 4, 1926
I know nothing about him. Good solo record.

The Jenkins Family / OKeh 40249
Sail On/The Silver Lining / recorded August 28, 1924
The Jenkins family was led by the dad, "Blind' Andy Jenkins, who was a preacher in Atlanta, Georgia. He was well know for writing "event" songs, songs about stuff like storms, wrecks and murders. Likely his best know composition is The Death Of Floyd Collins, a song about a cave explorer who got stranded in a small passage by a rock that pinned his leg, he died before he could be rescued.

Riley Puckett / Columbia 15179-D
Twenty One Years/All Bound Down In Prison / recorded October 29, 1931
Both songs are jail tunes. Twenty One Years was a very popular tune.

Len Spencer & Gilbert Girard / Universal Zonophone Record No. C. 5478
Auction Sale Of Household Gods / likely recorded 1905-1910-ish
Old comedy skit, pretty neat to listen to.

Scottdale String Band / OKeh 45118
Stone Mountain Wobble/Carbolic Rag / recorded March 21, 1927
Good mandolin and guitar string band.

Billy Golden / American Record Company No. 67
Roll On De Ground / likley recorded 1910-ish
7 inch disc made of blue shellac. BEWARE, another old "coon" song. Fun record with a pretty label.

Click here to download My 78`s #5

3 good blogs

2010-12-06T19:27:00.003-06:00

I just discovered 3 blogs I like.
Hillbilly Researcher is almost all 78`s on small labels of 40-s & 50`s country and western swing type stuff
Mr. Meadowlark is mostly un-common county LP`s.
The Rockin` Gipsy has a pretty big bunch of stuff ranging from some 40`s country swing to rock up into the 60`s.
I`m linking to their pages on in the list on the left side of the page. Go check them all out!

Kirk McGee & Grady Sartain - Jo-Mar 45 #J-111

2010-12-03T19:52:00.005-06:00

WOW! Here`s a find if you are a Kirk McGee fan! I had no idea this even existed. I know nothing about this disc or the Jo-Mar label. It would be interesting to know when this was recorded.
I have no idea who Grady Sartain was (or is, he could still be living I suppose). Indiana Blues is a pretty good tune with some good old-time finger-picked guitar. No credit is given to the musicians on this side, but the other side says "Acc. By-Grady Sartain & Sam McGee", so by that and my ear it`s definately Sam playing guitar on this side.
On The Pig Ankle Rag, we have Kirk playing the 5-string banjo, old time finger pickin` style as only Kirk could. This is a new favorite recording for me! Sam on guitar and I assume Grady Sartain is playing bass.
ENJOY!

Click here to download Jo-Mar J-111

2 V Disc 78`s from World War 2

2010-11-15T20:12:00.002-06:00

Here is something I don`t really know anything about, the V Disc. These were made only by the most popular, well known artists of the day. They were used as a morale booster for the troops. I would assume the artists performed these sides for free to help the war effort.

The Roy Acuff songs are unique recordings, meaning these are not just dubs from their records that were out at the time. Before I ever had a V Disc I just assumed that they were made from current records at the time. This is not the case apparently, at least with the Acuff recordings. I know nothing about the pop music side of disc No. 127.

The Carson Robison tracks are pretty interesting. Carson Robison was a pretty prolific song writer (as well as a hugely popular country recording artist in the 1920`s and early 1930`s, often partnering with Vernon Dalhart) and according to the label he wrote these tracks. They are good examples of things that were accepted as morale boosters to the troops and here at home. These tracks would likely be considered to have some racist type remarks in them by today`s "politically correct" standards. SO----listener, beware.

Click here to download V Disc 127 & 145

Gene Martin - Country & Western Confidential - A Backstage Expose - Starday LP

2010-11-06T11:06:00.005-05:00

Here is sort of a rare record. Gene Martin doing a comedy record. "Who is Gene Martin?" you may be saying right now. Gene was Benny Martin`s brother. He was a good guitar player and had what I`d call just a good plain country voice. I don`t really know any particulars on him except in the 1960`s and into the mid 1970`s he played rhythm guitar in Roy Acuff`s Smoky Mountain Boys (seems I have posted a lot of Smoky Mountain Boy related stuff lately). He also done some solo stuff with Roy on the shows. Also, he done a few comedy type numbers and sang duets with whatever girl singer Roy was using at the time, such as June Stearnes.
On this record, he does comedy almost entirely with impersonations of big country artists. Most of the tracks are pretty funny to me. He pretty much hits a bulls-eye with most of the impersonations too.

Click here to download Gene Martin - Country Music Confidential

Good blog I just discovered

2010-10-30T14:57:00.003-05:00

I just found another good blog page. It`s mostly traditional bluegrass stuff at ---

www.marines12.blogspot.com

I`m going to link to it where the other blog links are on the left side of the page.

Jackie Phelps Starday LP - Golden Guitar Classics

2010-10-21T14:22:00.002-05:00

Here`s a good, country electric guitar record. Jackie got started as a professional musician in the late 40`s by my estimation. He could play about anything. I have heard recordings with him on 5-string banjo playing "sort of bluegrass" with what I believe to be 2 finger picking. He was also a good lap steel picker. I think I have saw a film clip of him playing lap steel with Lonzo & Oscar before. Probably the best place to look for Jackie early in his career is in the old Gannaway Country Show films from about 1952 -1955-ish where he plays electric lead guitar in some episodes on a pretty strangely shaped guitar. He wasn`t the very best electric guitarist, but in the 50`s was likely in the top 10 in country music. He also done studio session musician work in the 50`s and 60`s, so there`s no telling how many times we may have heard him and didn`t know it was him. He played in Roy Acuff`s Smoky Mountain Boys for most of the 60`s, possibly starting in the late 50`s.
What Jackie is most famous for though was his career on Hee Haw. He temed up with Jimmie Riddle to do the Eeephin` & Hambone act. Hambone is a technique of slapping various body parts with your hand (or hands) to make "music", mostly a rhythm technique. Jackie was the Hambone part of the act. There is some videos on You Tube of them from Hee Haw doing their act.
Enjoy this one!

Click here to download Jackie Phelps - Golden Guitar Classics

Jimmie Riddle - harmonica, accordion & piano picker & Eeepher

2010-10-18T23:15:00.004-05:00

Here a nice LP by a great artist. Jimmie started professional music with the Swift Jewel Cowboys (which I`ve never heard or know anything about) In the late 30`s on accordion. Then, about 1940 or 41 Roy Acuff hired him. At first he played mostly accordion (for some reason accordion was popular in country music then, likely due to the popularity of Pee Wee King. Bill Monroe even used one for awhile.) As time went by through the 40`s he gradually switched to mostly harmonica. Listen to Roy Acuff recordings in the 40`s to really hear Jimmie.
Jimmie was a GREAT harmonica player. Besides playing and recording with Acuff, he was a session man on many records in the 60`s.
He was well known for making and imitating all sorts of sounds. One thing he was famous for was the great old harmonica standard, The Fox Chase, and was very good at making the sounds with his harp and voice.
Now friends----the thing he is best remembered for is his stint on Hee Haw with Jackie Phelps (Phelps had played electric guitar with Acuff in the 60`s and him and Riddle got together then) performing their act of Hambone and Eeephin`. If you ever saw it one single time you`ll remember it. I loved it when I was a kid.
Now a little about the LP. It`s a good harmonica record, but don`t really capture Jimmie somehow for me. Still a good download though.

Click here to download Jimmie Riddle - Country Harmonica

Here is where Jimmie really starts to get interesting (at least to my warped taste). I have included scans of both the promo copy and the public issue of the 45.

Click here to download Jimmie Riddle - Decca 45

Now we are gonna get just plumb ridiculous! I had found a few things of Jimmie on the internet about Eeephin`.
Track list----
1. Jimmie`s Eeephin` Lesson
2. Little Eeephin` Annie (an early 60`s release by a rock artist I can`t remember the name of, so sorry)
3. Last known recording of Jimmie Eeephin`

Click here to download Jimmie Riddle Eeephin`

I have heard a rumor that Jimmie recorded another LP, but have never been able to find one or any information about it. PLEASE contact me through the blog if you have any information about it.

Below is a picture of a cd that is available of Jimmie Riddle and Jackie Phelps. It was apparently recorded and never released by Starday on LP for some reason. If you like the downloads, you`ll really like the cd. Huntin` Blues is a great one!!

New blog found

2010-10-13T10:53:00.003-05:00

There is a new, promising looking music blog everyone should check out. It`s called Folk Archivist and the address is---

www.folkarchivist.blogspot.com

I`m linking to it under the Friends Of The Archive list at the left side of the page----Allen

Sam & Kirk McGee and The Crook Brothers - Opry Old Timers LP

2010-10-11T11:31:00.003-05:00

A Very aptly named album. The Crook Brothers and Sam & Kirk McGee had been on the Grand Ole Opry from it`s birth pretty much (at least within about 6 months of it`s birth) till each one of them passed away. Sam McGee passed away in 1975 (on the Opry 50 years) and Kirk in 1983 (on the Opry 58 years). Herman Crook passed away in 1988 at age 89 and was still performing, very well at that (on the Opry 63 years, a record I believe).
On thing that made the Crook Brothers unique was that they were led by Herman`s harmonica as lead instrument, not the fiddle. The Crook Brothers were originally Herman and his brother Matthew playing twin harmonicas. Sometime around 1929, Matthew quit to become a policeman, leaving Herman as the groups star. From that time on the group featured twin harmonica and fiddle as the lead instruments, still pretty unique. Also, Herman added another member to the group on banjo, Lewis Crook. As unusual as Crook is for a last name, Herman and Lewis were not related. Herman and Lewis were both in the band till Herman passed away in 1988. Here`s a little known piece of Opry trivia---in the early days of the Opry, the Crook Brothers occasionally featured a vocal tune. Lewis Crook was the first person to sing Will The Circle Be Unbroken on the Opry. This song has became somewhat of an anthem for country music.
The McGee Brothers, Sam & Kirk, were pretty popular stars in their time. Discovered by none other than Uncle Dave Macon, they teamed up with Macon and got started in their musical careers that way. Sam was a virtuoso finger-picker on the guitar in the old country-parlor style and was also very blues influenced. He also played 5-string banjo and banjo-guitar. Kirk was a really good 5-string picker, both in clawhammer style and 2 finger style. He was also a good 2 finger guitar player. He also played fiddle some. Sam`s vocals leaned toward comic and novelty songs while Kirk leaned towards sentimental type tunes. They were popular Opry performers all through the years.
The songs on this record are all good`uns. All the Crook Brothers tunes are songs you would expect to hear a Tennessee string band play. The McGee`s tunes are a little more varied. ALL are great tunes, both for the songs and the musicianship.
In the download I have included a song not on the LP. The tune is Lost Indian by the Crook Brothers. It was recorded at the session but not released on the record. It was released on one of the many Starday various artist LP`s. I wonder how many tunes was recorded by each group that wasn`t released. Sam & Kirk made many records through the years, but Herman Crook was reluctant to make records for some reason. I heard that this sold well enough that Herman was approached again to record and just wouldn`t, too bad for us.
Hope you enjoy this one!

Click here to download Opry Old Timers - Sam & Kirk McGee and The Crook Brothers

Obray Ramsey - Blue Ridge Banjo

2010-09-29T13:34:00.002-05:00

This is the last Obray Ramsey LP I have. As far as I know, all of them I have posted on the blog are all he recorded.
There is nothing more I can really say about Mr. Ramsey that I haven`t already said in other posts. If you are interested in and like this LP, search the blog for the others.
Happy listening!

Click here to download Obray Ramsey - Blue Ridge Banjo

Voices Of Lynchburg LP - very unique!

2010-09-25T14:29:00.002-05:00

Here is a really neat record. This was recorded at Lynchburg, Tennessee in the late 1970`s I`d say. Someone went down there and just recorded stories about the area from some local old timers. Of course, Lynchburg is famous for one thing mainly, the Jack Daniels distillery is there. I have been to Lynchburg about 5 years ago, and it`s a pretty small, remote place even today. Of course, we don`t know any of the folks on this record personally, but it`s still really interesting.
Enjoy it!

Click here to download Voices Of Lynchburg

The New Lost City Bang Boys - Earth Is Earth 7 inch "LP"

2010-09-20T21:38:00.003-05:00

Here is a rare one, at least it took me about five years to find it. The New Lost City Bang Boys is of course The New Lost City Ramblers.
Now I`m gonna explain why the Ramblers are using an alias. This little LP has four songs that they considered to be a bit naughty (which all but one would not even put a stray thought in your head by today`s standards). Only one of them seems naughty today, When Lulu`s Gone, because the lyrics are pretty much straight out suggestive. Well, it just happens that the tune When Lulu`s Gone was recorded by Roy Acuff (The King Of Country Music which used gospel songs for a pretty large part of his song library) in 1936. The song seemed naughty enough to Roy that he didn`t want the record issued with his name on it. So-----someone came up with The Bang Boys instead of using Roy Acuff & His Crazy Tennesseeans (the name Smoky Mountain Boys wasn`t used until they got on the Grand Ole Opry). That is neat, little known Roy Acuff trivia fact. I guess The New Lost City Ramblers thought it would be funny to sort of spoof The King Of Country Music, Roy Acuff (and they were right in thinking so I think, it`s just funny to me).
So----enjoy the tunes!!

Click here to download The New Lost City Bang Boys - Earth Is Earth

78`s - #4

2010-09-17T08:37:00.005-05:00

Melton & Waggoner - Columbia 15423-D
In The Hills Of Old Kentucky (My Mountain Rose)/Underneath The Cotton Moon - recorded October 30, 1928
This is the only record this duet made. Melton possibly recorded some with other people.

Mr. & Mrs. J. Douglas Swagerty - OKeh 45291
There`ll Be No Sorrow There/I Gave My Life For Thee - recorded August 13, 1928
These artists recorded several sides, this is the last record they had issued. On the There`ll Be No Sorrow There side, my disc has some stripped grooves at the beginning, all that is missed is a guitar chord for the singers to get started on key, so I just edited the bad grooves out. I`m not a particular fan of this style of gospel singing for sure, way too formal sounding.

Oscar Seagle - Columbia 61-M
I`se Gwine Back To Dixie/A Banjo Song - recording date unknown to me
I know nothing about this record. I got it because I thought it might have classic style banjo, but there is no banjo at all on it.

Fiddler Joe & His Boys - OKeh 45042
Turkey In The Straw/Arkansaw Traveler - recorded March or April 1926
When I listened to this I thought they sounded like a studio musician group. Come to find out I was right. Fiddler Joe was a New York based studio musician names Joseph Samuels. He made a few other "Old-Time" records also.

Red Mountain Trio - Columbia 15369-D
Sailing Down The Chesapeake Bay/Dixie - recorded October 1, 1928
Great Hawaiian guitar, country style here. This is a group headed by Jimmy Yates, which also recorded under the name Jimmy Yates` Boll Weevils, The Northlanders, and The Four Buzz Saws (what a crazy name!).

Victor Military Band - Victor 17340
The Horse Trot-One Step/Down Home Rag-Turkey Trot
Great ragtime band sides!

Louise & Ferreira/Waikiki Hawaiian Orchestra - Edison 50369
Medley Of Hawaiian Airs-No.2/On The Beach Medley - recording date unknown to me, likely mid to late teens
Good Hawaiian gutars here in the earliest Hawaiian style, unfortunately the recordings are very "low-fi". Likely this was disc dubbed from cylinder recordings. I tried to boost up the music the best I could.

Oliver & Allen - Bluebird B-7175
Darling, The Sunshine Grows Brighter/Let`s Be Sweethearts Again - recorded August 5, 1937
Nice duet singing. This is from the only session they recorded. Let`s Be Sweethearts Again is a great old love (or lost love) song and one of my favorites.

The Pickard Family/Kanawah Singers - Supertone S2068
Get Me Out Of This Birmingham Jail/Mountains Ain`t No Place For Bad Men - recorded October 29, 1929/July 18, 1929
I still don`t understand why they issued discs with a different artist on each side. Neither group has a hardcore old-time sound, but I still like the Pickard Family. The Kanawah singers sound very much like a Vernon Dalhart group record.

Riverside Ramblers - Bluebird B-6926
Wondering/Dissatisfied - recorded February 22, 1937
This group is actually The Hackberry Ramblers, whose recordings were in French (Cajun French). They used this name when recording in English.

Sousa`s Band - Victor 1182
Creole Bells - recording date unknown by me, could be anywhere between 1905 to 1915 I`d say
Everybody knows what to expect to hear when they hear the word Sousa. Think fourth of July brass band music. Great single sided disc!

Evan Douglas & Nate Smith (Kirk McGee & Blythe Poteet) - Champion 15651
If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again/If I Could Only Blot Out The Past - recorded November 27, 1928
I have posted this before I believe, but this is a different copy and I think the sound is a little better. Seems record labels or the 20`s would issue records on their secondary labels (Champion was a Gennett label) under different artist names to avoid paying royalties. Wonder why country folks were always suspicious of big city companies???!!!

Billy Golden & Billy Heins/Billy Golden & Empire Vaudeville Co. - Edison 50605
Good And Bad/Turkey In The Straw - recording date unknown to me, likely 1915-1920-ish
WARNING - this disc is an old "darkey" comic recording and does use a racist word a little. PLEASE - if you are offended by this type recording, DO NOT listen to it.
Actually, this is a VERY mild "darkey" record. If you listen and replace the racist word with your best friends name, it is a pretty funny record.

Orchestra (unknown artists) - Little Wonder Records No.153
Medley No.4 - recorded I believe in the late teens or very early 20`s
Neat little record measuring 5 1/2 inches across. For a disc so small that was recorded before microphones were used, it has suprisingly good sound. Smaller discs like this often have poor sound. This is also a single sided disc. Nice record!

Click here to download 78`s #4

Southern Mountain Folksongs And Ballads LP on the Riverside label

2010-09-10T11:36:00.003-05:00

Here is another good LP with various old-time artists from the late 60`s or early 70`s. There is some fine stuff here. I recommend downloading it. Artists include Artus Moser, Harry & Jeanie West, George Pegram, Walter Parham, Virgil Sturgill And Obray Ramsey. This LP is sort of like a sampler, some (if not all) of these tracks maybe on another LP printed sometime.
Hope you enjoy it!

Click here to download Southern Mountain Folksongs and Ballads

Fiddlin` Arthur Smith - Rare Old Time Fiddle Tunes

2010-09-02T11:04:00.002-05:00

Here is a great one! This is certainly my favorite recordings of Fiddlin` Arthur Smith. He was great in the 50`s on the Folkways records with Sam & Kirk McGee, but for some reason this disc really appeals to me. I especially like the song Louise, which I`m assuming Smith made up. It`s sort of a novelty number without going overboard into trick fiddling.. Also, Arthur`s son Earnest is playing back-up guitar and for some reason his style of back-up really sounds good with Arthur. This is just a good all-around fiddle album.
Hope you enjoy it!

Click here to download Fiddlin` Arthur Smith - Rare Old Time Fiddle Tunes

Obray Ramsey & Byard Ray - File Under Rock

2010-08-23T14:47:00.003-05:00

Here is a strange LP. At first I thought the name of the record was White Lightnin` and that File Under Rock was just for people working at the record store. Come to find out that the duet is called White Lightnin` and the name of the album is File Under Rock. Most of you have downloaded the other Obray Ramsey LP`s I`ve posted (they have been some of the most downloaded posts) and know Obray was a pretty straight old-time style musician. This album is just weird, they are backed by choirs on some track and some feature instrument back-up that is strictly NOT old time, thus File Under Rock I suppose. This is by a far piece my least favorite record of Ramsey & Ray (I`m pretty hard-core on my old-time likings), but decided to post it as I had a few people ask if I had this one. I do have one more Obray Ramsey LP I will post soon, it`s the only other one I have and as far as I know it`s the only other LP Ramsey made. Where else could you hear them all?
Happy listening!

Click here to download Obray Ramsey & Byard Ray - File Under Rock

The Armstrong Twins - 2 LP`s

2010-08-19T09:59:00.004-05:00

Here is a group that I don`t really know anything about. We know that brother groups were very popular in the 30`s into the early 40`s, because of their close harmony. So, TWIN harmony should be REALLY close. These two do hit it pretty good.
This first LP is from mid-40`s recordings. They do songs from traditional country tunes to what might qualify as rock-a-billy.

Click here to download The Armstrong Twins - Hillbilly Mandolin

This second LP was recorded after their "re-discovery" after the first LP was issued. The liner notes sort of tell the story.
This LP shows a heavy influence of Roy Acuff on their music over the years. Seven of the fourteen songs were Acuff numbers, some quite popular tunes, some sort of obscure Acuff recordings, such as Greenback Dollar and Beautiful Brown Eyes (of course these were common traditional songs and may have been learned elsewhere.
Listen and enjoy!

Click here to download The Armstrong Twins - Just Country Boys

Molly O`Day - The Living Legend Of Country Music

2010-08-13T13:27:00.003-05:00

We are overdue for a posting of the great Molly O`Day! Sorry, I don`t know a whole lot about her.
First I`ll talk a little about the voice of Molly O`Day. She has an unusually strong voice for a woman. She sings in the mountain style, but not at all with a nasal voice as many home recordings of mountain women had. Molly really belts it out there, sort of makes me think of the pop star Kate Smith. Some people called her the female Roy Acuff. I don`t know if Molly tried to pattern her vocals after Roy or not, but you can`t help but think of Roy when you hear Molly sing. Although this LP is all gospel music, she recorded many Roy Acuff songs in the 40`s. The blog Visit Me In Music City (which is listed on the left side of my blog page) has two downloads of Molly`s earlier country & gospel material. It`s ALL great, I highly recommend downloading it.
Now a little about her banjo pickin`. She had a great, driving, rhythmic style. She could really beat the fire out of the old 5 string. She was just a great artist all around.
As she got older, she became highly religious and mostly abandoned country music for a ministry of gospel music with her husband. I read a story once that she became really insecure about her voice (which is crazy!) as she grew older. The article said in the late 70`s or early 80`s she had a recording session set up and when the dat came she kept putting it off. Turns out she would get so worked up and nervous about the session she would lose her voice by the time the date came around. Too bad we couldn`t hear more of her, there really isn`t all that many recordings of her. I do have a couple of other LP`s of radio broadcasts I will post sometime.
Happy listening!

Click here to download Molly O`Day - The Living Legend Of Country Music

Correction for The New Lost City Ramblers LP - Old Timey Songs For Children

2010-08-09T10:20:00.004-05:00

Hello folks! When I posted this LP below I failed to get the song Barbara Allen in the download file. I have just added Barbara Allen to the file. So---if you want the song Barbara Allen also, just download the file again and it will be there with the rest of the songs. Sorry for the flub up! Hope you enjoy the post.

New Lost City Ramblers 10 inch LP - Old Timey Songs For Children

2010-08-07T13:26:00.006-05:00

10 inch LP time! I can`t believe in 1959 anyone would still issue a 10 inch LP. Oh well----it`s a good one.
I`m not going to go into any information about the New Lost City Ramblers. There is plenty of information on the internet about them.
Hope you all enjoy this one!

Track list from back of LP---

They sure didn`t go to any trouble to design a back for the record jacket, just this narrow song list and black otherwise.

Click here to download The New Lost City Ramblers - Old Timey Songs For Children

Click here to download booklet that came with this LP

Bashful Brother Oswald & Charlie Collins - That`s Country LP on the Rounder label

2010-07-06T20:42:00.002-05:00

Here`s the Oswald LP I mentioned in the other post. What a great name for a country record! Charlie Collins is featured on some of the songs as lead performer.
One little note----the song list on the back of the LP cover is not in the right order of the songs on the actual disc, although all the songs in the list is on the LP.
I hope you can read the back of the album cover, dark brown print on light brown background is hard to see sort of. As always, just click any picture to enlarge it.
Hope you enjoy!

Click here to download Bashful Brother Oswald & Charlie Collins - That`s Country

Bashful Brother Oswald - Dobro & Banjo LP on the Tennessee Records label

2010-07-06T20:03:00.002-05:00

Here is another LP by one of my favorites, Bashful Brother Oswald. I believe this is a quite rare reord, I didn`t even know this existed till I found it on ebay one day. There`s some great music here. Most of these tunes are not songs Oswald routinely performed.
The Tennessee Records label was a label that dobro picker Tut Taylor had in the 1970`s. I have no idea how many records Tut released on this label.
One interesting thing on this album is the first song is sort of an advertisement. Oswald mentions he`s going to pick banjo the way the Tennessee mountain banjo style. Tut Taylor also owned and ran Tennessee musical instrument building company and had a model of open back 5 string banjo that was supposedly the "Oswald" model. I have got to actually play one (likely wasn`t many made) and it was a good `un. There was also a Grandpa Jones model planned. I don`t know if either model was ever put into production. There was also an "Oswald" model dobro, but I`m sure there was very few if any built.
We have the usual crew here for an Oswald record---fellow Smoky Mountain Boy Charlie Collins, Norman Blake, Tut Taylor and someone named Dave Daughtery, which I know nothing about.
I`m sure th instruments in the LP cover picture are "Oswald" models, too bad they can`t be seen well. On another Oswald LP called That`s Country I`m 100% sure the banjo in the picture on the album cover is an "Oswald" model. The one that I played had identical inlays on the finger board. Now I`ll have to post that record so you can see the banjo.
Happy listening!!

Click here to download Bashful Brother Oswald - Banjo & Dobro

Kirk McGee LP on the MBA label - Mister Kirk - 54 Years Of Country Pickin`

2010-06-06T11:02:00.007-05:00

Sorry to be slow about posting lately. Here`s a good `un! The last recordings made by Kirk McGee as far as I know. Kirk May have been 81 years old but he was still in fine form.
Some of the songs on this were written by Kirk, as noted in the track list from the cover. Also, his daughter Ona wrote a song included here too.
Most of the songs feature Kirk on finger picked guitar. He wasn`t as proficient as his brother Sam on guitar, but was still a pretty fine picker.
One of the songs feature Kirk`s great banjo stylings on a song Uncle Dave Macon was well known to play, Bound To Go. Too bad there is only one banjo tune here, Kirk was a great 5 string picker, my favorite.
Likely the best known song on this LP was one Kirk wrote, Blue Night, which was recorded by Bill Monroe. I`ve never heard the Bill Monroe recording though.
There a a couple really dark songs here that Kirk and his daughter wrote, Dark Clouds and The End Of Forever. Dark Clouds is an especially odd song to me. Not a good one to listen to if you already have the blues! Kirk`s guitar is great on this song though.
One more little note, the LP cover has Sinner`s Prayer listed 2 times on side one as track 7 & 8. Of course the tune isn`t on here twice, it`s just a typo. The LP only has 15 tunes on it, not 16.
Listen and enjoy!!

Click here to download Mister Kirk - 54 Years Of Country Pickin`

Banjo Pickin` Girl - Vol.1 LP

2010-05-08T12:37:00.002-05:00

Sorry it`s been a while since I`ve posted anything. Been busy lately working at night some long shifts and that don`t go so good with other activities!
Here`s a mighty good LP with some sort of unusual songs. The tunes range from hard core old-time to near pop.
Here is just a few facts from the shadows of my mind on a few of these artists---
Eva Davis & Samantha Bumgarner was the first female duet to record country music (for Columbia in 1924)
Roba Stanley was the first female solo artist to record a country tune (for OKeh)
Moonshine Kate was the daughter of Fiddlin` John Carson.
The Bowman Siters were the daughters of Charlie Bowman, a famous old-time fiddler from the 1920`s that played with The Hill Billies that recorded for Brunswick (they were the first group to use the word (s) hill billie (or hillbilly - however you want to spell it)
Rubye Blevins became the well known Patsy Montana.
Unfortunately I don`t have the book that came with the LP, nor do I have vol.2 of this. I don`t even know if vol.2 was ever even issued.
Enjoy!

Click here to download Banjo Pickin` Girl - Vol.1

Obray Ramsey Sings Jimmie Rodgers Favorites - LP on the Prestige/International label

2010-04-14T16:57:00.003-05:00

Here is on more Obray Ramsey LP. If you like this I encourage you to go back in the blog and find the other Obray Ramsey LP`s I have posted in the past.
The Obray Ramsey records I have posted in the past had more response from fans of the Archive that any other records. I do have one more of his LP`s I will post soon. Sorry the scans of the back of the LP cover don`t line up so well, I have to make more than one scan to get the whole cover. Hope you enjoy this one!

Click here to download Obray Ramsey Sings Jimmie Rodgers Favorites

Jerry Byrd - Steel Guitar Favorites

2010-04-05T00:31:00.003-05:00

Jerry Byrd was arguably the best lap steel player of all time. I`m not going to attempt to go into any biographical information on Jerry Byrd, as there is plenty of information about him on the internet.
This LP has some great songs and is very well titled as Steel Guitar Favorites. About all the tunes are required standards of lap steel and even if you play country Dobro, these are still great tunes in that style.
Most of these tunes are old standard Hawaiian type songs, although the tunes are not "real" Hawaiian tunes. Steel Guitar Rag is likely the best known tune here, but was originally recorded as Guitar Rag by Roy Harvey & Leonard Copeland in the late 20`s in a standard guitar duet. Lime House Blues was a hit of Sol Hooppi, a popular Hawaiian player in the 20`s & 30s.
About my favorite here is Wabash Wah-Wah Blues. I play Dobro and sometimes play the old Wabash Blues. The "wah-wah" is an effect Jerry Byrd pretty much invented that can be made only with the old electric steel. I don`t play lap steel, but I believe the "wah-wah" effect is made either by tweaking the volume of the tone knob up and down quickly.
Jerry Byrd is hugely responsible for the steel guitar being used in country music. He is also enormously responsible for keeping Hawaiian music popular after the Hawaiian music "boom" of the teens, 20`s and early 30`s started dying out.
Enjoy this great record! Listen to it and you`ll see how much influence Jerry has had on country music sounds we heard in the late 40`s and 50`s and later.

Click here to download Jerry Byrd - Steel Guitar Favorites

How I pick 78`s to post

2010-03-30T03:32:00.002-05:00

When I pick 78`s to post I have no "system" of picking them. I just get a pile of them out and go through and pick a dozen more or less to copy to cd. Maybe one of these days I`ll make a 78`s posting with a theme of some sort or something like that. I think it`s likely easier to listen to a variety download anyhow.

Another bunch of old 78`s!

2010-03-30T02:19:00.005-05:00

My Own Iona/Carolina Glide - OKeh 45142
Scottdale String Band - recorded March 21, 1927
A unique string band with mandolin as the lead instrument. My Own Iona is a song in the vein of Red Wing, Snow Deer or Silver Bell, although Iona is a native Hawaiian girl rather than an Indian.

Bum Song No.2/In The Big Rock Candy Mountains - Champion 15646
Jack Golding (as Jerry Ellis) - recorded Dec. 11, 1928 (from Gennett masters)
Both songs were popular hobo songs of the 1920`s. In The Big Rock Candy Mountains was sort of a hobo national anthem, the Big Rock Candy Mountains being like heaven to a hobo. This song was featured in the movie O! Brother , Where Art Thou, but by the artist that originally recorded the number - Harry "Mac" McClintock.

Dark Eyes/On Top Of Old Smoky - Vocalion 15366
Sid Harkreader/George Reneau - recorded April 13, 1925/Oct. 15, 1925
Dark Eyes is a longing love song, On Top Of Old Smoky is a unique version of this song sang to a tune I`ve never heard it sung to before. I don`t know why sometimes record companys put a different artist on each side of a 78. How did they work royalties on these records I wonder.

The Wandering Boy/The Dying Boy`s Message - Vocalion 5203
Howard Haney - recorded Dec. 21, 1927
Who was Howard Haney??!! I`ve never heard of him before, recorded 6 sides in a 2 day session. Two typical tear-jerker songs here.

Golden Rocket/Shotgun Boogie - Folk Music Center 101
Jimmy Owen - likely recorded about 1950-ish
Who was Jimmy Owen?? I`d never heard of him. Pretty good record of two songs that would have been very popular at the time this record was cut.

Sad Home Of Death/You`ve Got To Lay Down And Die Someday - Victor 20481
Rev. J.M. Gates - recording date unknown to me, likely about 1927
This is the first sermon type record I`ve had. Rev. Gates recorded many sides for more than one label. Pretty interesting record, to me at least.

Charleston No.1/Carroll County Blues - Clarion 5129-C
Narmour & Smith (as Jones & Billings) - recorded March 11, 1929 (from OKeh masters)
Two great tunes that have became old-time and bluegrass standards, especially Carroll County Blues. This is a GREAT record. Excellent examples of what we now call short-bow fiddling, especially the tune Charleston No.1.

Poker Alice/Dangerous Nan McGrew - Columbia 15558-D
Charlotte Miller & Bob Ferguson - recorded April 16, 1930
I know nothing about these artists. Both songs are what is sometimes called "city-billy" songs, an attempt of professional (or semi-professional) songwriters trying to write a hillbilly or old-time song. Dangerous Nan McGrew was originally Dan instead of Nan, this is sort of a re-write to be sang as a woman.

Moonlight On The Colorado/The Broken Engagement - Decca 5540
Riley Puckett & Red Jones - recorded Sept. 28 & 29, 1937
Two old pop type numbers done up in Riley Puckett country fashion. Who was Red Jones?? On the first few sessions Roy Acuff recorded in the mid 30`s there was a Red Jones in his band at the time they were called The Crazy Tennesseeans, could he be the same Red Jones I`ve always wondered??

"Argufying" Part 1&2 - Columbia 14234-D
Slim Henderson & John Mason - recording date unknown to me, likely 1927-ish
What we have here is a minstrel type skit. I`m guessing this is the only record they made. It just isn`t very funny, not as funny as Sam & Henry (aka Amos & Andy) or The Two Black Crows were.

Pretty Little Widow/Liberty - Vocalion 02948
Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers - recorded Oct. 22 & 23, 1928 (from Columbia masters)
What`s up with this being on the Vocalion label?? Apparently sometimes labels would lease masters from another company when the original company had quit issuing songs. I`m guessing Vocalion issued this possibly in the 1930`s, the label is just gold and black, earlier they were gold, black and white.
These may also be alternate takes than what was issued on Columbia. At the end of Liberty on the Columbia record, Lowe Stokes says "scat" at the end of the song and the word "scat" is absent here.
Something interesting about the tunes---Pretty Little Widow is the same tune as Sugarfoot Rag. Clayton McMichen claimed his dad wrote this tune and seems to have tried to sue over it. It had not been copywrited by his dad unfortunately, and the case either was lost or dismissed.
This Liberty tune is one of my favorte fiddle tunes. It is a different song than the fiddle tune we call Liberty now. Most people call this song Liberty Off The Corn Licker Still, which is really wrong. Clayton McMichen introduces the song as "We`re gonna play the tune you all been askin` for, Liberty - off the corn licker still" Meaning this tune was on one of the Corn Licker Still In Georgia skit records where they just played snippets of tunes during the skit. All the old 1920`s recordings of the tune Liberty is this song, not the song we call Liberty today, which the second part of is from the tune Soldier`s Joy. I don`t know where this "new" Liberty came from and don`t know when the "new" version was first recorded. I like this Liberty much better than the "new" one!

My Sweet Sweeting Waltz/Aloha Sunset Land - Edison (no catalog number on the label)
Helen Louise & Frank Ferera/Waikiki Hawaiian Orchestra - recording date unknown to me, could be from about 1913-ish up till maybe 1920-ish
I love the old steel guitar like played on these two instrumentals. Likely Helen Louise or Frank Ferera is playing on the Waikiki Hawaiian Orchestra side also.
This disc was in sort of rough shape around the edges and is fairly noisy for an Edison disc for about the first minuet on both sides.

Whoa Bill - Universal Zonophone No. P. 5244.
Vess L. Ossman - recording date could be anywhere from the late 1890`s till maybe around 1910 - this is a seven inch diameter disc
Here`s a neat early disc record. The record is actually dark brown in color, but looks black in the scan. It`s a fairly noisy record (although it`s in pretty decent condition) as most earlier records usually are.

Click here to download My 78`s #3

Archie Campbell LP with Phil Campbell & Fred E. Smith

2010-03-28T10:39:00.004-05:00

Today I was feeling like a little comedy, so I thought I`d post this Archie Campbell LP. It`s a pretty funny one from a live show in Tupelo, Mississippi recorded May 29th, 1976.
Aloso on this LP is Archie`s son Phil and a man named Fred E. Smith that was a well known comedian from the east Tennessee - North Carolina area. Mr. Smith might even still be active, I`m not sure.
Hope you all enjoy this one.

Click here to download Archie Campbell - Elektra LP

Dyke`s "Magic City" Trio LP

2010-03-21T16:25:00.003-05:00

Here is a good re-issue LP of the 1920`s string band Dyke`s Magic City Trio. This is all the sides they recorded. They were a great band with sort of a unique sound. They don`t have the wild sound of the Georgia string bands of the time, nor did they sound like a typical North Carolina band, nor even a typical Tennessee band style, although they were from a musically rich area of east Tennessee where many record artists of the time had came from.
This is great music, I hope you enjoy it.

Click here to download Dyke`s Magic City Trio

Bradley Kincaid 10 inch LP - American Ballads And Folk Songs

2010-03-15T16:30:00.002-05:00

Here is a good Bradley Kincaid record. It is an old 10 inch LP on the Varsity label, I`m guessing from about 1950. The sound quality on these old 10 inch LP`s is just barely better than the 78`s being pressed at that time. This one sounds pretty good for a 10 inch LP.
I think my favorite song on this is Red Light Ahead, which sort of reminds me of the old song Detour. Hope you all like this one.

Click here to download Bradley Kincaid - American Ballads And Folk Songs

A Bottle Of Wine And A Ginger Cake - Traditional Music From Southeast Tennessee

2010-03-11T13:04:00.003-06:00

This is a good LP of field type recordings from Tennessee. I don`t know anything about any of these people other than the information in the booklet that came with the album, so I`m including scans of the booklet. My copy of this has some water damage, as you can see in the pictures, but the disc still sounds ok. Enjoy!!

Track list---
Chattanooga - Blaine Smith
Jeff Davis - Blaine Smith
Cincinnati - Blaine Smith
A Bottle Of Wine And A Ginger Cake - Blaine Smith
Corn In The Crib - Blaine Smith
Choctaw Bill - Blaine Smith
Run, Boy, Run - Florrie Stewart
Ike Ward - Eldia Barbee
Rubber-Tired Buggy - Eldia Barbee
Black Oak Ridge - Eldia Barbee
Devil Chased Me Around The Stump - Eldia Barbee
Pick And Shovel - Clay Turner
The Old Account - Clay Turner
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - Clay Turner
Sugar Gal - Peanut Cantrell
Sail Away Ladies - Peanut Cantrell

Click here to download A Bottle Of Wine And A Ginger Cake

Ed Hyde - Square Dance Album

2010-03-09T04:19:00.003-06:00

Here`s a pretty good fiddle album. Ed Hyde was the fiddler for the Crook Brothers on the Grand Ole Opry I believe for most of the sixties and into the mid seventies when he passed away. I really don`t know any more about him other than what is on this LP cover.
His style is sort or bluegrass with definate old-time fiddle roots, like many of the early bluegrass fiddlers that came out of the thirties. The back up pickers are bluegrass style players. Too bad he didn`t make this record with the Crook Brothers backing him up, that would have been great (and better in my opinion).
Give this LP a listen and hear an old Opry legend, albeit possibly an unknown one.

The songs on side two are not in the same order as listed on the cover, so here is a correct track list---
Ten Minutes Of Continuous Playing
Five Minuets Of Continuous Playing
Ed`s Hornpipe
Soldier`s Joy
Golden Star
Jud`s Hornpipe
Bill Cheatham
Flop Eared Mule

Click here to download Ed Hyde - Square Dance Album

Some more 78`s!!

2010-03-05T21:03:00.005-06:00

Here is another bunch of my 78`s for your listening pleasure. As always, the condition of these are from mint to condition to one step away from the dumpster...so----some sound great, some others are just barely listenable. I`ve tried to make them sound the best I can.
Now---here is a little note of warning I guess you could say. Some of these songs have some certain words in them not considered acceptable today, all related to race. Some of these use the words commonly used in the teens and 20`s for certain races. I`m sorry if it offends someone. BUT---we can not judge these recordings and the language common at the time the records were made by today`s standards. Please, if you listen to these songs, don`t be offended. I`m going to put in the description of the records which songs has offensive words in them. The most polite term I can think of is to call them Minstrel Songs. So, if you see a song title with Minstrel Song by it, you can choose whether or not to listen to the tune. I hope this works for me and everyone out there. Using the term Minstrel Song is actually pretty accurate, most of these songs were at least influenced by the minstrel shows. Happy Listening!!

Bill Bailey, Ain`t That A Shame/I Got Mine - Champion 15503
John McGhee (as John Hutchens)
Recorded Dec. 31, 1927 & April 24, 1928
Both of these songs are funny songs. The Bill Bailey, Ain`t That A Shame is not the typical Bill Bailey song we all know, but is similar to Uncle Dave Macon`s song Ain`t It A Shame To Keep Your Honey Out In The Rain. I got Mine was also recorded by Fiddlin` John Carson and also Gid Tanner & Fate Norris.
BOTH songs are Minstrel Songs

The Fellow That Looked Like Me/Johnny The Drunkard - Supertone 9642
Asa Martin (as Emmett Davenport)
Recorded Aug. 29, 1929 & Jan. 14, 1930
Two more funny songs here. Johnny The Drunkard is usually called Three Night Drunk or Cabbage Head and was recorded many times. The Fellow That Looks Like Me was also recorded by The Hill Billies.

Carolina Stompdown/Hard Times Breakdown - OKeh 45153
Aiken County String Band
Recorded Sept. 19, 1927
Two great old time instrumentals. My copy of this record is pretty trashed, but it don`t sound too bad at all considering how bad the condition of the disc is. Carolina Stompdown is what we`d usually call Soldier`s Joy but is unusal because they they play it in two different keys. Hard Time Breakdown is a typical rag of the times.

Outlaw John Dillinger/Crime Does Not Pay - Perfect 13024
Frank Luther Trio
Recorded July 26, 1934
Frank Luther was a Vernon Dalhart sound-a-like. Both songs were typical topical songs, though by 1934 topical songs were sort of out of style. Boys---listen to your mother!!

On The Dummy Line/Down In The Cane Break - Conqueror 7574
The Pickard Family
Recorded Feb. 6, 1930
I had always wondered about "Dummy Line" Dummy is used here for mute or silent. The Dummy Line was a nickname for a certain railroad line that uses condensing steam engines. The exhaust steam went trough a condenser (like a corn licker still) and turned the steam back to water to re-use in the engine`s boiler. The condenser acted as a muffler, thus making the engine fairly quiet, or "dumb". My copy is pretty wore out, the vocals aren`t real clear, especially on Down In The Cane Break.

Over The Waves/Red Wing - Supertone S2092 (from Brunswick masters)
W.W. MacBeth
Recorded Oct 30, 1929
Two absolutely great harmonica solos. This version of Over The Waves may be about the fanciest I`ve heard!

You Shall Be Free/Old Lady And The Devil - Columbia 15336-D
Bill & Belle Reed
Recorded Oct. 17, 1928
A pretty rare record, the only record they recorded. Both are comedy songs.
You Shall Be Free is a Minstrel Song

The Bully Song - Part 1&2 - Columbia 15302-D
Vernon Dalhart
Recorded Sept, 21, 1928
Strange that on the Columbia label that they issued discs under the name Vernon Dalhart and also many songs as Al Craver. This is the song more commonly known as Bully Of The Town and is song and skit, straight from the minstrel show stage. My copy of this is pretty rough.
BOTH sides are Minstrel Songs.

If You Don`t Like My Ford Coupe, Don`t You Cadillac Me/Golden Memories Waltz - Columbia 15416-D
Owens Brothers
Recorded Dec. 3, 1928
The Owens Brothers were the country version of The Stamps Quartet, that is a gospel quartet possibly attempting to "cross over" to country music. On the Ford Coupe song, they remind me very much of the Georgia Yellow Hammers. The Ford Coupe song is sort of an old pop type song, the waltz is an instrumental.

That`s My Weakness Now/Mama`s Grown Young, Papa`s Grown Old - Perfect 12449
Paul Johnson
Recording date unknown to me.
This is a pop recording. The reason I got this is the fact that Gid Tanner recorded a parody of That`s My Weakness Now and I wanted to hear the original song. There is practically NO similarity between the original and Gid`s parody. The Mama`s Grown Old tune was recorded by some early blues artists as well.

Missouri Waltz/ `Till We Meet Again - Brunswick 2918
Palakiko & Paaluhi
Recording date unknown to me likely between 192 & 1925.
Great Hawaiian guitar music here. Listen to this to hear where the steel guitar and dobro in country music originally came from.

Somebody`s Done Me Wrong/Tishomingo Blues - Emerson Record No. 913
Eddie Nelson
Recording date unknown to me, likely 1917 to 1920.
I got this because when I saw the title Tishomingo Blues it was so interesting to me I had to hear it. Tishoming was also one of the towns in the movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?.Old pop hokum type songs. We have sort of an orchestra with jug and other effects here.
Although the labels describes the songs as "Coon Character Songs", neither song has any racial slurs in them.

Click here to download My 78`s #2

Jenks "Tex" Carman self titled LP on the Sage label

2010-02-28T17:25:00.004-06:00

Here is a mighty unusual LP, or at least a might unusual performer! Jenks Carmen is one of the most unusual artists. He was popular in California from the 40`s up into the early 60`s and performed on the Town Hall Party TV show with people like Joe Maphis. He played guitar in the old Hawaiian style, that is just a regular flat top type Martin in the laying down position, and was both adept at playing breaks, solos and backing up his singing. What makes his guitar style so unusual was that the stacatto type style he played was popular in the teens up into the mid 20`s. It was the style of the "real" Hawaiians that migrated here from about the turn of the century till the mid 20`s.
His vocal stylings were something to behold too. He sang in a high, nasal toned voice. His singing matched his guitar stylings, stacatto. I`ll admit some people may not like his voice, I like to hear him myself. He was part Cherokee Indian and could speak the Cherokee language. On his song Hillbilly Hula, the words just sound like jibberish but it is in the Cherokee language. Also, he uses a Cherokee word that sounds like "chippeha" that he says sometimes that he said the meaning of is like when we might say "yee-haw" or "whoopee" when we hear something we like.
So---give ole Jenks a chance and listen to this, I think if you try it a couple times it will sort of grow on you.

Click here to download Jenks "Tex" Carman self titled LP

Jimmy Driftwood - A Lesson In Folk Music LP on the Rimrock label RLP-496

2010-02-20T14:27:00.004-06:00

This is a pretty neat record as it is presented actually as sort of a lesson. This material was apparently recorded at a old-time music workshop of some kind. Mr. Driftwood talks some an each track (if I remember right) about the song (source, how old, etc.) Or about the instruments he is playing or all of the above.
Anyone that knows anything about at all about Jimmy Driftwood knows he wrote the words to the Johnny Horton hit The Battle Of New Orleans, which is set to the old fiddle tune the Eighth Of January. The eighth of January is the actual date of the battle at New Orleans with "Old Hickory" (who became a national hero and eventually a president by the name of Andrew Jackson) leading the American forces to victory over the English army. The most interesting fact of this battle to me is that it was fought after the war was actually over. A peace treaty had been signed, but since there was no speedy way to relay news then, neither side was aware that the war was already over.
Jimmy Driftwood is still pretty well known around the area where I live in the Missouri Ozarks and in northern middle Arkansas. He is largely responsible for Mountain View, Arkansas becoming an attraction for traditional musicians. He (as well as Grandpa Jones) had a dinner theater in Mountain View for many years. Also, Mountain View has the Folk Center that he helped get going. They have many music and other traditional activities and festivals throughout the year.
Just as a side note, Bookmiller Shannon was very well known in the area around Mountain View as an old-time banjo picker. Jimmy and his wife Cleda, as well as Bookmiller Shannon, have all passed away some time back. I don`t know anything at all nor ever even heard of Barbara Sanders.
I wonder when people quit using the term "folk music" for old-time music, or when the term "old-time music" came into common use for this type music. I have saw many references in articles from the 30`s & 40`s using the term folk music for what we now call Old-time music. Of course we all know what became known as folk music in the 50`s, music mostly played by "city folks" of the older style country material, then evolving into all the protest type stuff and eventually evolving into stuff such as pshychodellic type stuff that my ears can`t even start to tolerate. No offense intended here if you like that type of music. All the early folk type bands singing traditional material sound phony to me. As I said, no offense to people who like that type music, I`m just on a little rant here. To each his own!!
Hope you like this LP, it`s a pretty neat record.

Click here to download Jimmy Driftwood "A Lesson In Folk Music"

Obray Ramsey Sings Folksongs From The Three Laurels

2010-02-18T20:13:00.003-06:00

Here`s a another good Obray Ramsey LP. Not that it`s any better or not as good as the others! I like all his music. There really isn`t anything more I can say about him, so if you want to learn a little more about him just check out the other posts of his material. As always, just click on any picture to enlarge it. Enjoy!!

Click here to download Obray Ramsey Sings Folksongs From The Three Laurels

Wade Mainer - First Time In Stereo - Homestead 90002

2010-02-13T09:40:00.005-06:00

Here`s a mighty good record if you like Wade Mainer. It`s seems to be the first record made since his 78 days back in the late 30`s or early 40`s. The liner notes explain some about why he had quit the music buissness and such.
I was very familiar with Wade`s old recordings, but just in the last 3 or 4 years heard some of his later recordings. His banjo picking is a 2 finger style, sort of sounding like a pre-Scruggs bluegrass style.
I got to meet Wade about 5 or 6 years ago at Uncle Dave Macon Days where they honored him that year. He was about 94 and his wife about 90. It was about 100 degrees that day and they gave a show about 45 minuets long! Wade and his wife are still living and I believe he is 102!!
If you watch PBS any, you might catch Wade and his wife on a music show (I can`t remember the name of the show at the moment) from a few years ago. I believe Wade is 98ish on this show. It`s also a good show because they interview him some and it`s pretty interesting. Hope you like this one!!

Click here to download Wade Mainer - First Time In Stereo

5 String Banjo - America`s National Instrument - 10 inch LP

2010-02-09T16:28:00.005-06:00

Here is an unusual record. The only one of these pickers I`ve ever heard of is the great classic style player Fred Bacon. It`s odd to have a track by Fred Bacon on here (from an Edison recording from sometime in the teens) with the other artists that were current recordings when the LP was issued (early 50`s I`d say). Fred Bacon of course was one of the best classic banjoists of the early part part of the 1900`s. I`ve never even heard of the other artists.
Now, this banjo music isn`t country or bluegrass, it ain`t even old timey. This is classic style (early finger style) and some plectrum or tenor type playing (with a flat pick). Give it a listen, you may enjoy a style of banjo playing you`ve never heard before.

Track list---
Come On Down South - Ted Shawnee
Southern Coffee Klatch - Alexander Magee
Hungarian Dance #6 - Frank Bradbury
Waiting For The Robert E. Lee - Ted Shawnee
Massa`s In The Cold Cold Ground - Fred Bacon
Dance Of The Hours - Frank Bradbury
Jolly Darkies - Alexander Magee
Dill Pickles - Ted Shawnee

Click here to download 5 String Banjo - America`s National Instrument

Leslie Keith - Black Mountain Blues

2010-02-08T11:40:00.009-06:00

Here`s a fine LP. Leslie Kieth was one of those fiddlers that fell between old time and bluegrass. He was a fiddler from a generation sort of after Fiddlin` Arthur Smith and Clayton McMichen in style, but still not quite the hot, breakneck speed of a bluegrass fiddler. I like the singing with the fiddling. I also like his old-time banjo picking on this.
Likely the one huge thing of note about Leslie Kieth is the tune Black Mountain Blues he wrote, which fiddler Tommy Magness turned into one of the most well known show off fiddle tunes today, Black Mountain Rag. I`m pretty sure you`ll all like this one!

I have deleted the download link as I just got an email that this is available from the people who now own the rights to this LP. It can be bought at Sierra Records at www.sierrarecords.net

Problems!!

2010-01-31T07:02:00.003-06:00

For some reason now I can`t upload anything, period. I can`t upload music to the file service to post on the archive blog, I can`t even attatch a song to an email now. Anyone have any ideas what might be wrong with my computer, or something??!! HELP! I have a great LP just waiting to be posted!!

78`s!

2010-01-22T13:27:00.009-06:00

Here is something new I`m going to try with 78`s. I will post a picture of the label with the disc information beside the picture, I`ll also try to mention if the recording is an acoustic recording (recorded with a horn, pre-microphones). Some of these have great sound and are nearly new condition, some don`t sound so good and have lots of wear. I don`t believe any of this material has been re-issued on LP or cd, some are quite rare.
There will be no track list, the songs with the pictures will be in the order of the songs in the download. The download link will be at the end of the post as usual. Hope you all like this material!

Sourwood Mountain/Cumberland Gap - Gibbs & Watson, this is from Columbia masters by Gid Tanner & Riley Puckett, put out on a cheaper label by Columbia, recorded Sept. 11 & 12, 1924, acoustically recorded.

Only A Step To The Grave/If I Could Only Blot Out The Past - Supertone 9373 This is from Gennett masters by Kirk McGee & Blythe Poteet, put out on a label that was sold by Sears department stores. Recorded November 27, 1928.

Polecat Creek-Waltz/My Two Sweethearts-Waltz - Victor V-40240, Jimmie Wilson`s Catfish String Band, recorded Oct. 17, 1929.

The Death Of John Henry/Little Brown Jug - Champion 15198 This is from Gennett masters issued as Herb Jennings. This is actually Welby Toomey, recorded October of 1926, acoustically recorded.

The Farmer Feeds Them All/Jim Blake, The Engineer - Montgomery Ward 4334. Most, if not all, Montgomery Ward records are from Victor masters. Frank Wheeler & Monroe Lamb, recorded May 27th & 28th, 1930.

Georgia Railroad/John Henry - Columbia 15019-D by Gid Tanner & Riley Puckett. Recorded September 11th & 12th, 1924, acoustic recording.

Barn Dance On The Mountain Part 1 & 2, Broadway 8137 by The Great Gap Entertainers. Broadway was a subsidiary label of Paramount. This is from Paramount master as the Lookout Mountain Revelers, recorded June 1928. This is a pretty rare one and pretty exciting to hear as the performers are Lowe Stokes, Bert Layne & Claude Davis. This is sort of a spin off group from the Skillet Lickers and this recording is a skit sort of like the Skillet Lickers recordins of Corn Licker Still In Georgia, etc.

The Death Of John Henry/Roving Gambler - Gennett 6005. This is by Welby Toomey, recorded October 1926. This is the Same recording of The Death Of John Henry as the one above on Champion by Herb Jennings. Although the label syas "New Electrobeam" (Gennetts trade name for an electrically recorded disc, using microphones) this is pretty obviously an acoustic recording. Acoustic recordings have sort of a flat sound, that is no depth of tone. Several labels would issue extra pressings of acoustic recordings with electric marked labels.

Jennie Lind Polka/Nellie Gray - OKeh 40211. Recorded by Whitter`s Virgina Breakdowners July 16, 1924. Acoustic recording. Great string band sound in what is now called the Round Peak style.

Hello Aloha/Last Night I Was Dreaming Of You - Broadway 8018 by Jack Penewell from Paramount masters. Date of recording unknown to me. I like where the label says "Twin Six Guitar", these two sides are Hawaiian guitar, very well played I might add!

Will You Love Me When I`m Old/True And Trembling Breakman - Challenge 269. These are from Gennett masters, recorded by Aulton Ray April 27th, 1927. Aulton Ray was a member of Taylor`s Kentucky Boys. Challenge was a label issued by Sears department stores.

Liza Jane/O! Susanna - Silvertone 3261, issued as Tom Watson. This is from Columbia masters recorded by Riley Puckett, Sept. 11th, 1924, acoustic recording. Riley Puckett is well known to fans of old-time music as a member of the Skillet Lickers and also his own solo recordings. This is from an early session in his recording career. What makes this a noteworthy record is that although Riley was a famous back-up guitarist, he plays clawhammer banjo on this disc.

Click here to download My 78`s #1

Uncle John Patterson - Plains, Georgia Rock LP

2010-01-21T11:22:00.008-06:00

Ok you old-time banjo fanatics----here`s another one for you. This is a great LP. Uncle John Patterson had a unique banjo style and I can`t even think of anyone else I`ve heard to compare him to. Also, he can beat the poop out of that old-time piano. Too bad he didn`t do a piano LP also, this country style piano is a pretty rare sound.
There isn`t anything about Uncle John I can say that isn`t in the cover notes I`ve included here. Hope you all like this one.

Rear cover notes---

Rear cover photo---

Track listing---

Click here to download Uncle John Patterson - Plains, Georgia Rock

Bashful Brother Oswald & Charlie Collins LP "Oz And Charlie"

2010-01-19T11:10:00.003-06:00

Here is one of my favorite LP`s by one of my musical mentors, Bashful Brother Oswald. This is one of the artists (and also one of the LP`s) that made me want to play old-time music.
Oswald was a great old-time banjo picker and singer, but is best known for practically inventing a style of playing the Dobro. Oswald is likely most well known for being the Dobro player in Roy Acuff`s Smoky Mountain Boys. He held that "gig" for about 55 years!! Who works one job for 55 years!!?? He performed on the Grand Ole Opry for about 62 years, playing as a solo Opry member after Roy Acuff passed away.
Oswald`s Dobro style is so unique and immediately recognizable that it could definatly be argued that without the style of Oswald`s dobro playing that Roy Acuff might not have eventually became "The King Of Country Music". Roy`s sad (sometimes even morbid) songs coupled with the sounds of Oswald`s Dobro could bring tears from audiences.
Oswald was heavily influenced by Hawaiian music and his style of playing Dobro shows it with all the trills and slants he done. Listen to Hilo March, a Hawaiian song, which is one of my favorite Dobro songs.
Now... not only is Oswald great, Charlie Collins is certainly one of the best flat top pickers of all times. Also, Charlie is one of the greatest rhythm guitar pickers ever in my book. He got with Roy Acuff about 1965ish and styed with him till Roy passed away. Charlie also has several LP`s & CD`s of his own as well as these LP`s recorded with Oswald. Charlie has recorded playing rhythm guitar on many records, including recording under Bill Monroe a time or two. Charlie is also a good bluegrass style mandolinist and plays good fiddle in sort of a cross between bluegrass and old-time fiddle styles, sounding more bluegrass influenced.
The other two artists on this LP likely need no introduction, the great Norman Blake on mandolin and some lead guitar, and Sam Bush playing fiddle and guitar.
Hope you all like this one. Let me hear from you, it`s nice to know if you all enjoy what I post.

Rear cover notes---

Track list---

Click here to download Bashful Brother Oswald "Oz and Charlie" LP

Bailes Brothers re-post

2010-01-13T20:39:00.001-06:00

I had a couple people say that track 18 on the Bailes Brothers download below won`t work. I re-uploaded it to the file hosting service. Just go down and click on the link as usual and try it again.

Johnnie & Homer Bailes radio transcriptions Vol. 1

2010-01-11T17:50:00.008-06:00

Today I`m posting an LP of Bailes Brothers radio transcriptions. This is good, hardcore country here folks.
Now this does not feature the whole Bailes Brothers outfit. I believer there were at least four brothers that played in various combinations as well as all together from time to time.
As far as I`m concerned the Bailes Brothers were GREAT, regardless of what combination of them I`ve listened to.
Hope you all enjoy this one!!

Notes from the back LP cover---

Track list---

Click here to download The Bailes Brothers, Johnnie & Homer

What ever happened to the Pickard Family!!??

2010-01-04T10:27:00.005-06:00

Since I`ve been a little slow about posting lately, I thought I`d post one more for the New Year today.
Here is an "extry odd" LP for sure. The Pickard Family was a pretty popular family group in the late 20`s and early 30`s. They got their start on WSM on the Grand Ole Opry in about 1927. Seems the story goes that one of their children turned up missing and they pleaded to radio stations to broadcast this unfortunate fact in hopes of finding the missing child, which they did find. Sounds like a happy ending, but the story just gets better. Seems the Solemn Old Judge, George D. Hay (inventor & manager of the Grand Ole Opry at the time) got to know them some through the missing child episode and learned that they were musically inclined. So, he seems to have auditioned them and next thing you know the Pickard Family were on their way to the "big time".
Now when I say big time, I don`t mean they became Opry stars and lived happily ever after. Actually, and unfortunately, the Pickard family is rarely mentioned in Grand Ole Opry history books. They stayed with the Opry awhile, then moved to WLS in Chicago to be stars on the National Barndance. They also recorded records in the late 20`s, including a Jew`s harp solo 78 for Columbia that is still considered the apex of Jew`s harp artistry!
The story gets just a little better for them yet. Seems soon after War World 2 they wound up in California on radio and wound up having their own TV show! I have looked for any clips from their show and have had no luck finding anything yet. So if anyone has any of this material I`d love to see it!!
This LP is sort of strange. Their original recordings were mostly old pop songs done in an old-time country style, but on here they sound more folk-ish than old-time. Obed "Dad" Pickard died soon after this was recorded, although by my ear "Dad" nor "Mom" Pickard are even on the record. Maybe they were not able to perform anymore due to age. I believe that this was recorded arount the mid to late 50`s. Mom & Dad Pickard would have been in their late 70`s I believe.
Maybe I`ll post some of my Pickard Family 78`s sometime. Hope you all enjoy this ultra-rare, unusual record!!

Click here to download The Pickard Family Sings Hits Of Yesteryear

The Poplin Family - great old time music here!!

2010-01-04T09:49:00.007-06:00

Happy New Year folks! Here is a couple great LP`s. I`m not trying to shove old-time banjo down your throats with 2 banjo postings in a row, but old-time banjo is about my favorite thing.
I can find next to nothing about these folks on the internet, so I`m including the liner notes from the Meoldeon LP.. These folks are mighty good to my ear. Mr. China Poplin had a great driving two finger banjo style. All the other folks on the lp`s are great too.

Click here to download The Poplin Family - Gwine Back To Sumter

Just a side note about China Poplin`s banjo--this is a 5-string Epiphone banjo that would have been new in the 1920`s or early 30`s. This is an incredibly rare banjo. Epiphone may not have made over 5-ish of these, as 5 strings were sort of out of style when this was new, tenors being a craze in the teens and plectrums becoming popular in the 20`s. The only other artist I know of using one of these extremely fancy model Epiphone was Fisher Hendley. As China Poplin and Fisher Hendley were from the same area, it might not be too much of a stretch to say Poplin may have got this banjo from Hendley, or that at least Hendley may have owned it originally. Enjoy these 2 lp`s!!

Click here to download The Poplin Family Of Sumter, South Carolina

The Carolina Tar Heels

2009-12-20T00:32:00.004-06:00

Here`s a great LP-----period. The Carolina Tar Heels were originally a group in the late 20`s. Here is a "re-discovery" of an artist from the 20`s, Dock Walsh being the core of this group. Originally the other two members of the group were Clarence "Tom" Ashley, who was also a re-discovered artist in the late 50`s or early 60`s, and Gwen Foster, who was a good harmonica player and somewhat of a country guitar virtuoso of the 20`s. The liner notes I`m including tells a short story of the original group and the group on this record also. Likely the most fascinating thing on this LP is Dock`s slide banjo. It`s sort of a haunting sound to me. Dock Walsh is sort of an overlooked artist I think. Although Dock had recorded in the 20`s with this group, he had recorded in 1925 & 1926 solo for Columbia and these are great sides. Listen to them if you get the chance. I may post them someday. Hope you all enjoy this one.

Click here to download The Carolina Tar Heels.

Two Howard Vokes LP`s

2009-12-14T19:24:00.003-06:00

Right here is some hard-core country! Unfortunately, Howard Vokes never made the BIG big time. He is likely virtually unknown actually. I done a quick internet search and there are a few good biographical pages on him, so I`ll not go into that here.
I mentioned he is pretty obscure, but apparently was a pretty well know regional artist in the east. His material runs from somewhat novelty numbers to drinking, broken heart songs and also tragedy and disaster type songs. The tragic and disaster type songs seem to have been his specialty. He made a record for Starday that was just disaster and tragedy songs. It`s morbid ,but it`s great!! The Starday LP has been issued on cd in the last few years and I highly recomend getting it.
When Howard is really bearing down on a good tragic number, he will surely remind you of Roy Acuff singing. The sound of his band is even Roy Acuff and the Smoky Mountain Boys-ish sounding. Roy even recorded a song or two Howard was known for, such as A Plastic Heart, Willie Roy, The Crippled Boy and Mountain Guitar.
Give these two LP`s a listen, I bet you`ll like them. If you like these I highly recommend getting the Starday cd mentioned above.

Track list for Pennsylvania`s King Of Country Music---
A Plastic Heart
Your Kisses And Lies
Keep Cool But Don`t Freeze
Empty Victory
West Of The Yukon
Break The News
It Takes Six Men To Carry A Man To His Grave
(But Only One Woman To Put Him There)
Judge Of Hearts
My Weeping Heart
Born Without A Name
I Was A Fool
Tomorrow Is My Last Day

Click here to download Pennsylvania`s King Of Country Music

Track list for Tears At The Grand Ole Opry
This Prison I`m In
Ghost Of A Honky Tonk Slave
The One I Once Knew
If This World Wants Peace
Forever
Willie Roy, The Crippled Boy
Mountain Guitar
Tears At The Grand Ole Opry
Down In The Hollow
The Polka From Outer Space
It`s All Right Now
Keep Cool But Don`t Freeze

Click here to download Tears At The Grand Ole Opry

Roy Harper & Blake Bynum - Pine Mountain LP`s

2009-12-10T17:40:00.005-06:00

Today I`m posting 2 LP`s by Roy Harper & Blake Bynum on the Pine Mountain Records label.
Roy Harper will be no stranger to anyone from middle or east Tennesse that frequents the old-time music festivals and contests. He is a well known songster, largely in the Jimmie Rodgers style. He has won many old-time singing contests over many years. He plays flat-top rhythm guitar and harmonica in a rack so he can play both instruments at the same time. He is also known to play the kazoo.
Blake Bynum was a great instrumentalist, playing finger-picked country style guitar and was also great in the old country-Hawaiian lap style. He usually played an old National square neck Tri-Cone guitar, but also played electric lap steel occasionally. His guitar styliongs were also very blues influenced. He sort of had a style of his own on each instrument, being influenced by country & blues finger picking and Hawaiian guitar styles. I love the Hawaiian instrumentals he does here. Straight forward Hawaiian songs with a little country blues influence makes for some fime picking in my book. I don`t know hardly anything about Blake Bynum, except that he had a group in at least the late 40`s and into part if not all of the 50`s called The Sand Mountain Boys. An internet search on Mr. Bynum turns up pretty much nothing. I`d like to hear any information on Blake anyone might have.
I have a couple more of their records I`ll post someday----hope you enjoy!

Track listing for Echoes Of The Past---
Blake`s Chimes
Way Out There
Home Sweet Home
You Guessed It
Old Spinning wheel
Train Whistle Blues
Birmingham Jail
Stormy Tropical Seas
Steel Guitar Rag
Do You Miss Me
Hurrying Home
Over The Waves

Click here to download Echoes Of The Past

Track list for Country Music Treat---
I`ll Be All Smiles Tonight
Why There`s A Tear In My Eye
Tennessee Steel Guitar
Spanish Fandango
The Waltz You Saved For Me
Columbus Stockade Blues
Hawaiian Blues
Maggie
The Flat Top Ramble
Careless Love
Where The Palm Trees Sway
Sweet Bunch Of Daisies
Rolling Down The Line
Jimmie Brown The Newsboy
Bury Me Beneath The Willow
Spanish Guitar Chimes

Click here to download Country Music Treat

Lew Childre update

2009-12-08T16:39:00.005-06:00

My good friend Robert Montgomery just sent me an un-released song for Lew Childre`s Old Time Get-Together LP. So I thought I`d post the song along with some pictures of a couple souvenir books I have. Thanks for the song Robert!!
Pictures from Lew`s own book---

Play guitar just like Lew!!---

Get a Lew Childre fishing pole here!!---

Pictures from Lew & The Duke Of Paducah`s souvenir book---

Were you there??!!---

Click here to download Lew Childre`s Big Rock Candy Mountain

Junior Samples, Junior Samples, Junior Samples!!

2009-12-07T10:35:00.013-06:00

Here is something I don`t believe you`ll find anywhere on the internet. All of Junior Samples released sides! As far as I know this is everything ever released by Junior Samples. I`ll not go into any biography stuff, I looked some on the internet and it`s plenty easy to find information about Junior if you want to. As far as I know there was 6 LP`s issued of Junior, many of the LP`s had repeat tracks from other LP`s. I`d venture to say that if none of the LP`s had repeat material that only 4 LP`s would hold all the tracks. I have went through and picked the repeat tracks that had the best sound quality to post here. The only LP that is posted as it was issued is Bull Session At Bull`s Gap with Archie Campbell. As always, click on any image to enlarge it.
So here he is, the great funny man, Junior Samples!!!

Cover from Moonshining---

Cover from That`s A Hee Haw---

Click here to download Moonshining & That`s A Hee Haw

Cover for The Best Of Junior Samples----

Cover from The World Of Junior Samples---

Click here to download The Best Of and The World Of Junior Samples.

Cover from Bull Session At Bull`s Gap---

Click here to download Bull Session At Bull`s Gap

Cover for Star Of Hee Haw----

Lew Childre - Old Time Get-Together

2009-12-06T12:40:00.003-06:00

Here`s a great Starday LP. I believe this is the only LP Lew Childre ever made, although he had a few 78`s in the early 30`s and early 50`s.
Lew was a great entertainer. He was a walking old song library. I`ve heard some radio transcriptions and it`s pretty hard to believe the wide range of styles of songs he knew and adapted to his own special style of playing Hawaiian type guitar and singing.
Lew had started out entertaining by busking, graduated to the medicine show circuit, and finally "hitting it big". He was one of the more popular acts on the Grand Ole Opry in the mid and late 40`s, often performing duets with The Kentucky Wonder, Stringbean.
Lew was also a famous fisherman. He and his son had a company that made and sold handmade cane fishing poles and also developed some of their own fishing lures!
Here are the notes from the back of the LP (just clikck on the pictures to enlarge)----

This LP is just like a live show, so I have just left it as 2 tracks, side 1 & 2 from the LP. You all will surely like this one!

Click here to download Lew Childre - Old Time Get-Together

Grant Turner remembers the Grand Ole Opry as it was then....

2009-11-30T16:01:00.003-06:00

I`ve been a little slow with posts for November, so I thought I`d cram in a few entries here at the end of the month.
This is a real treasure of an LP if you are a fan of what the Grand Ole Opry used to be. It is mostly just Grant Turner reminiscing about the "way it really was" at the Opry at the Ryman Auditorium. It was made in 1980.
Grant was an announcer at WSM for many years, from 1944 till he passed away in October 1991.
Grant was as well know as an Opry "performer" perhaps as Roy Acuff. Grant really became the voice of the Opry after The Solemn Old Judge, George D. Hay was forced into retirement (Hay, being on WSM from 1925 invented the Opry).
Grant had a wonderful, warm friendly voice, perfect for radio. I`m including in this post the notes from the back of the LP cover (click on the notes to enlarge them.)

Click here to download Grant Turner remembers The Grand Ole Opry as it was then.

Kalama`s Quartette - Early Hawaiian Classics

2009-11-30T10:12:00.012-06:00

Here is a good LP from the Folklyric label, number 9022. There is some great music here, even though I of course don`t speak Hawaiian, so I can`t understand a word they are singing. I listen mostly to the instruments playing, but even though I can`t understand their language on the songs they sing in Hawaiian, I still enjoy the sounds and especially the harmony of their voices.
I don`t know anything about these guys, so I`m just posting the notes from the back of the album cover, which were written by Bob Brozman. There is likely nobody that is more knowledgeable about Hawaiian music, especially lap slide style.
As you listen to this, keep in mind, if it wasn`t for this type lap slide playing, we might not have pedal steel, electric lap steel and dobro in country music today. All the acoustic resonator instruments were invented as a way to amplify volume for Hawaiian lap style guitarists. When these instruments such as the National Tri-Cone, National "biscuit" style resonator and the dobro style guitar were developed, it was more volume the inventors were looking for, not the unique tone each of these types of instruments produced. The same goes for electric guitars. The first electric guitars were Hawaiian style, that is made to play laying down.
Here are the notes from the back of the LP cover (click on them to enlarge them)---

Track listing----

Click here to download Kalama`s Quartette - Early Hawaiian Classics

Bascom Lamar Lunsford - Minstrel Of The Appalachians

2009-11-29T23:33:00.012-06:00

Here`s a great LP with a great cover. This LP is on the Riverside label, number RLP 12-645. This LP must be pretty rare, I looked for this one for a few years. That`s one of my favorite album covers! I guess I`ll stick to talking about the music. Album cover art could be a subject for a whole blog page on it`s own.

This autograph isn`t a real autograph, it`s printed on the back of the album cover. How many Bascom Lamar Lunsford autographs do you suppose exist? And what a unique autograph at that. Of course the uniqueness of the autograph matches the uniqueness of the man. Not only was he a great old-time singer and banjo picker, he practically invented the idea of what we now call an old-time music festival, which could be considered the daddy of the bluegrass festivals today. He started the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival at Asheville, North Carolina. This became the biggest festival of this type in the 30`s through the 50`s. (I`m not 100% sure when this festival got it`s start, but I believe in the mid to late 30`s) This festival was the daddy to what we consider the greatest old-time music festivals today like the ones at Galax & Mt. Airy, North Carolina.
I`m not going to try to go into Mr. Lunsford`s biography as there are a couple videos out about him and also a book I believe. None should be hard to find by doing an internet search. I am including a piece of what is written on the back of the LP cover.

Track listing---
Poor Jesse James
Go To Italy
The Merry Golden Tree
I Shall Not Be Moved
The Derby Ram
The Old Man From The North Country
The Miller`s Will
Sundown
Fly Around, My Blue-Eyed Girl
Black Jack Davy
Weeping Willow Tree
Swing Low, Chariot
The Sailor On The Deep Blue Sea
John Henry

Click here to download Bascom Lamar Lunsford - Minstrel Of The Appalachians

Burl Ives - The Wayfaring Stanger - 10 inch Stinson LP!!

2009-11-29T09:53:00.004-06:00

Here`s something that is surely un-common. A Burl Ives 10 inch LP on the Stinson Records label. The catalog number for this LP is SLP #1, so this must have been the first LP this label issued.I don`t know what year this was issued (there`s no date on the LP cover) but ole Burl looks pretty young. I think Columbia was the first out with 10 inch LP`s around 1948. I bet this is not much newer than 1948.
Any folk music fan will be familiar with Burl Ives. Besides maybe Pete Seeger, he is likely about the best know folk type singer. He was pretty popular in the 50`s.
I usually am not a fan of folk type music, especially protest type songs. I don`t really know why, I just never could get turned on to that. I wouldn`t call Burl a strictly folk singer though. His material had lots of old-time type songs and also alot of old ballad type stuff, especially English isle type ballads.
I really don`t know much about the personal life of Burl Ives. He was popular though. He was particularly good at connecting with children and had many kid type songs he performed. He was also in some movies. I remember seeing him in a western playing sort of a mean good guy once!
Now, I`ll give you a few words about 10 inch LP`s. Most of the 10 inch LP`s I`ve ever heard didn`t have any better sound quality than the 78`s that were being pressed at the same time. We usually think of LP`s having superior sound to the old 78`s, but that`s not usually the case with 10 inch LP`s. I just thought I`d say this so if you download this and the sound isn`t as good as you`d expect for an LP, this is the reason why. Hope you all like this one!

Track list---
Poor Wayfaring Stranger
Buckeyed Jim
The Foggy Foggy Dew
The Fox
Henry Martin
The Blue Tail Fly
Brennan On The Moor
The Bold Soldier
The Sow Took The Measles
Black Is The Color

Click here to download Burl Ives - The Wayfaring Stranger

Country Music Cannonball on Starday LP

2009-11-19T12:00:00.003-06:00

Here`s an LP by the great Smoky Mountain Boys & Girls, Roy Acuff`s Band. All of Roy`s band had made records on their own, mostly in the 60`s, but Oswald recorded on his own up into the 90`s.
The best well know would be Bashful Brother Oswald, playing dobro & 5-string banjo. The banjo he is holding on the album cover was one he had inherited from the great Dixie Dewdrop, Uncle Dave Macon.
Next in order of seniority would be Jimmie Riddle on piano & harmonica. He is holding a bass harp in the picture and was known to play this on Hee Haw when they had the harmonica band on the show. He is also famous for "Eeephing" on Hee Haw. I`ll be posting some Jimmie Riddle stuff on here someday. If you don`t remember him eeephing on Hee Haw, or even know what eeephing is, do an internet search or stay tuned here for when I post his stuff that I have.
Next we have Howdy Forrester, one of the best ever country fiddle players. He started playing professionaly around 1940 with Sunshine Slim Rutledge, then was with Bill Monroe in the late 40`s before Roy Acuff hired him. Check out my other post on Howdy if you want to learn & hear more.
Next is Jackie Phelps on electric guitar. Jackie was a good lead electric guitar picker and also played several other instruments including lap steel and a 2-finger bluegrass style banjo. His is likely most famous for being Jimmie Riddle`s partner on Hee Haw in the Eeephing & Hambone feature on the show. Jackie done the "hambone", which is a rhythm technique where a person slaps various body parts with their hands to keep time, sort of the same idea as playing a washboard.
June Stearns was a fairly new addition to the band when this LP was made. She was a good singer and had a real strong honky tonk type voice.
Lastly is Gene Martin on rhythm guitar and also as a lead singer. He was a brother to Benny Martin, who had at times fiddled for Roy some. Gene had a pretty good country voice and was good at imitating other country artists. He made at least one other LP for Starday that was mostly comedy doing imitations, I`ll post it sometime soon.
Starday albums such as these were nearly always songs recorded by artists for solo LP`s, sort of like a complimation record. Some of these songs are on other Starday LP`s, some were recorded just for this release I believe.
Starday would take material and put them on one LP to make it sound like a live show or some theme type thing. Sometimes the material used would be un-released stuff by a particular artist, material that didn`t make it onto the original released LP by the artist. One that comes to mind was by The Crook Brothers, Lost Indian. Lost Indian didn`t make it onto their LP with the McGee Brothers, but came out on a fiddle music themed LP Starday released later.
Starday was sort of a second string country label, although about at the top of the second string. If Starday hadn`t existed there is a lot of good country music by lesser known artists we likely would never have heard.
I hope you like this one!!

Track listing---
Y`All Come - Jackie Phelps
The Longest Train - Gene Martin
Still On The Hill - Howdy Forrester
Family Man - Gene Martin & June Stearns
Courtin` In The Rain - Bashful Brother Oswald
Just Another Song - June Stearns
Gospel Guitar - Jackie Phelps
Smoky Mountain Train - The Smoky Mountain Boys
Dobro Chimes - Bashful Brother Oswald
Mister Piano Man - Gene Martin
Coon Hound - Jimmie Riddle
We`ve Got Things In Common - Gene Martin & June Stearns
Rabbit In The Log - Bashful Brother Oswald
Wabash Cannonball - Jackie Phelps

Click here to download Country Music Cannonball