Aunt Molly Jackson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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