The Carolina Tar Heels

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

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

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

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!!

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. As always, click on any image to enlarge it.
So here he is, the great funny man, Junior Samples!!!

Cover from Moonshining---


Click here to download Moonshining

Cover from That`s A Hee Haw---


Click here to download That`s A Hee Haw

Cover for The Best Of Junior Samples----


Click here to download The Best Of Junior Samples

Cover from The World Of Junior Samples---


Click here to download The World Of Junior Samples.

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



Click here to download Bull Session At Bull`s Gap

Click here to download Star Of Hee Haw

Cover for Star Of Hee Haw----

Lew Childre - Old Time Get-Together

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 click 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