"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 4/22/2012

"Star of the Day -- who will it be?"  Those were the opening lines sung by the contestants on a local talent show called "Community Auditions" that used to air on Boston's WBZ-TV when I was a kid.  For all I know, the program may still be in existence, but whether it is or not, that theme song has stuck in my head for 30+ years.  What does that have to do with Bluegrass?  Not much, really, but if the question of who was going to be the "Star of the Day" was posed during today's BG Cafe, the answer would definitely be Doyle Lawson.  On April 27th, Doyle will make a rare trip to New England to play a show in Hamden, CT for GuitartownCT Productions (followed by a show on Saturday, April 28th in Lexington, MA for the Boston Bluegrass Union), so what better reason for us to have a chat with Doyle and shine a bit of a spotlight on him? 

With the Country Gents c. 1971
or 1972 -- is this Indian Ranch?

Bluegrass Album Band...
for lack of a better name

Doyle Lawson has had an outstanding career in the world of BG -- so far -- and on Tuesday of this past week, I got to sit down and record a conversation with Doyle while he relayed some interesting stories of a career that began in February 1963 when he was hired to pick the banjo with Jimmy Martin.  From there, he worked with J.D. Crowe in Lexington, KY, spent nearly eight years with the Country Gentlemen, and then, on April 1, 1979, struck out on his own with his own band, which would become known as Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.  In addition, Doyle was a key member of an iconic recording band known as the Bluegrass Album Band, and just last year, he won two IBMA Awards for a recording project he made with old friends, Paul Williams and J.D. Crowe.  Amazing.  To celebrate Doyle, we played a good bit of his music before and after the interview, including a selection from his most recent gospel record with Quicksilver, "Sing Me A Song About Jesus," released last month on Mountain Home/Crossroads.  


If you missed my chat with Doyle, you'll have another opportunity to hear an interview with him on Monday, April 23rd, when "Mando Richard" Gordon talks to Doyle on WNHU's "Black Diamond" Bluegrass show sometime between noon and 2PM.  Looks like you can listen online, too:  http://www.wnhu.net/index.html.


So, while Doyle Lawson was our "Star of the Day," we still managed to play music from a few other folks on today's show, including selections from newer projects by the Missy Werner Band, Chris Jones, Merl Johnson, the Grascals, a New Hampshire band known as Monadnock, Lou Reid & Carolina, the Spinney Brothers, the Special Consensus, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, and the Boxcars.  We also gave what I think might have been a BG Cafe debut to new music from Jimmy Gaudreau & Moondi Klein (their new Rebel CD is "Home From The Mills") and a forthcoming project on Rural Rhythm Records from Audie Blaylock & Redline.

Check out page 9!

Hope you enjoyed something you heard today, and that you'll be sure to join Jim for next week's BG Cafe.  If you're a subscriber to Bluegrass Music Profiles, be sure to check out Page 9 of the May/June issue, as you'll be able to read all about our own Mr. Beaver in the "DJ Profile."  Nice!  


Have a mighty fine week, and thanks for listening!


Amy 




SONG / PERFORMER / ALBUM / LABEL (request is RED)

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• I'll Pretend It's Raining / McCoury Brothers / The McCoury Brothers / Rounder
• Breaking In A Brand New Pair Of Shoes / Osborne Brothers / Hillbilly Fever / CMH
• Three Kinds Of Lonesome / Missy Werner Band / Three Kinds Of Lonesome / Self-Produced
• Shoulder To Shoulder / McPeak Brothers / Yesteryears / Rebel
• Red Wicked Wine / Charlie Sizemore with Ralph Stanley / Heartache Looking For A Home / Rounder
• Come And Sit By The River / Country Gentlemen / The Sugar Hill Years / Sugar Hill
• Final Farewell / Chris Jones / Lost Souls & Free Spirits / Rebel
• Amandalyn / Merl Johnson / Better Man / Patuxent Music
• I Can't Keep You In Love With Me / Expedition Show / The Expedition Show / Mountain Fever Records
• Helen / J.D. Crowe / Bluegrass Holiday / Rebel
• Hello Mr. Lonesome / The Grascals / Life Finds A Way / Mountain Home
• Dark Hollow / Monadnock / House Upon The Hill / Self-Produced
• I'm Just A Used To Be / Peter Rowan / The First Whippoorwill / Sugar Hill
• My Little Georgia Rose / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Anthology / MCA
• When You Are Lonely / Bluegrass Album Band / The Bluegrass Album Band, Volume 4 / Rounder
• Wearin' The Blues / Josh Williams with David Peterson / I'll Take Love : From The Pen Of Louisa Branscomb / Compass Records
• My Blue Tears / Gloria Belle with the Johnson Mountain Boys / Love Of The Mountains / Webco
• Early Morning Rain / Bill Emerson & Cliff Waldron / The Best Of Emerson & Waldron / Rebel
• ** Conversation with Doyle Lawson **
• The Greatest Curator / Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / Sing Me A Song About Jesus / Mountain Home
• Little Bessie / Country Gentlemen / Live In Japan / Rebel
• A Natural Thing / Audie Blaylock & Redline / Fresh Cuts & Key Tracks / Emmaline
• Emmaline / Lou Reid & Carolina / Callin' Me Back Home / KMA Records
• Help My Brother / Gibson Brothers / Help My Brother / Compass Records
• What A Wonderful Life / Spinney Brothers / Memories / Mountain Fever Records
• Sea Of Heartbreak / Special Consensus / Scratch Gravel Road / Compass Records
• Big Muddy / Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out / Drive Tyme / Rural Rhythm
• Sad Prison Song / Hylo Brown / Lovesick And Sorrow / Starday
• Bending Blades / Jimmy Gaudreau & Moondi Klein / Home From The Mills / Rebel
• Prayer Bells Of Heaven / Crowe, Lawson, Williams / Old Friends Get Together / Mountain Home
• Prison / The Boxcars / All In / Mountain Home
• I Can Call Jesus / Lynn Morris / Mama's Hand / Rounder
• Jordan / Stanley Brothers / Best Of The Best / Federal
• It's Gonna Rain / Kathy Kallick [Good Ol' Persons] / Count Your Blessings / Live Oak Records
• Give The Devil An Inch / Billy Boone Smith / Five Flat Rocks / Muddy Sunshine
• The Power Up Above / Edgar Loudermilk / Roads Travelled / Mountain Fever Records
• The Old Fashioned Preacher / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Father's Table Grace / MME
• On The Sea Of Life / Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / A School Of Bluegrass / Crossroads
• Blue Grass Twist / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder