Sunday, December 28, 2014

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 12/28/2014

Our last Bluegrass Cafe to air in 2014 was a slightly sports-preempted one, as UConn Men's Hockey took over our WHUS airwaves at 6PM.  Still, in the two hours remaining, we covered a lot of ground as we celebrated birthdays, looked back at some of the Bluegrass folks we've said goodbye to in 2014, shared some newer music, as well as favorites from the year, and even remembered Hank Williams.  Hope you were able to join us, but if not, read on...

Happy Birthday, Tom Venne!
The show began with songs performed by two gentlemen celebrating birthdays today -- December 28th.  We heard from both Nightflyer (featuring birthday boy Rick Hayes on the lead vocal and mandolin), as well as BearTracks (with birthday celebrant Tom Venne singing the lead vocal on a song he wrote).  Happy Birthday to each of them!

While the Bluegrass World lost a good number of performers and behind-the-scenes folks this year, we remembered a few of those who passed by playing some music from White Mountain Bluegrass (Hazel McGee died October 27th), James Alan Shelton (d. June 3rd), George Shuffler (d. April 7th), and the Tennessee Mafia Jug Band (band co-founder Lester Armisted died May 2nd).  There's no better way to remember these folks than by sharing their music, and we'll continue to do that in 2015 and beyond.


There was a bit of new music to share this week, too, including brand new recordings from Johnny Williams ("Going My Way" on Mountain Roads Recordings), Long Island's Buddy Merriam & Back Roads ("The Farm" on Buddy's own LilyPad Records), and a debut recording from songwriter Damian Muller called "Steady Work."  

And we couldn't have any kind of music show so close to January 1st without remembering a man who might have been country music's greatest songwriter:  Hank Williams.  It has been nearly 62 years since Hank Williams died on January 1, 1953 -- more than twice as many years as how long this troubled singer-songwriter lived -- but the influence of Hank lives on...probably forever.  

Thanks so much for your support of Bluegrass Cafe this year!  Best wishes to you for health and happiness -- and more Bluegrass! -- in 2015!  Get your year started off right next Sunday when Jim joins you for what we hope will be a full three hours of Bluegrass Cafe!

Amy


SONG / PERFORMER / ALBUM / LABEL

  • Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
  • The Hangman's Daughter / Nightflyer / Nightflyer / Kang Records [Rick Hayes birthday, December 28]
  • Ta Ta, The Brushoff / BearTracks / Makin' Tracks / Self-Produced [Tom Venne birthday, December 28]
  • Looks Like Snow / Stephen Moughin / That's What I Love About Christmas:  Timeless Seasonal Songs Penned By Rick Lang / RLM Records
  • Footprints In The Snow / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, 1940-1946 / JSP Records
  • Six Feet Of Snow / Neon Valley Boys / Bluegrass / Sudden Comfort Records
  • Grandfather's Clock / Fred Pike, Bill Rawlings & the Twin River Boys / Authentic Bluegrass Folk Music / Osage Records
  • Teardrops In My Eyes / Fred Pike, Bill Rawlings & the Twin River Boys / Authentic Bluegrass Folk Music / Osage Records
  • Church On The Foot Of The Hill / White Mountain Bluegrass / Aragon Mill / Strictly Country
  • Soldier's Joy / James Alan Shelton / Walking Down The Line / Sheltone Records
  • I Am A Pilgrim / George Shuffler / Aged To Perfection / Copper Creek 
  • Down In Union County / Tennessee Mafia Jug Band / Screams From The Holler / Spring Fed Records
  • Nine Pound Hammer / George Shuffler / Aged To Perfection / Copper Creek
  • Monday Blues / Balsam Range / Five / Mountain Home
  • Rough Edges / Missy Werner / Turn This Heart Around / Self-Produced
  • Going Back To My Kentucky Country Home / Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers / Another Day From Life / Rebel
  • Doggone / Hot Rize / When I'm Free / Ten In Hand Records
  • Reasons Why / Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / In Session / Mountain Home
  • You're Not A Drop In The Bucket / The Earls Of Leicester / The Earls Of Leicester / Rounder
  • I'll Go Steppin' Too / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Cuts, 1952-1955 / JSP Records
  • Don't Let Your Deal Go Down / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Cuts, 1955-1959 / JSP Records
  • You Can Feel It In Your Soul / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Cuts, 1952-1955 / JSP Records
  • Old Fashioned Preacher / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Cuts, 1952-1955 / JSP Records
  • China Grove, My Hometown / Curly Seckler / Down In Caroline / Copper Creek [Curly Seckler born December 25, 1917]
  • Sailor's Regret / Johnny Williams / Going My Way / Mountain Roads Recordings
  • Berkshire Mountains Waltz / Buddy Merriam & Back Roads / The Farm / LilyPad Records
  • Cold Cold Heart / Spinney Brothers / Going Home / Self-Produced
  • I Saw The Light / Hank Williams / Gospel Keepsakes / Time Life
  • Press On / Damian Muller / Steady Work / Self-Produced
  • Pray For Me / Steve Gulley / Family, Friends & Fellowship / Rural Rhythm
  • Call His Name / Johnson Mountain Boys / Working Close / Rounder
  • Free Salvation / Del McCoury Band / The Streets Of Baltimore / McCoury Music
  • Auld Lang Syne / Bill Keith / O Christmas Tree / Rounder


Monday, December 22, 2014

Playlist - 12/21/2014 - Christmas

Hi Folks.

In spite of our best intentions, we were reduced to a 1-hour show because of a spurts preemption. Our intention was to program a typical show and intersperse bluegrass Christmas music along the way. We were able to do this for one hour.

We introduced several notable new recordings on this show including the surprising debut of Ruben & Matt and the Truffle Valley Boys -- surprising because they are from Italy, and have pretty much nailed the traditional bluegrass sounds of the 1950s.  You can check out their Facebook page here.

Ruben & Matt and the Truffle Valley Boys
Other new recordings included music from Steve Gulley & New Pinnacle, Cody Shuler, and Christmas music from The Roys.

Steve Gulley and New Pinnacle
Recent favorites included songs from Marteka & William, Larry Sparks, Tommy Brown, Turning Ground, Phil Leadbetter, and Alex Leach.

Alex Leach


The Heritage Corner included music from The Stanley Brothers, Dave Evans, The Johnson Mountain Boys, Doc Watson, and Dry Branch Fire Squad.

Amy is scheduled to be with you next Sunday to make the banjos and fiddles ring, so make an appointment to tune in.

Jim Beaver

Artist / Song / Disk / Label

  • Marteka and William / Sally Goodwin / The Sounds Of A Tradition / Self-released
  • Larry Sparks / Will You Be Satisfied That Way / Lonesome And Then Some... / Rebel
  • The Johnson Mountain Boys / Darlin' I'm Coming Home / Walls Of Time / Rounder
  • The Johnson Mountain Boys / The Friendly Beasts / Acoustic Holidays / Rounder
  • Ruben & Matt and the Truffle Valley Boys / Theme / Single / Self-released
  • Ruben & Matt and the Truffle Valley Boys / Nashville Jail / Single / Self-released
  • Ruben & Matt and the Truffle Valley Boys / Teardrops Mixed With Rain / Single / Self-released
  • The Stanley Brothers / Christmas Is Near / Christmas Time's A-Comin' / Time Life
  • Steve Gulley & New Pinnacle / Leaving Crazytown / Fresh Cuts & Key Tracks No.2 - 2014 / Rural Rhythm
  • Tommy Brown and the County Line Grass / Leaving This Town Little Darlin' / Leaving This Town / Randm
  • Cody Shuler / My Home Is On This Ole Boxcar / Fresh Cuts & Key Tracks No.2 - 2014 / Rural Rhythm
  • The Roys / Bluegrass Kinda Christmas / Bluegrass Kinda Christmas / Rural Rhythm
  • Turning Ground / Old Memories / Cell Of Mine / Self-released
  • Phil Leadbetter / Just Joshin' with Jerry Douglas & Rob Ikes / The Next Move / Pinecastle
  • Alex Leach / Miller's Cave / Mountain Heartache / Self-released
  • Doc Watson / New Born King / Single / United Artists
  • Dave Evans / When The Snow Falls On My Foggy Mountain Home / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel Records Llc
  • Rueben & Matt and the Truffle Valley Boys / The Lord's Last Supper / Single / Self Released
  • Dry Branch Fire Squad / Jesus On The Mainline / Long Journey / Rounder [requested]

Sunday, December 14, 2014

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 12/14/2014

New music from Doyle in January! 
What a mixed-up Sunday!  From 4-6PM, there was supposed to be a preemption for Men's Basketball.  However, due to a technical glitch, that broadcast never happened.  Instead, we took back our Bluegrass broadcast a bit earlier than the 6PM end time of the original game, and put together a compact edition of Bluegrass Cafe.

Coming soon in 2015...a new record from Springfield Exit!
The music we played on Sunday's shortened show included a little bit of Christmas music -- a couple of country tunes mixed in with some Bluegrass Christmas.  New music figured a little bit into the show, too, with some fresh-from-the-mailbox music from Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, as well as single releases from forthcoming projects by Cody Shuler, as well as Springfield Exit.  There was even a little bit of new Christmas music from a collection of songs written by New Hampshire songwriter Rick Lang, and an a cappella carol  for the season from Nightflyer.

This show was my last scheduled turn on the radio before Christmas, but I strongly encourage you to join Jim next Sunday for what should be a full three-hour broadcast.  

Merry Christmas to all!

Amy


SONG / PERFORMER / ALBUM / LABEL



  • Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
  • Christmas Story / Nashville Bluegrass Band / Tinsel Tunes / Sugar Hill
  • Jingle Bells / Reno & Smiley / The True Meaning Of Christmas / Gusto
  • Reindeer Boogie / Hank Snow / Hillbilly Holiday / Rhino
  • Bluegrass Christmas / McCoury Brothers / Christmas Time's A-Comin' / Time Life
  • Christmas Country Style / Statler Brothers / Christmas Present / Mercury
  • Christmas Time's A-Comin' / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Christmas Time's A-Comin' / Time Life
  • Dusty Old World / Gibson Brothers / They Called It Music / Compass Records
  • Rose Of My Heart / Whitstein Brothers / Rose Of My Heart / Rounder
  • Roll Big River / Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / In Session / Mountain Home
  • My Home Is On This Ole Boxcar / Cody Shuler / single / Self-Produced
  • Some Old Day / Springfield Exit / single / Patuxent Music
  • I'll Go Steppin' Too / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Cuts, 1952-1955 / JSP Records
  • That Star Belongs To Me / Lilly Brothers & Don Stover / On The Radio, 1952-1953 / Rounder
  • Travelin' On And On / David Peterson & 1946 / David Peterson & 1946 / Self-Produced
  • Angels From On High / Jana Mougin / That's What I Love About Christmas:  Timeless Seasonal Songs Penned By Rick Lang / RLM Records
  • Beautiful Star Of Bethlehem / Stanley Brothers / All Gospel, All Bluegrass / Federal
  • O Holy Night / Nightflyer / single / Kang Records
  • The Place Prepared For Me / Country Gentlemen / Calling My Children Home / Rebel
  • Turn Your Radio On / Chris Hillman / Way Down Deep In My Soul / Sugar Hill
  • Precious Child / Tony Trischka / Glory Shone Around / Rounder
  • Sweeping Through The Gates / Bob Paisley & the Southern Grass / Forty Years Of Trouble / Strictly Country

Sunday, December 07, 2014

"Bluegrass Cafe" - 12/7/2014

Jim was called away from the radio this week, so I got to share three hours of the Bluegrass on Sunday's show.  During the broadcast, we talked a bit about the newly-announced Grammy nominees (only those in the "Best Bluegrass Album" category, of course), shared a little bit of Christmas music, and remembered the significance of December 7th in history, among other topics.  Hope you were able to join us!


The U.S.S. Arizona burning after the attack on Pearl Harbor -
December 7, 1941 
On a December 7th broadcast, it would be absolutely wrong if we didn't mention the surprise Japanese Imperial Navy attack that drew the United States into World War II on Sunday, December 7, 1941.  This event is not a topic that has been greatly covered in the world of Bluegrass music, but we were able to play a Bluegrass version of a morale-boosting song from World War II ("There's A Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere"), an instrumental song from Jesse McReynolds and Bobby Osborne titled, "7th Of December," and a bona fide, stir-'em-up patriotic number from 1942:  "Remember Pearl Harbor" from Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra.  Now, that last song IS NOT Bluegrass by any stretch, but sometimes, genre just isn't important for a few minutes, and remembering Pearl Harbor seems to be one of those times.


One of five terrific nominees in the
"Best Bluegrass Album" category for
the 2015 Grammy Awards.
The nominations for 2015 Grammy Awards were announced this week, and in the category of "Best Bluegrass Album," there are some really fine choices.  We sampled one song from each recording on Sunday's show, and will be interested to see who comes home with the Grammy Award in February 2015.  To read more about the Bluegrass nominees, click here.


One of the Grammy nominees is the recording from the Earls of Leicester -- a fine, all-star tribute band to the music of Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs & the Foggy Mountain Boys.  It's great to see that the music of Flatt & Scruggs is still inspiring a new generation or two.  This week marks a couple of significant anniversaries in the history of Lester & Earl -- the seminal "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" was first recorded by the Foggy Mountain Boys on December 11, 1949, and on December 8, 1962, Flatt & Scruggs played a show at New York's Carnegie Hall.  This was a big whoop for a Bluegrass/Country act in those days (as it would be today), and the resulting album, "Flatt & Scruggs Live At Carnegie Hall!" is an absolute classic.

We couldn't not play a couple of Christmas songs in the mix on Sunday's broadcast, either.  Those came to us this week from the Stanley Brothers, Rhonda Vincent, Bill Grant & Delia Bell, the Country Gentlemen, and the Johnson Mountain Boys.

Hope you enjoyed the show, and that you'll be sure to join me on the air next Sunday from 4-7PM.  

Have a great week!

Amy



SONG / PERFORMER / ALBUM / LABEL [Requests are RED].


  • Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
  • If We Make It Through December / Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum / Winter's Grace / Signature Sounds
  • Christmas Is Near / Stanley Brothers / Christmas Time's A-Comin' / Time Life
  • O Christmas Tree / Rhonda Vincent / O Christmas Tree / Rounder
  • My Little Silver Bells / Bill Grant & Delia Bell / O Christmas Tree / Rounder
  • That Little Girl Of Mine In Carolina / Edgar Loudermilk / My Big Chance Tomorrow / Mountain Fever Records
  • Margie / Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass / Road Into Town / Patuxent Music
  • When You Are Lonely / Peter Rowan / The First Whippoorwill / Sugar Hill
  • Snowflake Breakdown / Jim & Jesse / On The Radio / Rural Rhythm
  • Up This Hill And Down / Larry Stephenson & Mark Newton / Live At Mr. B's / B's Records
  • Remember Pearl Harbor / Sammy Kaye & His Orchestra / Remember Pearl Harbor:  Classic Songs Of World War II / RCA
  • There's A Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere / Charlie Waller & the Country Gentlemen / Songs Of The American Spirit / Pinecastle
  • 7th Of December / Bobby Osborne & Jesse McReynolds / Masters Of The Mandolin / Pinecastle
  • The Hard Times / Bobby Osborne & the Rocky Top X-Press / Try A Little Kindness / Rounder [Bobby Osborne birthday - 12/7/1931]
  • Walk Through This World With Me / Seldom Scene / Long Time...Seldom Scene / Smithsonian Folkways
  • Walking In The Early Morning Dew / Bill Harrell & the Virginians / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel
  • Try A Little Kindness / Bobby Osborne & the Rocky Top X-Press / Rounder
  • Christmas Time Back Home / Country Gentlemen / Christmas Time Back Home / Rebel
  • Reuben / Marteka & William / The Sounds Of A Tradition / Self-Produced
  • Kisses Don't Lie / Lynn Morris Band / The Lynn Morris Band / Rounder
  • Frozen In Time / Gibson Brothers / Help My Brother / Compass Records
  • Your Love Is Dying / Lost & Found / Across The Blue Ridge Mountains / Rebel
  • The Pain Of Loving You / Mark Newton with Gloria Belle / Follow Me Back To The Fold / Rebel
  • Leavin' You And Mobile, Too / Lost & Found / Across The Blue Ridge Mountains / Rebel
  • Memories Of Mother And Dad / James King & David Davis / Plum Pitiful / Time Life 
  • Darling Little Joe / Don Reno & Bill Harrell / Plum Pitiful / Time Life
  • Busy City / Rhonda Vincent / Only Me / Upper Management Music
  • Betrayal / Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen / Cold Spell / Compass Records
  • Cricket On The Hearth / Bryan Sutton / Into My Own / Sugar Hill
  • Dig A Hole In The Meadow / The Earls Of Leicester / The Earls Of Leicester / Rounder
  • Wheel Hoss / Noam Pikelny / Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe / Compass Records
  • Foggy Mountain Breakdown / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / The Complete Mercury Recordings / Mercury [recorded 12/11/1949]
  • Oh! Susanna / Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick / Laurie & Kathy Sing The Songs Of Vern & Ray / Spruce & Maple Music
  • Saro Jane / Roland White Band / Straight-Ahead Bluegrass / Self-Produced
  • Monday Blues / Balsam Range / Five / Mountain Home
  • Don't Think About It Too Long / Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice / Trouble Follows Me / Rebel
  • She Doesn't Mourn Anymore / Spinney Brothers / Tried & True / Mountain Fever Records
  • How Long Have I Been Waiting / Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / The Original Band / Sugar Hill
  • Salty Dog Blues / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Flatt & Scruggs At Carnegie Hall:  The Complete Concert / Koch Records [recorded 12/8/1962]
  • Let The Church Roll On / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Flatt & Scruggs At Carnegie Hall:  The Complete Concert / Koch Records
  • Talk It All Over With Him / Bluegrass Album Band / The Bluegrass Album, Volume 4 / Rounder
  • The Friendly Beasts / Johnson Mountain Boys / O Christmas Tree / Rounder
  • Get Behind Me Satan / Bear Bridge Band / A Bear Bridge Sampler / Open Road
  • I'm Rollin' Through This Unfriendly World / Nashville Bluegrass Band / The Boys Are Back In Town / Sugar Hill
  • Lord Build Me A Cabin In Glory / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, 1957-1958 / JSP Records
  • You'll Be Rewarded Over There / Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boyd / One Morning In May / Rounder
  • I Am The Road / Hot Rize / When I'm Free / Ten In Hand Records
  • He Will Set Your Field On Fire / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Flatt & Scruggs At Carnegie Hall:  The Complete Concert / Koch Records
  • Black Mountain Blues / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder

Sunday, November 30, 2014

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 11/30/2014

On the last Sunday of November, we shared a couple of Christmas songs, gave away a CD or three, paid tribute to a Country Music Hall of Famer, and listened to a few 2014 favorites and music of classic Bluegrassers.  Hope you were able to make us a part of your end-of-Thanksgiving holiday weekend...

One of my favorites of 2014...
This is the time of year when many websites and such start listing out "The BEST ______ of 2014."  While I wasn't able to find any "Top Bluegrass" listings quite yet, I still shared a few of my personal favorite releases of 2014 from performers including Crowe, Lawson & Williams, the Spinney Brothers, Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick, and Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper.

Have you ever had a seemingly-random song that you don't recall hearing in forever start going through your head?  I had that very thing happen to me today when "Ribbon Of Darkness" -- the Gordon Lightfoot tune performed by Marty Robbins in 1965 -- popped into my head and wouldn't go away.  I interpreted that as a "sign," of sorts, to play Bluegrass covers of a few Marty Robbins songs, and so, we put together a set featuring Marty Robbins tunes performed by Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, the Gibson Brothers, the Johnson Mountain Boys, and Jim Hurst.


Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it's not too early to share a Christmas song or two.  To that end, we included a track from the brand-new-for-2014 Christmas recording by the Claire Lynch Band -- "Holiday!"

If you listened to the show on Sunday, you might
Something to look forward to in 2015:
a new record from the Gibsons!
have learned that the
Gibson Brothers will be appearing in Connecticut this coming week -- in a trio form.  If you'd like to see Eric & Leigh Gibson along with longtime bass player (and right hand), Mike Barber, they can be found at the Spaceland Ballroom in Hamden on Friday night.  For more information on this show, click here.  Chances are pretty good that you'll hear something from the Gibsons' forthcoming Rounder recording, "Brotherhood."  


Be sure to join Jim for another edition of Bluegrass Cafe next Sunday afternoon -- and have a nice week!

Amy


SONG / PERFORMER / ALBUM / LABEL

  • Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
  • I've Never Been So Lonesome / Longview / Longview / Rounder
  • Weary Hobo / Johnson Mountain Boys / Walls Of Time / Rounder
  • Jesse James / Bill Emerson with Marshall Wilborn & Lynn Morris / Eclipse / Rural Rhythm
  • Radio Boogie / Hot Rize / So Long Of A Journey / Sugar Hill
  • I Feel The Blues Moving In / Del McCoury / High Lonesome And Blue / Rounder
  • Wear A Red Rose / James King / Bed By The Window / Rounder
  • The Memory Of Your Smile / Dede Wyland / Keep The Light On / Patuxent Music
  • Earl's Breakdown / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Radio Gems
  • Loneliness And Desperation / Del McCoury & the Dixie Pals / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel
  • Fiddlin' Joe / Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper / On Down The Line / Compass Records
  • Will You Be Satisfied That Way / Larry Sparks / Lonesome And Then Some... / Rebel
  • Feeling Blue / The Pike Brothers & the Pine Hill Ranchers / The Pike Brothers & the Pine Hill Ranchers / Rebel
  • Someone Took My Place With You / Stonewall Bluegrass / I Won't Be Troubled Anymore / Self-Produced
  • Lonely Violet / Peg & Ed / Lonely Violet / Self-Produced
  • I Don't Know What To Do / Warrior River Boys / New Beginnings / Rounder
  • Wild Montana Skies / Special Consensus with Claire Lynch / Country Boy:  A Bluegrass Tribute To John Denver / Compass Records
  • In The Wind Somewhere / Richard Bennett / In The Wind Somewhere / Lonesome Day Records
  • Many A Mile / Country Gentlemen / Can't You Hear Me Callin':  Early Classics, 1963-1969 / Rebel
  • Crowe On The Banjo / Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mountain Boys / You Don't Know My Mind / Rounder
  • My Walking Shoes / Crowe, Lawson & Williams / Standing Tall And Tough / Mountain Home
  • They're At Rest Together / Seldom Scene / Dream Scene / Sugar Hill
  • Two Feet On The Floor / Crowe Brothers / Forty Years Old / Mountain Fever Records
  • I Dreamed Of An Old Love Affair / Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters / Everything I Wanted Love To Be / Happy Appy Records
  • All I Have To Offer You Is Me / Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice / Trouble Follows Me / Rebel
  • I'm Leaving You This Lonesome Song / The Boxcars / It's Just A Road / Mountain Home
  • Ribbon Of Darkness / Chris Jones & the Night Drivers / No One But You / Rebel
  • Don't Worry / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder
  • I Can't Quit / Gibson Brothers / Spread Your Wings / Hay Holler
  • Big Iron / Jim Hurst / Second Son / Pinecastle
  • Home For The Holidays / Claire Lynch Band / Holiday! / Thrill Hill Records
  • That White Christmas Song / Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers / Sugar Plums / Sugar Hill
  • Ring The Bell / Gibson Brothers / Ring The Bell / Compass Records
  • The East Bound Train / Gibson Brothers / Long Way Back Home / Sugar Hill
  • Gonna Catch A Train / Spinney Brothers / Tried & True / Mountain Fever Records
  • I'm A Ramblin' Rolling Stone / Phil Leadbetter with John Cowan & Sam Bush / The Next Move / Pinecastle
  • Black-Eyed Susie / Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick / Laurie & Kathy Sing The Songs Of Vern & Ray / Spruce & Maple Music
  • Roll On Big Mama / The Grascals / When I Get My Pay / Mountain Home
  • Big Eyed Rabbit / Adam Steffey / New Primitive / Organic Records
  • Lonesome Without You / Donna Ulisse / An Easy Climb / Hadley Music Group
  • Gathering Flowers For The Master's Bouquet / Stanley Brothers / The Complete Columbia Stanley Brothers / Columbia
  • So Happy I'll Be / Bluegrass Album Band / Songs Of Flatt & Scruggs / Rounder
  • Sinner You'd Better Get Ready / Louvin Brothers / Songs That Tell A Story / Rounder
  • Light At The River / Steve Gulley / Family, Friends & Fellowship / Rural Rhythm
  • Rock My Soul / Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / Rock My Soul / Sugar Hill
  • The Darkest Hour / BearTracks / Makin' New Tracks / Self-Produced
  • Fill My Way With Love / Doc Watson / Every Time I Feel The Spirit / Sugar Hill
  • You Don't Love God If You Don't Love Your Neighbor / Rhonda Vincent & the Rage / A Gospel Bluegrass Homecoming, Volume 1 / GGS
  • Blue Grass Twist / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Playlist - 11/23/2014

Hi Folks.

This show had a few focus areas, the big one being the large number of classic, rare, and obscure songs and tunes from vinyl sources - 23 tracks.  The playlist below indicates the vinyl by the mark (LP) or (45) next the the label name.

James King at the Firebox, Nov. 22, 2014
Another focus area was the music of James King.  James performed at the Firebox the evening before this show, so we saluted James by playing some of his early recordings as well as his most recent CD, and several in between as well as some Longview recordings in which James is a member.

Last but not least, we featured several tracks from the brand new CD from Larry Gillis.  Alex Leach and Ella Naiman Warde -- long time Gillis associates -- are featured.

Other newer music included songs from Russ Carson, Tommy Brown and the County Line Grass, The Earls of Leicester, Becky Buller, Turning Ground, and our teenage friends from West Virginia, Marteka and William Lake.

It is fall break at UCONN, so you may hear both Jim and Amy filling in at random times in the schedule for absent students.  We will give notice on our Facebook page when we have a bluegrass-type fill-in coming up.

Amy will be back next week hosting Bluegrass Cafe, and Marti and I will be back on Red Rooster Party just in front of that.

Have a safe Thanksgiving.

Jim Beaver

Artist / Song / Album / Label
  • Rafe Brady / Katy Hill / Cherokee Rose / Hertage 
  • Lilly Brothers & Don Stover / Bring Back My Blue Eyed Boy / Early Recordings / Rebel 
  • Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boys / The Little Paper Boy / One Morning In May / Rounder
  • The Bear Bridge Band / I Got A Letter / One More Ride / Open Road
  • Grass Routes / Bailey's Deal / Bailey's Deal / Grass Routes
  • James King / Highway To Nowhere / Three Chords And The Truth / Rounder
  • Stanley Brothers / Gonna Paint The Town / Folk Festival / Stanley
  • Russ Carson / Let Me Rest At The End Of My Journey / Avenue Of The Giants / Patuxent
  • Dry Branch Fire Squad / Jesus On The Mainline / Live At the Newburyport Firehouse / Rounder 
  • Curly Ray Cline / Just A Hangin' / Smarter Than The Average Idiot / Tin Ear (LP)
  • Don Stover and the White Oak Mountain Boys / Swing Them Pretty Girls Round / Don Stover and the White Oak Mountain Boys / Rounder (LP)
  • Don Stover and the White Oak Mountain Boys / Picked Up A Hammer / Don Stover and the White Oak Mountain Boys / Rounder (LP)
  • James King / I Just Want to Grow Old Lovin' You / Webco Classics Vol 2 - James King / Pinecastle 
  • Charlie Moore & Bill Napier / Story Of Love / 45 rpm single / American (45)
  • Johnson Mountain Boys / Let's Part the Best of Friends / Favorites / Rounder
  • The Keen Brothers / I Got Wise / Grassy Mountain Sound / Old Homestead (LP)
  • Larry Gillis / Swamp Folk / Swamp Folk / Tin Folk (LP)
  • Longview / I've Lived A Lot In My Time / Lessons In Stone / Rebel
  • Bill Box And The Dixie Drifters / Georgia-Alabama / Big Blue Grass Special / Rich-R-Tone (LP)
  • Foggy Mountain Hilton / Bluegrass Music Has Ruined My Life / Show Me the Way to Go Home / Patuxent
  • Curley Lambert with the Goins Brothers / Daybreak In Dixie / Blue Grass Evergreen / Old Homestead (LP)
  • The Sandy Valley Boys / Banjo John / Hard Road To Travel / Vetco (LP)
  • Larry Efaw and the Bluegrass Mountaineers / Give Me Time to Think It Over / She Left Me Standing On a Mountain / Blue Circle
  • Larry Gillis / Fiddler's Blues / Swamp Folk / Tin Folk
  • Rual Yarbrough / Blackberry Blossom / 5-String Banjo by Rual Yarbrough / Tune (LP)
  • Audie Blaylock / Trains Are The Only Way To Fly / Trains Are The Only Way To Fly / Self-released
  • Turning Ground / Dig 2 Graves / Cell Of Mine / Self-released
  • The Butler Brothers / Sailing On the Ocean / Sounds Of Bluegrass / Carpenter (LP)
  • The South Carolina Broadcasters / Write Me Sweetheart / Short Time To Stay Here / Flaming Heart
  • Judy & Whitey / Sweethearts In Heaven / Pioneer Valley Jamboree / Jay-Vac (LP)
  • Delia Bell and Bill Grant / The Blues - Mountain Style / The Blues - Mountain Style / Kiamichi (LP)
  • Bill Lowe / Aunt Hattie / Kentucky Farewell / Ramblin'  (LP)
  • James King / These Old Pictures / These Old Pictures / Rounder
  • White Mountain Bluegrass / Ice Covered Birches / Ice Covered Birches / Fishtraks (LP)
  • The Bailes Brothers / How Many Biscuits Can You Eat / The Bailes Brothers Johnnie & Homer / Old Homestead (LP)
  • The Bailes Brothers / Silver Trumpet / The Bailes Brothers Johnnie & Homer / Old Homestead (LP)
  • Hylo Brown & The Timberliners / Cricket Hop-Get Lost You Wolf / Original Radio Recording Collector's Special / Grassound (LP)
  • Tommy Brown and the County Line Grass / Leaving This Town Little Darlin' / Leaving This Town / Randm
  • Rafe Brady / Silly Hill (bed) / Cherokee Rose / Hertage 
  • Rafe Brady / Cherokee Rose (bed) / Cherokee Rose / Hertage 
  • Larry Gillis / Little Rose / Swamp Folk / Tin Folk
  • James King / Crazy Heart / Lonesome and Then Some / Rounder
  • Larry Gillis / Three Sheets In The Wind / Swamp Folk / Tin Folk
  • Marteka and William / John Henry / The Sounds Of A Tradition / Self-released
  • Marteka and William / Johnson Ridge Special / The Sounds Of A Tradition / Self-released
  • Don Stover & Friends / Six Months Ain't Long / My Blue Ridge Memories / White Oak (LP)
  • The Earls Of Leicester / I Don’t Care Anymore / The Earls of Leicester / New Rounder
  • James King / Toil, Tears and Trouble / Thirty Years of Farming / New Rounder
  • The Stanley Brothers / Jesus Savior Pilot Me / The Stanley Brothers Goes To Europe / Rimrock (LP)
  • Vern and Ray / Happy I'll Be / Sounds From The Ozarks / Old Homestead (LP)
  • Tommy Brown and the County Line Grass / My Bible Tells Me / Leaving This Town / Randm
  • Carl Story / He Will Walk Through The Shadows With You / It's A Mighty Hard Road To Travel / Country (LP)
  • Jimmie Williams and Red Ellis / Open Window / Holy Cry From The Hills  / Starday (LP)
  • Longview / He'll Save Your Soul Yet / High Lonesome / Rounder
  • Unplugged Demos (Myrna Riquier) / Hello Lord / Momma's Flowers / Natchaug Music 
  • Becky Buller / I Serve a God (Who Can Raise the Dead) / 'Tween Earth And Sky / Dark Shadow
  • Mickey Boles / Let My Feet Go Runnin' / Let My Feet Go Runnin' / Self-released
  • The South Carolina Broadcasters / River Of Jordan / Can You Hear Me Now / Flaming Heart
  • Fred Etheridge with Nick Anderson & Mark Doyle / Walking In A Dream / Pickin' And Singin' / Self-released


Saturday, November 22, 2014

Saturday, November 22nd...a great Bluegrass Day in Connecticut!

In case you've not heard, there are at least three terrific opportunities for you to see and hear some fine Bluegrass music this evening in Connecticut.  Try to get out and support at least one of these events, won't you?

The James King Band performed in Westminster, VT on November 21st.
(Photo courtesy of Candi Sawyer)

James King has long been considered one of the most emotional singers in Bluegrass music.  2014 has been a rough year for him, seemingly filled with a lot of health issues and personal issues.  James's singing is still pretty raw and REAL, though.  After playing a show in Vermont last night, James King will be performing at what is being billed as the LAST Bluegrass show at the Firebox restaurant (539 Broad Street, Hartford).  Since the Fall of 2008, Nick Novia has been a wonderful host and promoter of Bluegrass on Sundays at the Firebox, and while the last Sunday show at the Firebox happened last month, tonight's show featuring James King promises to be a super-emotional one.  Check it out tonight, if you can.  Showtime is 8:30PM, and Nick can be reached at 203-650-3492.  More show info is here.  

The Del McCoury Band at the 2014 IBMA Awards
Meanwhile, also in Hartford, the Del McCoury Band will be playing a show at Infinity Hall in Hartford (32 Front Street).  Showtime is 8PM.  Del is a bona fide Living Legend in the Bluegrass world, and was inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame a few years ago.  Seeing him perform in Connecticut is a treat, so be sure to see this fine band if you get a chance this evening.  More info is here or call 1-866-666-6306.

If you prefer to listen to Bluegrass performed by some mighty fine Connecticut performers, there's a show tonight at the Killingly Grange featuring ShoreGrass, along with a set or two from host band, Nick Anderson & Shady Creek.  Showtime is 7PM.  The Killingly Grange is located at the intersection of Route 101 and Dog Hill Road in Killingly, and Nick can be reached at 860-564-1018.  More info is here.
ShoreGrass makes their Killingly debut tonight!

If all of those offerings aren't quite enough, in the not-strictly-Bluegrass-but-still-very-wonderful category, there will be music from Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters tonight at the Sounding Board Coffeehouse in West Hartford (held at the Universalist Church on 433 Fern Street).  Showtime is 8PM, and more information can be found here.  
Amy Gallatin with Roger Williams - Andover, CT - August 2014

Get out and support these live performances, won't you?  Choosing just one might be difficult, but please make an effort to do it, if at all possible...

Have fun!

Amy

Sunday, November 16, 2014

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 11/16/2014

Sunday's Bluegrass Cafe featured selections from a couple of different vinyl LPs, a birthday tribute to Country Music Hall of Famer -- and tremendous songwriter -- Whisperin' Bill Anderson (who celebrated birthday #77 on November 1st), and a bit of music from newer recordings.

On my way out the door to Storrs, I grabbed a couple of LPs from the house that I'd not heard and/or played in a while.  Those old records worked their way into our playlist on Sunday afternoon, and I must say, I probably could have played that whole Osborne Brothers & Red Allen LP.  Such harmonies!  Other vinyl selections came from the short-lived 1980s band, Summer Wages; guitar duo Orrin Star & Gary Mehalickand a not-as-well-remembered-as-they-should-be brother duo, the Sauceman Brothers.  

Into the mixture of older songs, we also included a good portion of newer Bluegrass from recordings by Missy Werner, NightFlyer, the Spinney Brothers, Hot Rize, Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick, the Earls Of Leicester, the Lonesome River Band, Bob Dick, Flatt Lonesome, Tommy Brown & the County Line Grass, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, the Crowe Brothers, and the Larry Stephenson Band.  There was brand-spanking new music from a fine new recording by banjo picker, Russ Carson -- "Avenue Of The Giants" on Patuxent Music.

Be sure to join Jim in the Bluegrass Cafe next Sunday afternoon, won't you?

Have a great week!

Amy





SONG / PERFORMER / ALBUM / LABEL [Requests are RED; Bill Anderson-penned songs are BLUE]

  • Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
  • When Someone Wants To Leave / Seldom Scene / Bluegrass The World's Greatest Show / Sugar Hill
  • Diamond Joe / Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boys / Bluegrass Mountain Style / Rounder
  • Wait 'Til The Clouds Roll By / White Mountain Bluegrass / Oh So Many Years / R Own
  • Summertime Is Past And Gone / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, 1946-1949 / JSP Records
  • If Lonely Was The Wind / Lynn Morris Band / The Lynn Morris Band / Rounder
  • Colder And Colder / Lost & Found / Across The Blue Ridge Mountains / Rebel
  • Banjo In The Hollow / The Dillards / There Is A Time / Vanguard
  • Baby Girl / Stanley Brothers / Selected Cuts, 1955-1956 / JSP Records
  • Are You Coming Back To Me / Bill Harrell with Mac Wiseman / Bill Harrell & Friends / Rebel
  • Rocky Top / Osborne Brothers / Time-Life's Treasury Of Bluegrass / Time Life [recorded November 16, 1967]
  • Wild Mountain Honey / Osborne Brothers & Red Allen / The Osborne Brothers & Red Allen / Collector's Classic
  • No Honey No / Osborne Brothers & Red Allen / The Osborne Brothers & Red Allen / Collector's Classic
  • Is This My Destiny / Osborne Brothers & Red Allen / The Osborne Brothers & Red Allen / Collector's Classic
  • Roll Muddy River / The Grascals / Long List Of Heartaches / Rounder
  • Big Spike Hammer / Bluegrass Album Band / The Bluegrass Compact Disc / Rounder
  • Dear Old Dixie / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / The Essential Earl Scruggs / Columbia
  • What Are They Doing In Heaven Today / Lilly Brothers / Bluegrass Early Cuts, 1947-1953 / JSP Records
  • Amnesia / Del McCoury Band / The Streets Of Baltimore / McCoury Music
  • We Missed You / Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / The Hard Game Of Love / Sugar Hill
  • Get A Little Dirt On Your Hands / Tony Holt & the Wildwood Valley Boys / Lost Highways & Treasured Memories / Old Homestead
  • The Lord Knows I'm Drinking / Wildfire / Where Roads Divide / Pinecastle
  • Once A Day / Pike Brothers & the Pine Hill Ranchers / The Pike Brothers & the Pine Hill Ranchers / Rebel
  • Slippin' Away / Bob Paisley & the Southern Grass / Live In Holland / Strictly Country
  • I Don't Love You Anymore / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder
  • Some Kind Of War / Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers / They're Playing My Song / Rebel
  • Rough Edges / Missy Werner / Turn This Heart Around / Self-Produced
  • Lonesome Wind / NightFlyer / Rail, River & Road / Kang Records
  • Thank God For The Highways / Spinney Brothers / Tried & True / Mountain Fever Records
  • Western Skies / Hot Rize / When I'm Free / Ten In Hand Records
  • My Old Kentucky Home / Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick / Laurie & Kathy Sing The Songs Of Vern & Ray / Spruce & Maple Music
  • Some Old Day / Earls Of Leicester / The Earls Of Leicester / Rounder
  • Her Love Won't Turn On A Dime / Lonesome River Band / Turn On A Dime / Mountain Home
  • New York Chimes / Russ Carson / Avenue Of The Giants / Patuxent Music
  • Talkin' To The Wall / James King / Three Chords And The Truth / Rounder
  • Appleland Breakdown / Bob Dick / Life's Highway / Appleland Records
  • Fort Worth Jailhouse / Tommy Brown & the County Line Grass / Leaving This Town / Randm Records
  • Deep River / Orrin Star & Gary Mehalick / Premium Blend / Flying Fish
  • Never Let Me Go / Flatt Lonesome / Too / Mountain Home
  • Honky-Tonked To Death / Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice / Trouble Follows Me / Rebel
  • I'll Be No Stranger There / Sauceman Brothers / The Early Days Of Bluegrass, Volume 7 / Rounder
  • Over On The Other Side / Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper / On Down The Line / Compass Records
  • My Soul's Been Satisfied / Summer Wages / Summer Wages / Rebel
  • Where Will You Be? / Crowe Brothers / Forty Years Old / Mountain Fever Records
  • God Loves His Children / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / The Complete Mercury Recordings / Mercury
  • Let Me Rest At The End Of My Journey / Russ Carson / Avenue Of The Giants / Patuxent Music
  • It's Hard To Stumble (When You're Down On Your Knees) / Lou Reid & Carolina / Sounds Like Heaven To Me / Rural Rhythm
  • Joy Of Revelation / McCoury Brothers / The McCoury Brothers / Rounder
  • Born Again / Larry Stephenson Band / Pull Your Savior In / Whysper Dream
  • The Lighthouse / Gibson Brothers / Bona Fide / Sugar Hill

Sunday, November 09, 2014

Playlist - 11/9/2014

Hi Folks,


We at Bluegrass Cafe have received a treasure trove of new recordings, and we showcased some of those on this show with emphasis on the traditional releases as if to demonstrate bluegrass can be traditional and still grow.

A featured new release was a CD from Tommy Brown and the County Line Grass that is getting national distribution (and a fine CD it is!)  We also heard new music from Phil LeadbetterMonroeville, Darin and Brooke Aldridge, Gold Heart, Becky Buller, Crowe Brothers, The Spinney Brothers, Missy Werner, Larry Sparks, Lonesome River Band, Marteka and William, Joe Mullins, Nu-Blu, Junior Sisk, Larry Stephenson, Doyle Lawson, Hot Rize, and The Earls of Leicester.  Whew!

We didn't cut back the classic and obscure bluegrass, either.  We had a rare 45 from The Dillard Brothers (Doug & Rodney before The Dillards), a new release from Patuxent Records of Red Allen, Frank Wakefield and The Kentuckians recorded for radio in 1963, Doc & Merle Watson, Dave Evans, Flatt & Scruggs, Delia Bell & Bill Grant, Carl Story, Rose Maddox, The Campbell TrioChestnut Grove Quartet, and more.

Traditional bluegrass is alive and well at Bluegrass Cafe.

Tune in next Sunday when Amy will make the banjos and fiddles ring.

Jim Beaver

Requests in blue

Artist / Song / Album / Label
  • The Dillard Brothers / Dougs Breakdown / 45 rpm single / K-Ark
  • Red Allen, Frank Wakefield and The Kentuckians / Deep Elum Blues / The WDON Recordings 1963 / Patuxent
  • Foggy Mountain Hilton / Bluegrass Music Has Ruined My Life / Show Me the Way to Go Home / Patuxent
  • Tommy Brown and the County Line Grass / Fort Worth Jailhouse / Leaving This Town / Randm
  • Dave Evans and River Bend / White House Blues / The Best of the Vetco Years / Rebel
  • Doc & Merle Watson / The Tragic Romance / Ballads from Deep Gap / Vanguard
  • Flatt and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys / The Martha White Theme / Flatt and Scruggs At Carnegie Hall / Koch
  • Flatt and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys / I Wonder Where You Are Tonight / Flatt and Scruggs At Carnegie Hall / Koch
  • Grass Routes / When You Come Back Down / Something New / Grass Routes
  • Grass Cats / Bluegrass Man / The Blues Are Back In Town / New Time
  • Phil Leadbetter / Just Joshin' / The Next Move / Pinecastle
  • Monroeville / Heartbreaking Machine / Can't Put Me Out / Monroeville 
  • The Lewis Family / Flyin' High / Flyin' High / Mountain Home
  • Darin and Brooke Aldridge (w. Sam Bush) / Get Up John  / Snapshots / Mountain Home
  • Delia Bell & Bill Grant / Silver Tongue and Gold Plated Lies / Dreaming / Rounder
  • Gold Heart / Ain't That Crazy / Places I've Been / Self-released
  • The Gillis Brothers / The Memory Of Your Smile / Best of The Gills Brothers / Hay Holler
  • Scott Brannon / The Thought Of Losing You / Faded Love And Winter Roses / Wango
  • Becky Buller / Southern Flavor / 'Tween Earth And Sky / Dark Shadow
  • Crowe Brothers / I've Got the Moon On My Side / Forty Years Old / Mountain Fever
  • The Goins Brothers / I Guess I'll Do Without / Still Goin' Strong / Hay Holler
  • The Spinney Brothers / Freightyard Down the Street / Tried & True / Mountain Fever
  • Missy Werner / The Heart You Break / Turn This Heart Around / Self-Produced
  • Red Allen, Frank Wakefield and The Kentuckians / Sombody Loves You Darling / The WDON Recordings 1963 / Patuxent
  • Larry Sparks with Curly Seckler / Dim Lights, Thick Smoke / Lonesome And Then Some... / Rebel
  • Lonesome River Band / Lila Mae / Turn On a Dime / Mountain Home
  • Tommy Brown and the County Line Grass / A Dark Road Is a Hard Road to Travel / Leaving This Town / Randm
  • Travers Chandler & Avery County / I Could Change My Mind / Pardon Me... / Mountain Fever
  • Dave Evans / Be Proud Of The Gray In Your Hair / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel
  • The Dillard Brothers / My Only Tru Love / 45 rpm single / K-Ark
  • Larry Efaw and the Bluegrass Mountaineers / Broken Heart and a Worried Mind / She Left Me Standing On a Mountain / Blue Circle
  • Marteka and William / Reuben / The Sounds Of A Tradition / Self-released
  • The Earls Of Leicester / Dig a Hole In the Meadow / The Earls of Leicester / New Rounder
  • Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers / Goin' Back to My Kentucky Country Home / Another Day From Life / Rebel
  • Turning Ground / Echo of the Steel / Cell Of Mine / Self-released
  • Nu-Blu / It's Not That Cold In Montana / All The Way / Rural Rhythm
  • ShoreGrass / The Letter / Going Home / Shaw Family
  • Red Smiley and the Bluegrass Cutups  / Dear Old Dixie (bed) / Burnin' Up The Strings / Rural Rhythm
  • Tater Tate With Red Smiley & The Bluegrass Cut-Ups / Black Eyed Susan (bed) / Burnin' Up The Strings / Rural Rhythm
  • Reno & Smiley / Natural Bridge Blues (bed) / Burnin' Up The Strings / Rural Rhythm
  • Hylo Brown / Banjo On the Mountain (bed) / Burnin' Up The Strings / Rural Rhythm
  • Shady Creek / The Old Home / The Old Home / Self-released
  • Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice / Frost On The Bluegrass / Trouble Follows Me / Rebel
  • The South Carolina Broadcasters / East Virginia Blues / Short Time To Stay Here / Flaming Heart
  • Hot Rize / Doggone / When I'm Free / Ten In Hand
  • Larry Gillis and the Hard Driving Bluegrass Band / Down By The River / Swampgrass / Tinman
  • Seldom Scene / Little Georgia Rose / Long Time... Seldom Scene / Smithsonian Folkways
  • The Campbell Trio / Brush Arbor Meeting / We're Hooked On Bluegrass / Woodrich
  • Alex Leach / Willing To Try / Mountain Heartache / Self-released
  • Larry Stephenson Band / Will You Meet Me Over Yonder / Pull Your Savior In / Whysper Dream
  • Rose Maddox with the Vern Williams Band / Take Me In The Lifeboat / Beautiful Bouquet / Arhoolie
  • Unplugged Demos (Myrna Riquier) / In the Shadow of the Son / Momma's Flowers / Natchaug Music
  • Mickey Boles / Since I've Laid My Burdens Down / Let My Feet Go Runnin' / Self-released
  • Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / Climbing Upward / Open Carefully Message Inside / Mountain Home
  • David Peterson / Are You Washed In the Blood ? / Simplicity / Self-released
  • Carl Story / Don't You Hear Jerusalem Moan? / Complete Atteiram Collection / Gusto
  • Chestnut Grove Quartet / Lord, Don't Leave Me Here / The Legendary Chestnut Grove Quartet / Rebel Records
  • Fred Etheridge with Nick Anderson & Mark Doyle / Walking In A Dream / Pickin' And Singin' / Self-released

Fill-in Playlist - 11/4/2014 - Basement Tapes from Ray Davis

Hi Folks.

I did a quick one-hour fill-in Tuesday evening and filled it with music from the famous "basement" of Ray Davis -- the legendary Baltimore and Washington DC bluegrass DJ who just retired last year (2013) after nearly 60 years in broadcasting.

Jim Beaver

Artist / Song / Disk / Label

  • Gillis Brothers / Train 45 / Freight Train Special Volume Two - Songs of America's Railroads / Wango
  • The Stanley Brothers / How Mt. Girls Can Love; Comedy w/ Uncle Henry; Mountain Dew; On Top Of Old Smokey; Comedy w/Uncle Henry; Little Birdie / Radio Series Volume Six / Wango
  • Warrior River Boys / Blue Ridge Mt. Blues; The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise; Tomorrow You'll Be Gone; Blues Stay Away From Me / Radio Series Volume Six / Wango
  • Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass / Sweet Potato Rag; Darlin' Nellie Across The Sea; I'm Comin' Back (But I Don't Know When); Gotta' Travel On / Radio Series Volume Six / Wango
  • Gillis Brothers / Fire On The Strings; It's Never Too Late; Old Jackson Prison; Don't Cheat In Our Home Town / Radio Series Volume Six / Wango

Sunday, November 02, 2014

WHUS "Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 11/2/2014

A UConn Men's Hockey game took away 2/3 of our Bluegrass Cafe program today, but we tried to make the best of the situation.

Hazel & Mac McGee -- Pioneers of Bluegrass

We opened with a few songs from White Mountain Bluegrass featuring the wonderful, strong voice of Hazel McGee.  Hazel -- recognized as a "Pioneer of Bluegrass" with her husband, Mac, by the International Bluegrass Music Museum -- passed away this past Monday, October 27th after battling cancer for the last several years.  Rest in peace, Hazel...

Two chances to see Del & the boys in CT this month!
The great Del McCoury Band is playing not one but TWO shows in Connecticut later on this month -- November 21st at Infinity Hall in Norfolk and November 22nd at Infinity Hall in Hartford.  Over the next couple of weeks, both Jim and Susan Forbes Hansen will have tickets to give away to the DMB show in Hartford on November 22nd.  When will they give 'em away -- and on which program?  Who knows?   That's another reason for you to always be listening to WHUS, right?  You betcha!  Today, we gave away a pair of tickets to this show to a lucky listener.  Hooray!

There's actually a good bit of live, big-name Bluegrass to be heard in Connecticut (and close by) over the next few weeks.  In addition to the two DMB shows mentioned above, here are some of the other highlights:

  • November 9th -- Spinney Brothers at Country Corner Coffee House, South Hadley MA.  Showtime is 2PM.  More info:  413-467-9394
  • November 15th -- Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys at Unitarian Society Hall, Hamden CT (GuitarTownCT Productions).  Showtime is 8PM.  More info:  203-430-6020
  • November 22nd - James King at Firebox Restaurant, Hartford.  Showtime is unknown, but further information is coming...
  • December 5th - Gibson Brothers Trio (Eric & Leigh Gibson with Mike Barber on bass) at Spaceland Ballroom, Hamden CT (GuitarTownCT Productions).  Showtime is 8PM.  More info:  203-430-6020
Be sure to join Jim for next Sunday's Bluegrass Cafe -- which we are hopeful will be three hours long and minus any sports preemptions.

Enjoy the week!

Amy



PERFORMER / SONG / ALBUM / LABEL [request is RED]
  • Del McCoury Band / Katy Hill / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
  • White Mountain Bluegrass / I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name / Aragon Mill / Strictly Country
  • White Mountain Bluegrass / Oh So Many Years / Oh So Many Years / Self-Produced
  • White Mountain Bluegrass / I Love God's Way Of Living / Aragon Mill / Strictly Country
  • Del McCoury & the Dixie Pals / Eli Renfro / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel
  • White House / Country Side Of Heaven (Where The Bluegrass Music Flows) / White House / Pinecastle
  • Hot Rize / Sky Rider / When I'm Free / Ten In Hand Records
  • Lonesome River Band / A Whole Lot Of Nothing / Turn On A Dime / Mountain Home
  • Earls Of Leicester / I'll Go Stepping Too / The Earls Of Leicester / Rounder
  • Del McCoury / I Feel The Blues Moving In / High, Lonesome And Blue / Rounder
  • Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys / I Hear A Choo Choo Coming / Live! At McClure / Rebel
  • Spinney Brothers / My Music Comes From Bill / Tried & True / Mountain Fever Records
  • Gibson Brothers / Gone Home / Iron & Diamonds / Sugar Hill
  • Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick / Happy I'll Be / Laurie & Kathy Sing The Songs Of Vern & Ray / Spruce & Maple Music
  • Jim Eanes / Let Him Lead You / Let Him Lead You / Rebel
  • Country Gentlemen / It's Just Like Heaven / The Sugar Hill Collection / Sugar Hill
  • Johnson Mountain Boys / Black Mountain Blues / Requests / Rounder

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Rest in peace, Hazel McGee...

Hazel & Mac McGee performing with White Mountain Bluegrass
at the 2011 Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival.
On Monday, we learned that Hazel McGee of White Mountain Bluegrass passed after a lengthy battle with cancer.  Along with her husband of nearly 60 years, Mac, Hazel was a founding member of White Mountain Bluegrass (or, WMB) -- one of the most-loved Bluegrass bands in the Northeast.  A person only needed to watch one set of music performed by WMB to know that Hazel was calling all the shots -- in the best way possible.  This was a lady who knew how to sing, and she surely knew how to keep all of her band members (including her husband, Mac, and their oldest son, Herman) in line.  Hazel respected the audiences who would come to see WMB -- for instance, she'd insist that the band members always dress neatly on the stage -- and the audiences loved her right back.  Hazel and Mac have both been recognized as "Pioneers Of Bluegrass" at the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky, and were honored by the Boston Bluegrass Union a few years ago, as well.  

While researching a bit more background information on White Mountain Bluegrass for this past Sunday's radio show, I came across a nice article that was written by a long-time WMB admirer, Robert Fraker, several years ago.  Originally, this piece was likely published in the old "Bluegrass Guide" published by Candi Sawyer, but it can now be found on the White Mountain Bluegrass website.  Even though the article is a few years old, it's still well-worth your time to read.  Hazel was a true treasure, and she will be -- and already is -- greatly missed...


The Heart and Soul

of

White Mountain Bluegrass

By:  Robert Fraker

It’s Sunday morning at the Thomas Point Beach bluegrass festival, one of the most difficult days of the year to get up at a reasonable hour.  But get up I do, pull on some sweats, grab a cup of coffee, stumble bleary-eyed and half-awake from my campsite to the stage area and settle down into someone else’s lawn chair.  It’s something I’ve done every Sunday morning of the many years I’ve been coming here, because soon White Mountain will begin their gospel set, and for the time they’re on stage, I’ll be in heaven – bluegrass heaven that is, listening to some of the best straight-up, old time singing and picking to be heard today.
For over thirty years now Mac and Hazel McGee and the band have been performing their distinctive brand of traditional bluegrass throughout the Northeast, in Florida and in the Mid-Atlantic states, and in Europe as well.  Based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Mac & Hazel are part of the tradition of transplanted Southerners like the Lilly Brothers and Don Stover, who brought an early awareness of bluegrass to the area’s country audiences, establishing a particularly keen regional enthusiasm for the music that continues to this day.  Hazel’s father died when she was five, and soon after, her family moved from Tennessee to join relatives living in Phoenix, NY, a small town in the Syracuse area. Her mother Ginny Cote, whose grandmother was a cousin of A.P. Carter, sang in a country band with her uncles, and when she was older, Hazel joined in from time to time.  Mac had come up from Georgia to join his brother in Boston, and they eventually moved to Phoenix for work.  Mac knew of Ginny and her band and one day showed up on her doorstep with a guitar badly in need of tuning.  Ginny invited him in and helped him tune his guitar and Mac began hanging out with the family.  Mac and Hazel started dating, going to the country music shows in the area, and singing together.  They formed a country band, with a lap steel and electric guitars, and performed the hits of the day, the classic songs of the 50′s greats, Hank Williams, Web Pierce, Lefty Frizell, Kitty Wells and Red Foley.  Bluegrass wasn’t in their minds.  Mac claims to have disliked it then.  “I thought it was the worst stuff in the world, if Bill Monroe came on the radio, I’d turn it off!”  Hazel adds, “Well, we were doing some songs at the time that were bluegrass, but we didn’t know it.”
Mac and Hazel married in 1957, when Mac was finished with military service in the Marines.  The following year they moved to Portsmouth, where Mac began his life-long career as an independent trucker, hauling gasoline.  The two continued playing old-time country informally with friends, occasionally performing in public.  But the move to Portsmouth ended up being a musical move to bluegrass for the couple as well.  The town’s proximity to Pease Air Force Base and the Kittery Navy Yard just to the north in Maine provided a source of bluegrass musicians from other parts of the country, servicemen homesick for the music and eager to play.  “They’d come into the local music store and ask around who was picking,” Mac remembers.  As a result, in the late 60′s Mac and Hazel met Roger Greene, a mandolin picker stationed at Pease, whom Mac credits as “a big influence in turning us on to bluegrass…   A nice guy, he taught us a lot.”  Pease AFB would later introduce them to mandolin builder, John Paganoni, a long-time friend and member of the band while he was stationed there.
Bluegrass was gaining momentum in the Northeast, and the McGees were definitely among the converted.  “Something abut bluegrass, just gets under your skin…” says Mac, describing a phenomenon that the music’s fans know all too well.  White Mountain Bluegrass was formed in 1970, with Mac and Hazel, Joe Pomerleau on fiddle, Jeff Lind on bass, Bob Frost on banjo and Sam Garris on mandolin.  Like so many others, the band started with friends playing informally, then as things started to come together and requests to perform began coming in, a band was born.  They played the usual round of pubs, pizza parlors and coffee houses.  At the time, the two main venues for the music were Jarvis’ Restaurant at the Portsmouth bus depot, and the Stone Church in New Market.  As time went on, the band’s reputation gained wider attention.  “A lot of people came to see us…  Don Stover, Joe Val, Bea Lilly,”  Mac recalls.  The era of festivals was developing and White Mountain were regulars at those started by Jimmy Cox and Fred Pike.  They performed at the very first festival at Thomas Point and have been at every one since.
It was Joe Val who recommended White Mountain to the Dutch country promoter Rienk Janssen for his ‘Strictly Country’ series of European tours.  Making the overseas journey a remarkable six times, White Mountain Bluegrass has played in Holland, Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden, performances sampled in the band’s Aragon Mill:  Live in Holland CD.  Mac and Hazel recall the trips fondly:  “You can’t believe the warm reception you get, how they treat you like royalty….And they’d listen, every show you could hear a pin drop.”  Current mandolin player Jackie Greenwood adds “Holland is like home for White Mountain.  Everywhere you go the people request their songs, you can see them singing along with every word…”
Over the years the band has made seven recording projects, and see numerous personnel changes, numbering some of the finest pickers from Canada and the Northeast.  Of the many fine musicians, three deserve special mention for their longevity and contribution to the defining the classic White Mountain sound.  Mac and Hazel’s oldest son Herman McGee joined the band in the mid-70′s, with a powerful banjo attack and a distinctive cross-pick lead guitar style.  He is also a fine baritone singer, helping to create the band’s beautiful trios, and the band’s chief sound man.  Dobro player Roger Williams is recognized as one of the virtuosos of the instrument, his forceful and lyrical solos a key element in the band’s drive, and his low-range lead and harmony singing a crucial vocal contribution.  And last, the late and greatly missed Bill Sage, whose spirited, bluesy fiddling and wild antics on stage keeps the audiences alternately amazed and amused.  Mac and Hazel met Bill when he was playing with Don Stover.  An offer from Bill to fill in on fiddle when needed turned into a 12 year membership in the band.
How to account for a band that has lasted for over a quarter of a century?  “I think it’s because it’s just me and Hazel singing,” says Mac.  “We do all of the singing, whoever plays the instruments just fits in to our style.”  While other band members do sing occasional leads and harmony, Mac is essentially right.  His and Hazel’s singing is at the core of the White Mountain experience.  Their combined voices are what bluegrass soul is all about.  Mac has an airy weariness and a tinge of sadness to his voice that give to bluegrass songs, with their stories of heartbreak and lost homes and family, the ring of truth and experience that inspired them.  It is perfectly matched with Hazel’s soaring bluegrass tenor, a powerhouse of a voice that cuts like the best in the business, effortless and unadorned.  Both voices deliver with directness and honesty, both have a similar approach to singing.  When asked about their own vocal heroes, Mac mentioned Hank Williams right off.  “But I never tried to sing like anybody,” he continued, “You gotta sing with feeling, that’s all.”  Hazel agreed.  “You just open up your mouth and let it come out.”
In the end, though, what keeps a band going over thirty years is dedication, the year in – year out rising to the challenge of balancing music with work and raising a family.  “There was one year we were off only two weekends.  Sometimes I’d get home from playing and get in the truck and take off,” remembers Mac.  A good sense of humor is important, too, and there is no band that has more fun on stage.  Sets are informal and relaxed, with a joke or two, and often with surprise songs or performers.  Mac and Hazel are quick to agree that the greatest reward for their years of performing are the many friends they have made, both on stage and off, on both sides of the Atlantic.  And most satisfying, Hazel stresses, has been the participation of their sons Keith and Herman.  “It’s meant so much to us over the years.”  A question about the future of the band gets an answer that is both expected and reassuring.  Mac thinks a moment and replies, “I guess we’re going to be in as long as we can, it’s in our blood.  We’ll keep on it even if it’s just Hazel and me.”  Lucky for us, I think to myself.