Summer is supposed to be one of those "carefree," laid-back seasons when folks think about vacations and relaxing and the like. On Sunday, we spent a total of five hours in the BG Cafe as the hosts of our 2-4PM show on WHUS this summer were away. That meant two "bonus" hours for BG (or music somewhat similar to BG), and since I had been away from the airwaves for a couple of weeks doing my own "carefree" sorts of things...well, I was ready to jump back in for a 5-hour session.
In the early hours, I thought it might be fun to put a bit of a focus on brother duets. From the earliest days of country music, brother acts have been singing harmony, and there's no doubt that the influence of many of these great acts, including the Delmore Brothers, the Blue Sky Boys, and, of course, the Monroe Brothers continues to impact actual brother (and brother-style) duets today. While the period of the late 1930s is considered by some country music historians to be the "heyday" of brother duets, today's Bluegrass music includes several actual brother duets with last names of Gibson, Spinney, and Crowe who are making some GREAT records, as well as a pretty decent act who claim to be "brothers from different mothers," Dailey & Vincent. There's just something incredibly appealing about the simplicity of two similar-sounding voices blending together to form one larger sound.
And you know that we just couldn't feature brother duets without playing music from the great Louvin Brothers. For my money, there just wasn't a country brother duet who could sing (or write) better than Ira & Charlie. These two brothers may have been total opposites, but when they sang...magic. And since Charlie celebrated his 83rd birthday on July 7th, why not pay tribute with lots of great Louvin music, sung by both the Louvins and other performers who sang their tunes, such as Jim & Jesse, the Browns, and Johnnie & Jack?
Here are a couple of books to add to your "reading list" if you'd like to learn more about either the Louvin Brothers, or their idols, the Delmore Brothers. Alton Delmore began a memoir that he never completed before his death in 1964, but the manuscript was found and originally published by the Country Music Foundation Press in 1977 with the title of The Delmore Brothers: Truth Is Stranger Than Publicity. The work is important, as very few first-hand accounts exist about country music performers in the days before World War II. The Louvin biography is also a very readable discography called Close Harmony: The Story Of The Louvin Brothers (Univ. Press of Mississippi, 1996). It's probably no coincidence that the author of the Louvin book and the editor of the Delmore book are the same person: Charles K. Wolfe, the noted country music historian who died in 2006. Neither book appears to be available in any library in Connecticut, but both books are available through numerous online retailers. Do make an effort to read them if you can.
As for the rest of the BG Cafe, we shared a bit of newer music from the likes of the Darrell Webb Band, the Lonesome River Band, fiddler Tim Martin, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, and the Infamous Stringdusters. Thanks to Mountain Home Records, we got to give away a copy of the fine Jimmy Martin gospel tribute recording from a trio of former Sunny Mountain Boys: J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson, and Paul Williams. And if that wasn't enough, we also had a one-day pass to the upcoming Podunk Bluegrass Festival in East Hartford. Thanks to everyone who called in with a request, to win one of our prizes, or to just say hello. We love to know you're out there!
I'll join you again this Sunday from 4-7PM. Hope you can tune in!
Stay cool -
Amy
REQUESTS ARE RED.
"BONUS" HOURS: 2-4PM
"BONUS" HOURS: 2-4PM
* Suwannee River Hoedown / Jessie Baker / Yessir! / Patuxent Music
* Will I Be That Lucky Man? / Bluegrass Patriots / E Pluribus Bluegrass / Red Feather
* Gravel In Your Shoe / Gina Britt Tew / Doing All I Can / Self-Produced
* Flint Hill Special / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Foggy Mountain Jamboree / Columbia
* Ocean Of Diamonds / Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boys / Live In Holland / Strictly Country
* Blue Railroad Train / Josh Williams with Tony Rice / Down Home / Pinecastle
* Blue Railroad Train / Delmore Brothers / Classic Cuts / JSP Records
* I've Got The Big River Blues / Delmore Brothers / Are You From Dixie? / RCA
* Nine Pound Hammer Is Too Heavy / Monroe Brothers / Are You From Dixie? / RCA
* Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet / Blue Sky Boys / Presenting The Blue Sky Boys / JEMF Records
* Have A Feast Here Tonight / Monroe Brothers / Are You From Dixie? / RCA
* Just Wondering Why / Jim & Jesse / First Sounds: The Capitol Years / Capitol
* Once More /Osborne Brothers / Once More, Volumes I & II / Sugar Hill
* The Drunkard's Hell / Stanley Brothers / Complete Columbia Stanley Brothers / Columbia
* Sinner, You'd Better Get Ready / Lily Brothers & Don Stover / Bluegrass At The Roots / Smithsonian Folkways
* Hoping That You're Hoping / Louvin Brothers / When I Stop Dreaming: The Best Of The Louvin Brothers / Razor & Tie
* Rockin' Alone (In An Old Rocking Chair) / Everly Brothers / 36 All-Time Favorites / GSC Music
* Lonely Me, Lonely You / Gibson Brothers / Iron & Diamonds / Sugar Hill
* Make Him A Soldier / Whitstein Brothers / Sweet Harmony / Rounder
* Go Away With Me / Crowe Brothers / Brothers-n-Harmony / Rural Rhythm
* Roll On Buddy, Roll On / Wilburn Brothers / Folk Songs / Decca
* Blind Man / Spinney Brothers / If I Were Your Brother / Self-Produced
* Think Of What You've Done / Abrams Brothers / Iron Sharpens Iron / Mastershield Records
* Saw Mill / Buck Owens & His Buckaroos / On The Bandstand / Sundazed
* Open Up Your Heart / Buck Owens & His Buckaroos / In Japan! / Sundazed
* When I Stop Dreaming / Louvin Brothers / When I Stop Dreaming: The Best Of The Louvin Brothers / Razor & Tie
* Are You Missing Me / Jim & Jesse / Jim & Jesse, 1952-1955 / Bear Family
* Give This Message To Your Heart / Larry Stephenson with Dailey & Vincent / 20th Anniversary / Pinecastle
* Freight Train / Louvin Brothers / A Tribute To The Delmore Brothers / Gusto
* I Take The Chance / The Browns / The Essential Jim Ed Brown & the Browns / RCA
* Take My Ring From Your Finger / Johnnie & Jack / For Old Times Sake / Bear Family
* Let Us Travel On / Louvin Brothers / Songs That Tell A Story / Rounder
"OFFICIAL" HOURS: 4-7PM
"OFFICIAL" HOURS: 4-7PM
* Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
* Fiddlin' John / Summertown Road / Summertown Road / Rounder
* Blue / Beth & April Stevens / O Sister! / Rounder
* Grandma's Tattoos / Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie / Southern / Rural Rhythm
* Meet Me By My Old Kentucky Home / Old Time Bluegrass Singers / Plastic Heart / Open Road
* Stop The World (And Let Me Off) / Rhonda Vincent / Destination Life / Rounder
* When I'm Gone / Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa / Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa / Self-Produced
* Sugar Coated Love / J.D. Crowe & the New South / Live In Japan / Rounder
* I've Been All Around This World / David Davis & the Warrior River Boys / Two Dimes And A Nickel / Rebel
* There Is A Trap / Gillis Brothers / Down By The River / Hay Holler
* Working Hard Ain't Hardly Working Anymore / Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice / Heartaches & Dreams / Rebel
* 17 Cents / Infamous Stringdusters / Things That Fly / Sugar Hill
* Popsicle Polka / Tim Martin / Bluegrass Fiddle / Patuxent Music
* Record Time Machine / Lonesome River Band / Still Learning / Rural Rhythm
* Rovin' Gambler / Dierks Bentley with the Punch Brothers / Up On The Ridge / Capitol EMI
* I'm Bringing Home Good News / Darrell Webb Band / Bloodline / Rural Rhythm
* This World Is Not My Home / J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson & Paul Williams / Old Friends Get Together / Mountain Home
* I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You / Johnny Williams / Last Day At Galax / Mountain Roads Recordings
* Don't Throw Mama's Flowers Away / Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass / The Room Over Mine / Rounder
* Keep On Walking / Daughters Of Bluegrass with Jeanette Williams / Bluegrass Bouquet / Blue Circle Records
* Foggy Mountain Breakdown / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / The Complete Mercury Recordings / Mercury
* You Left Me Alone / Sam Bush / Circles Around Me / Sugar Hill
* Pitkin County Turnaround / Steve Martin / The Crow / Rounder
* There Ain't No Easy Street / Steep Canyon Rangers / Deep In The Shade / Rebel
* Golden Leaves / Acoustic Blue / This Is Now / Self-Produced
* The Last Old Shovel / Phyllis Boyens / O Sister! / Rounder
* Kentucky / Everly Brothers / 36 All-Time Favorites / GSC Music
* Making Up Stories / Johnson Mountain Boys / Live At The Birchmere / Rounder
* Love Of The Mountains / Ben Greene with Allen Mills / Bluegrass Sideman / Blue Circle Records
* I Can't Like Myself / Gibson Brothers Bluegrass Band / Underneath A Harvest Moon / Big Elm Records
* Carolina Hurricane / Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road / Carolina Hurricane / Rural Rhythm
* Shadows In My Room / Hot Rize / So Long Of A Journey / Sugar Hill
* I'm Gonna Try / Spinney Brothers / Side By Side / Self-Produced
* Turkey Buzzard / Chris Warner / Goin' To The Dance / Patuxent Music
* Out In The Cold World / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, 1950-1958 / JSP Records
* I'm Feeling For You (But I Can't Reach You) / Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper / Leavin' Town / Rounder
* Polka On A Banjo / Southern Rail / On The Road From Appomattox / Railway Records
* I Thought I'd Seen It All / Darin & Brooke Aldridge / Darin & Brooke Aldridge / Mountain Home
* I'll Never See My Home Again / Bear Bridge Band / Broken Hearts & Better Times / Open Road
* Washington And Lee Fling / Pike Family & the Pine Hill Ranchers / To Warm And Comfort You / Rebel
* When I'm Gone / BearTracks / From The Hollow / AMT Records
* He Understands / Barry Scott with Dale Ann Bradley / Look To The Light: Songs Of Faith From The Pen Of Rick Lang / Rural Rhythm Christian
* Land Up In The Air / Special Consensus / 35 / Compass Records
* Get Behind Me Satan / Reno & Smiley / Early Years, 1951-1959 / Gusto
* Who Will Sing For Me / Donna Ulisse / Holy Waters / Hadley Music Group
* Lord, Don't Leave Me Here / Hagar's Mountain Boys / Forever Yours / Self-Produced
* There's A Higher Power / Kathy Kallick Band / Between The Hollow And The High-Rise / Live Oak Records
* Inside The Gate / Country Gentlemen / Calling My Children Home / Rebel
* It's So Hard To Stumble (When You're Down On Your Knees) / Lou Reid & Carolina / My Own Set Of Rules / Rural Rhythm
* I've Found A Hiding Place / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, 1950-1958 / JSP Records
* Black Mountain Blues / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder
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