"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 1/29/2012

Our standard playlist "recipe" for the BG Cafe is a mix of old with new.  When we use the term "old," though, we don't always mean going back to music from the first generation and the 1940s and 1950s.  In doing a bit of cleaning at home, I recently unearthed a couple of cassettes from around 1989/1990, and since neither of these tapes had ever been issued on LP or CD (to my knowledge, anyway), I couldn't resist the opportunity to share them on the airwaves on Sunday.  The sound quality is definitely lacking, but we like to think that mixture is all part of the "charm" of a live radio show.  Let's go with that reasoning, anyway...

Under the "new" category, we shared music from two super CDs:  one from a NYC-area band called Too Blue, and the other a soon-to-be released project from the trio of Freeman & Williams.  It so happens that Too Blue was performing today at the Firebox Restaurant in Hartford, so perhaps folks listening to the radio on their way to the Firebox got to hear some great music from their CD called, "Trouble With The Grey."  It's a mighty fine record.

The Freeman & Williams trio is North Carolina musician Scott Freeman, joined by Virginia BG veterans, Johnny & Jeanette Williams.  Their new self-titled project will be released on February 7th on Mountain Roads Recordings, and it is quite delightful.  Doubtless, you'll be hearing more from this talented trio, as well as Too Blue, in future editions of the BG Cafe.

Other newer music on today's show came from the likes of Rickey Wasson & Dwight McCall, Nu-Blu, Merl Johnson, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, Eddie & Martha Adcock with Tom Gray, Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie, and the Missy Werner Band.

The things you find in a closet!

For the "old," we returned to the 1990 Winterhawk Bluegrass Festival in Ancramdale, NY with the "3rd Winterhawk Scholarship Album."  There are several great live performances on this tape, and they run the gamut from traditional BG to the more "out there," fringy styles of acoustic music.  That's kind of the brand for Winterhawk (now known as Grey Fox) -- the festival is neither fully a traditional festival nor a completely "jamgrass" festival.  There's really something there for every BG musical taste, and this tape really showcased that.  

The Spinneys' record debut - 1993.

We also revisited some of the first recorded music from a Canadian band then known as the Spinney Brothers & Close Company.  The Spinneys have come a long way since their earliest musical days, but it's fun to hear how they sounded on their first two recordings from 1993 and 1996.  We'll be sharing a brand new recording from the Spinney Brothers sometime in the next couple of months, when they make their debut on Mountain Fever Records with a CD called, "Memories."  

Hope you enjoyed something you heard on today's show, and that you'll be sure to join me once again next Sunday on the BG Cafe.  

Enjoy the week!

Amy O.

Requests are RED.

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• That High Lonesome Sound / Peter Rowan & the Nashville Bluegrass Band / New Moon Rising / Sugar Hill
• The Court Of Love / Rhonda Vincent / Taken / Upper Management Music
• Baby Girl / Stanley Brothers / 20th Century Masters / Mercury
• Tennessee Tea / Joe Diffie / Homecoming / Rounder
• Trouble With The Grey / Too Blue / Trouble With The Grey / Self-Produced
• Molly And Tenbrooks / Rickey Wasson & Dwight McCall / Rural Rhythm Records Salutes Bill Monroe / Rural Rhythm
• Sparta Flash / The Expedition Show / The Expedition Show / Mountain Fever Records
• Got Leavin' On Her Mind / Mark Newton Band / Charlie Lawson's Still / Rebel
• I Fall To Pieces / Too Blue / Trouble With The Grey / Self-Produced
• Truck Driving Man / Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show / Worries On My Mind / Rebel
• Cotton Farmer / Travers Chandler & Avery County / State Of Depression / Patuxent Music
• Love Of The Mountains / Lost & Found / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel
• The Memory Of Your Smile / Dede Wyland / Keep The Light On / Patuxent Music
• Every Shade Of Blue / Nu-Blu / The Blu-Disc / Pinecastle
• Face The Music / Too Blue / Trouble With The Grey / Self-Produced
• The Nights Are So Long / Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper / Fired Up / Rounder
• You'll Find Monroe Written There / Merl Johnson / Better Man / Patuxent Music
• Say You Lied / Neon Valley Boys / Bluegrass / Sudden Comfort Records
• Safe Passage / Gibson Brothers / Help My Brother / Compass Records
• Winterhawk / Northern Lights with Matt Glaser / The 3rd Winterhawk Scholarship Album / Gordo
• West Texas Wind / Seldom Scene / The 3rd Winterhawk Scholarship Album / Gordo
• John Henry / Weary Hearts / Weary Hearts Live / no label
• A Hero In Harlan / Chris Jones & the Night Drivers / Lost Souls & Free Spirits / Rebel
• When Halley Came To Jackson / Freeman & Williams / Freeman & Williams / Mountain Roads Recordings
• There's No Place Like Home / Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice / The Heart Of A Song / Rebel
• In Half The Time It Takes To Cry / Freeman & Williams / Freeman & Williams / Mountain Roads Recordings
• Why Ask Why? / Steve Gulley & Tim Stafford / Dogwood Winter / Rural Rhythm
• Boston Boy / Jessie Baker / Yessir! / Patuxent Music
• D-18 Song (Thank You, Mr. Martin) / Norman Blake & Tony Rice / Norman Blake & Tony Rice 2 / Rounder
• Home Run Man / Parmley & McCoury / Families Of Tradition / BGC
• Nightwalk / Eddie & Martha Adcock with Tom Gray / Many A Mile / Patuxent Music
• Nobody Knows Who You Are / Spinney Brothers & Close Company / The Old Fundy Shore / Self-Produced
• You're The Highlight Of My Life / Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie / The Touch Of Time / Rural Rhythm
• I'll Never See My Home Again / Bear Bridge Band / Broken Hearts & Better Times / Open Road
• I'd Rather Love A Memory / Missy Werner Band / Three Kinds Of Lonesome / Self-Produced
• Amelia Earhart's Last Flight / Country Gentlemen / Can't You Hear Me Callin':  Early Classics, 1963-1969 / Rebel
• There Ain't No Easy Street / Steep Canyon Rangers / Deep In The Shade / Rebel
• Ground Hog / The Dillards / Bluegrass Breakdown / Vanguard
• Joy Of Revelation / McCoury Brothers / The McCoury Brothers / Rounder
• The Power Up Above / Edgar Loudermilk / Roads Travelled / Mountain Fever Records
• I Hear A Sweet Voice Calling / Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder / Soldier Of The Cross / Skaggs Family Records
• He Set Me Free / Statement / Around The Corner / Mountain Fever Records
• My Rock / Spinney Brothers & Close Company / Spinney Brothers & Close Company / Self-Produced
• Mansions For Me / Bobby Osborne & the Rocky Top X-Press / Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration:  A Classic Bluegrass Tribute / Rounder
• Over In The Gloryland / Reno & Smiley with the Stanley Brothers / Bluegrass, 1963 / Rural Rhythm
• I'll Live With God (To Die No More) / Louvin Brothers / The Family Who Prays:  26 Classic Tracks / Country Stars
• Satisfied / Paul Williams & the Victory Trio / Satisfied / Rebel
• Black Mountain Blues / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder

"Bluegrass Cafe" Playlist - 1/22/2012

Hi Folks.

We had an interesting show this day with special focus on a new CD project titled "The Manics Pick On Monahan."   This is a fantastic tribute to a great friend of many bluegrass and folk music fans in New England, Tom Monahan, who passed away from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) a year ago.  The long-lasting bluegrass-festival-camping social group that was instigated and inspired by Tom was informally called "The Manic Mountain Boys."

Many of the Manics got together to perform songs written by Tom, and this CD is the result.  Since the Manics self-produced the CD, 100% of the proceeds will go to Compassionate Care ALS, an organization that helped Tom during his ultimate trial with the condition.  Well-known New England musician and fellow Manic Mountain Boy, Jon Swift, joined us on the air to discuss the project.  You can get a copy directly from Compassionate Care ALS on their web site:  http://ccals.org/monahan-manic.php

Other new music on this show was from The Missy Werner Band, Nu-Blu, Frank Wakefield, Suzy Bogguss, Randy Waller & The Country Gentlemen, Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa, Lee Marcus, Crowe Brothers, The VW Boys, Nothin' Fancy, and the new Cracker Barrel gospel album from Dailey & Vincent.

We raided the Heritage Corner archives for a couple of oldies from The Chuck Wagon Gang (1940) and J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers (1950) featuring J.E. Mainer, Jr.

Counterclockwise from lower left:  J.E. Mainer, J.E. Mainer Jr., Glenn Mainer, Earnest Harwood

Be sure to tune in next week when Amy will make the banjos and fiddles ring.

Jim Beaver

Requests highlighted

Title / Artist / Album / Label

• Rare Bird Alert / Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers / Rare Bird Alert / Rounder
• Body & Soul / Blue Moon Rising / Bill Monroe 100th Year Celebration / Rural Rhythm
• Blue Moon Of Kentucky / Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top Xpress / Bill Monroe 100th Year Celebration / Rural Rhythm
• Sugar Hill / Various Artists / Close Kin / Mountain Roads
• Rabbit In The Log / Taylors Grove / Keep On The Sunny Side / Fishtraks
• Last Goodbye Today / The Missy Werner Band / Three Kinds Of Lonesome / Self-released
• Wilson County Line / Shannon Slaughter / The Sideman Steps Out / Elite Circuit
• Ol' Dan Tucker / Suzy Bogguss / American Folk Songbook / Loyal Dutchess
• John Henry / Del McCoury / Old Memories / McCoury Music
• Almost Hear The Blues / James Reams & The Barnstormers / One Foot In The Honky Tonk / Mountain Redbird
• Every Shade Of Blue / Nu-Blu / The Blu-Disc / Pinecastle
• Rawhide / Frank Wakefield / A Tribute To Bill Monroe / Patuxent
• New Shoes / Dale Ann Bradley / Somewhere South Of Crazy / Compass
• Applejack / Pam Gadd with Dolly Parton / Benefit Of Doubt / Home Sweet Highway
• Old Kentucky Hillside / Randy Waller & The Country Gentlemen / One Mile East Of Hazel Green / Lendel
• Just Someone I Used To Know / Daryl Mosely - Stacy Scruggs / Bluegrass Tribute To Studio B / Farm Country
• Fly Off That Hill / Nothin' Fancy / Nothin' Fancy / Virginia Dreams
• Old Paint / Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa / It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Day / Raincoe
• Cruel Wind And Rain / Jim Lauderdale / Reason and Rhyme / Sugar Hill
• Your Love Died Like The Rose / The Johnson Mountain Boys / Working Close / Rounder
• Pud Marcum's Hangin' / Larry Cordle / Pud Marcum's Hangin' / Mighty Cord
• Jon Swift Interview
• Tricky Trail Of Love / Jon Swift / The Manics Pick On Monahan / CCALS.org
• Freight Train Boogie / Blues Grass / Self-titled / Self-released
• I Can't Remember You / Jeff Horton / The Manics Pick On Monahan / CCALS.org
• North Carolina Breakdown / Johnny Warren & Charlie Cushman / A Tribute To Fiddlin' Paul Warren Vol. 2 / Self-released
• I Don't Care / Laurie Lewis / Skippin' and Flyin' / Spruce And Maple
• The Year That Clayton Delaney Died / The Grascals with Tom T. Hall / Grascals and Friends / Cracker Barrel
• Ugly Girl Blues / VW Boys / Retroactive / Mountain Roads
• There's No Place Like Home / Junior Sisk & Rambler's Choice / The Heart Of A Song / Rebel
• They Don't Name Girls Beulah Anymore / Rick Pardue & Timmy Massey / The Ghost Of Noah Hayes / Lizard Records
• Time Stands Still / Tommy Webb / From Rock-N-Roll To Bill Monroe / Self-released
• Still On The Hill (bed) / Howdy Forrester / 16 Fiddler's Greatest Hits / Hollywood
• Peacock Rag (bed) / Chubby Wise / 16 Fiddler's Greatest Hits / Hollywood
• Without Any Heart / Mary Maguire / The Manics Pick On Monahan / CCALS.org
• Windmills / Acoustic Blue / Timeless / Self-released
• Blue Tail Fly / Hylo Brown & Timberliners / Roots Music of Rural America / Rural Rhythm
• What It Means To Be Lonesome / Carolina Road / Back To The Roots / Rural Rhythm
• Honey (Open That Door) / Ricky Skaggs / Country Hits Bluegrass Style / Skaggs Family
• Going Down To Charleston / The Spinney Brothers / Side By Side / Mastertone
• The Story In Your Eyes / Ronnie Bowman and various / Moody Bluegrass Two Much Love / Bunny Rae
• He Could Pick The Hound / Crowe Brothers / Bridging The Gap / Rural Rhythm
• Living In The Kingdom Of God / Dailey & Vincent / The Gospel Side of Dailey & Vincent / Cracker Barrel
• When Daddy Sang / Sweet Potato Pie / Journey Called Life / Mountain Fever
• We Are Climbing / The Chuck Wagon Gang / Higher - 1940 Dallas Sessions / Copper Creek
• Walking For The Lord / J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers / Run Mountain 30 Old Time Favorites /Gusto
• The Stone Was Rolled Away / NewTown / Self-titled / Self-released
• Will The Circle Be Unbroken / Lee Marcus / Grandpa's Pond / Self-released
• When I Wake Up To Sleep No More / Nick Anderson & The Gospel Friends / Self-titled / Self-released
• That Wonderful Place / Ralph Stanley / A Mother's Prayer / Rebel
• The Fourth Man / Dailey & Vincent / The Gospel Side of Dailey & Vincent / Cracker Barrel
• Walking In A Dream / Fred Etheridge w. Nick Anderson & Mark Doyle / Pickin' and Singin' / Self-released

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 1/15/2012

Although the year is pretty young, today was the coldest day of 2012 in eastern CT.  To that end, it seemed like one of the proverbial "no-brainers" to kick off today's Bluegrass Cafe with a few tunes that echoed the cold outside the studios.  Maybe some songs with hot, sunny, balmy titles would have been better, but today, we stuck with the cold...

Happy 86th, Ray Price!

Following that, we jumped right into a tribute set to a Country Music Hall of Famer who probably ranks as my #1 favorite country singer of the 1950s -- Ray Price, who celebrated his 86th birthday on January 12th.  As with many classic country singers, a lot of Ray Price's music has been reinterpreted through the years and translated to BG, so it was very, very easy to choose five BG covers of Ray Price tunes, plus two more songs featuring the man himself.  If more of today's country music sounded like the classic 4/4 Ray Price shuffles of the 1950s, wouldn't country music be so much more "listenable?"  




The last time I was on the air (on New Year's Day), I filled the 3 hours of airtime with music released in 2011 that I'd really enjoyed.  Naturally, there were more than a couple of CDs I'd pulled before that show to play, but never got around to it over the course of the program.  Today, I got a second chance to play some of these favorites from 2011 that have been neglected on New Year's Day, so I didn't hesitate to play music by Shannon Slaughter, Eddie & Martha Adcock, the Expedition Show, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Larry Sparks, and Blue Highway.  

Merl Johnson can play both the
mandolin & fiddle quite well.

It's great to play music from earlier years, but it is a new year, and that means, there will likely be a bit of new BG music to play and share on the radio each week.  This time around, we played a song from a forthcoming 30-year anniversary CD from the Lonesome River Band and a mandolin instrumental from a Patuxent Music CD by Merl Johnson called, "Better Man."  Merl Johnson also plays the fiddle quite well, and currently, he's a featured member of Travers Chandler & Avery County.  

The record title doesn't say "Statler
Brothers," but the connection is still
there -- Statler Jimmy Fortune makes
an appearance on this CD.

There's also a brand-new CD this week from Dailey & Vincent -- "The Gospel Side Of Dailey & Vincent."  This CD (like D&V's last recording called, "Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers") is only available through Cracker Barrel Old Country Store outlets throughout the country, and is not 100% straight-ahead BG music.  Instead, while there are some songs that are fairly Bluegrass-ish on the CD, there are also a few numbers which are definitely more country-sounding with lots of strings and percussion and different arrangements.  Throughout, though, the harmonies are pretty terrific with some duet vocals and a bunch of fine quartets (with Jeff Parker and Christian Davis rounding out the sound, just as they do in a live set from D&V).  




Hope you're having a fine 2012 so far.  Keep your resolution to listen to great BG on the radio next Sunday when Jim joins you in the BG Cafe, won't you?  




Have a good week - 
Amy




REQUESTS ARE RED.

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• Cold Wind / Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boys / Diamond Joe / Rounder
• Cold, Cold Love / Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show / In Full Color / Rebel
• Chilly Winds / Johnny Williams / Close Kin / Mountain Roads Recordings
• Cold, Icy Fingers / Lost & Found / It's About Time / Rebel
• Sweet Little Miss Blue Eyes / Ray Price / Collector's Choice / Harmony [Ray Price born, 1/12/1926]
• I'll Be There / Del McCoury Band / The Cold Hard Facts / Rounder
• Wasted Words / Johnson Mountain Boys / Live At The Birchmere / Rounder
• Move On In And Stay / Mickey Harris / Dog House Blues / MJH Records
• Crazy Arms / IIIrd Tyme Out / Puttin' New Roots Down / Rebel
• Heartaches By The Number / Jim & Jesse / Our Kind Of Country / Pinecastle
• I Can't Go Home Like This / Ray Price / The Essential Ray Price / Columbia
• The Working Man / Shannon Slaughter / The Sideman Steps Out / Self-Produced
• This Morning At Nine / Eddie & Martha Adcock with Tom Gray / Many A Mile / Patuxent Music
• I'm Yours / Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper / Fired Up / Rounder
• If You've Got Something To Say / Blue Highway / Sounds Like Home / Rounder
• Let It Go / Missy Werner Band / Three Kinds Of Lonesome / Self-Produced
• Carolina Dreams / Lee Marcus / Grandpa's Pond / Self-Produced
• Let It Go / Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa / It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Day! / Self-Produced
• Carolina Dreams / Edgar Loudermilk / Roads Travelled / Mountain Fever Records
• I'll Stay Around / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Sides, 1950-1952 / JSP Records
• If That's The Way You Feel / Stanley Brothers / Selected Cuts, 1956-1959 / JSP Records
• Saints Go Marching In / Lilly Brothers & Don Stover / Bluegrass At The Roots, 1961 / Smithsonian Folkways
• Rocky Top / Osborne Brothers / High Lonesome / CMH
• You're Not A Drop In The Bucket / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Cuts, 1955-1959 / JSP Records
• There's Another Baby Waiting For Me Down The Line / Reno & Smiley / Early Years, 1951-1959 / Gusto [recorded 1/15/1952 for King Records]
• My Dixie Darlin' / Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum / The Oak And The Laurel / Rounder [Tom Rozum birthday, 1/21/1951]
• Hickory Holler's Tramp / Country Gentlemen / The Award Winning Country Gentlemen / Rebel [Charlie Waller birthday, 1/19/1935]
• Coat Of Many Colors / Lynn Morris Band / The Bramble And The Rose / Rounder [songwriter Dolly Parton born, 1/16/1946]
• Whippoorwill / Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out / Prime Tyme / Rural Rhythm
• Backroads And Little Towns / The Expedition Show / The Expedition Show / Mountain Fever Records
• Devil Woman / Spinney Brothers / Side By Side / Self-Produced
• Bring 'Em On Back / Larry Sparks / Almost Home / Rounder
• The Stanley Brothers / Travers Chandler & Avery Country / forthcoming CD / Mountain Fever Records
• Close The Door Lightly When You Go / Lonesome River Band / forthcoming CD / Rural Rhythm
• Arthur's March [music bed] / Tim Martin / Bluegrass Fiddle / Patuxent Music
• Tune For Leonard [music bed] / Tim Martin / Bluegrass Fiddle / Patuxent Music
• Lights Along The Riverside [music bed] / Tim Martin / Bluegrass Fiddle / Patuxent Music
• Farm Of Yesterday / Gibson Brothers / Ring The Bell / Compass Records
• Final Farewell / Chris Jones & the Night Drivers / New Cuts Of Bluegrass, Volume 4 / no label
• Things In Life / Darin & Brooke Aldridge / So Much In Between / Mountain Home
• Me And The Jukebox / Leon Morris / Thinking Today Of My Home / Patuxent Music
• Don't Throw Mama's Flowers Away / Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass / The Room Over Mine / Rounder
• Amandalyn / Merl Johnson / Better Man / Patuxent Music
• Living In The Kingdom Of God / Dailey & Vincent / The Gospel Side Of Dailey & Vincent  / Cracker Barrel
• God's Coloring Book / Country Gentlemen / Way Down Deep In My Soul / Sugar Hill
• Thankful For Each Day / Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice / The Heart of A Song / Rebel
• Love Lifted Me / Mountain Faith / Save Me / Mountain Home
• The Stone Was Rolled Away / NewTown / NewTown / Self-Produced
• It's So Hard To Stumble (When You're Down On Your Knees) / Lou Reid & Carolina / My Own Set Of Rules / Rural Rhythm
• You Must Come In At The Door / Doc Watson / The Best Of The Sugar Hill Years / Sugar Hill
• The Lighthouse / Gibson Brothers / Bona Fide / Sugar Hill
• Daddy Sang Bass / Dailey & Vincent / The Gospel Side Of Dailey & Vincent / Cracker Barrel
• Black Mountain Blues / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder

"Bluegrass Cafe" Playlist - 1/8/2012

Hi Folks.

This show occurred on the "Eighth of January" which happens to be the title of an old American fiddle tune.  Marti and I celebrated with Rhonda Vincent's instrumental version as well as Jimmie Driftwood's version with lyrics known as "The Battle Of New Orleans."

January 8th is also Elvis Presley's birthday, so we took advantage of that to explore one of the songs that helped launch his career -- a song he borrowed from the one and only Bill Monroe -- "Blue Moon of Kentucky."  We played Monroe's original 1946 recording followed by Elvis', then the Stanley Brothers', and then Monroe's re-recording that included the 4/4 section halfway through.  All of the last three versions were recorded within about a three-month period in 1954.  We also played a few more current versions of the song recently released by Laurie Lewis, Frank Wakefield, and Bobby Osborne.  The history of this song and its influence is one of the reasons Bill Monroe is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

We also acknowledged Randall Hylton's, Curly Ray Cline's, and of course Earl Scruggs' birthdays, all of which occur near or on this date, and Jimmy Martin's recording of "You Don't Know My Mind" that he recorded January 13, 1960.

To top off Bluegrass Cafe this day, we had an interview with Brandon Rickman who will be performing a solo show at The Outer Space in Hamden, CT, Saturday January 21, 2012.  You can find more information about the show and buy tickets in advance at http://guitartownct.com

Be sure to tune in next Sunday for another great afternoon of the best in bluegrass music.

Jim Beaver

requests are red

Title / Artist / Album / Label

• Fire On The Mountain / Michael Cleveland / Sawing On The "C" String / Self-released
• I'm Going Back To Old Kentucky / Audie Blaylock and Redline / I'm Going Back To Old Kentucky / Rural Rhythm
• Chilly Winds / Johnny Williams et al / Close Kin / Mountain Roads
• Eighth Of January / Rhonda Vincent / Destination Life / Rounder
• The Battle Of New Orleans / Jimmie Driftwood / Americana / Bear Family
• Don't Act / Rhonda Vincent / All American Bluegrass Girl / Rounder
• You Won't Be Satisfied That Way / Dave Evans / Goin' Round This World / Rebel
• Jimmie Brown, The Newsboy / Flatt & Scruggs / Foggy Mountain Jamboree / Columbia
• Flint Hill Special / Flatt & Scruggs / Foggy Mountain Jamboree / Columbia
• Blue Moon of Kentucky (1946) / Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys / The Essential / Columbia
• Blue Moon of Kentucky / Elvis Presley / Elvis At Sun / BMG
• Blue Moon of Kentucky / The Stanley Brothers / 1953-1958 & 1959 / Bear Family
• Blue Moon of Kentucky (1954) / Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys / Blue Grass 1950-1958 / Bear Family
• Heart And Soul / The Gillis Brothers / Heart And Soul / Rebel
• Brand New Tennessee Waltz / Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys / 1971-1973 / Rebel
• Old Richmond Prison / Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel
• You Don't Know My Mind / Jimmy Martin / You Don't Know My Mind / Rounder
• Deep River / Ashley Blankenship and Blades of Blue / Blades of Blue / Mountain Fever
• Frozen In Time / The Gibson Brothers / Help My Brother / Compass
• Blue Moon of Kentucky / Laurie Lewis / Skippin' and Flyin' / Spruce and Maple
• The Working Man / Shannon Slaughter / The Sideman Steps Out / Elite Circuit
• Brakeman's Blues / The Del McCoury Band / Old Memories / McCoury Music
• Eighteen Wheels / Crowe Brothers / Bridging The Gap / Rural Rhythm
• Going Back To Old Virginia / Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper / Fired Up / Rounder
• Mississippi Sawyer / George Pegram / Self-titled / Rounder
• Bring Back My Blue Eyed Boy To Me / Lilly Brothers & Don Stover / Early Recordings / Rebel
• When The Snow Falls On The Bluegrass / Cody Shuler & Pine Mountain Railroad / Self-titled / SteelTown
• Pretty Polly / NewTown / NewTown / Self-released
• My Time / Lee Marcus / Grandpa's Pond / Self-released
• Just As Soon As I Get Over You / Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice / The Heart Of A Song / Rebel
• Put Me In Your Pocket / Taylors Grove / Keep On The Sunny Side / Fishtraks
• Rabbit In The Pea Patch / Peter Feldman & The Pea Patch Quintet / Grey Cat On The Tennessee Farm / Self-released
• Blue Moon of Kentucky / Frank Wakefield w. Audie Blaylock / A Tribute To Bill Monroe / Patuxent
• Cry Lonesome Dove / Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa / It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Day / Raincoe
• Flint Hill Special (bed) / Rick Spinney / Off The Cuff / Self-released
• Nine Pound Hammer (bed) / Rick Spinney / Off The Cuff / Self-released
• That's Just Me Lovin' You / Darin & Brooke Aldridge / So Much In Between / Mountain Home
• Sharecropper's Son / Carolina Road / Back To My Roots / Rural Rhythm
• I Wouldn't Change You If I Could / Ricky Skaggs / Country Hits Bluegrass Style / Skaggs Family
• The Old Home Place / The Dillards / There Is A Time (1963-70) / Vanguard
• Blue Moon of Kentucky / Bobby Osborne & Rocky Top X-Press / Bill Monroe 100th Year Celebration at Bean Blossom / Rural Rhythm
• Brown Check / Larry Cordle / Pud Marcum's Hangin' / Mighty Cord
• Record Time Machine / Lonesome River Band / Still Learning / Rural Rhythm
• Always Have, Always Will / Brandon Rickman / Young Man, Old Soul / Rural Rhythm
• Interview with Brandon Rickman 
• Meanwhile / Balsam Range / Trains I Missed / Mountain Home
• Before Judgment Day / J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers / 30 Old Time Favorites / Gusto
• Wings Of Angels / Jay Armsworthy / I Couldn't Make It Without Him / Blue Circle
• Give Me Just A Little More Time / The Bluegrass Gospel Project / The Blue Morpho / Vital
• Walking In A Dream / Fred Etheridge / Pickin' and Singin' / Self-released

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 1/1/2012

Happy New Year!  

The most-played CD at the "BG Cafe"
in 2011 was by the Gibsons.
No big surprise there...

Today's radio show was pretty much devoted to playing music that we received at WHUS during 2011.  While I was able to play many songs today that I've really enjoyed over the past year, I just wasn't able to get to everything.  That became even more evident to me after the show was over and I was putting away CDs in our station library.  Some of those discs I'd intended to play, but just didn't have time today came from folks like Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers, Blue Highway, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Shannon Slaughter, and others.  Good thing we don't really "retire" CDs that are not brand-spanking-new from our airwaves, that's for sure.


While we're (sort of) talking about some of my favorite CDs of 2011, I'm sure you're aware that there are many, many lists on the Internet of "The Best" BG recordings of 2011.  Most all of these rankings are pretty subjective, when it comes right down to it -- what one person likes may be totally opposite of what another likes.  It is kind of fun to see what others really enjoy, though, and why they like it so much.  I couldn't resist the urge to join in, so I've also made a list of favorites that has been posted on the WHUS website.  In my list, though, there are no rankings.  If you'd care to take a look at the list of CDs I've put together, feel free to visit the WHUS website by clicking here. 

The harmonies sung by Charlie (R) &
Ira Louvin (L) are considered to be
just about the best in the history of
country music.

On the show today, we also reserved a bit of time for brand new music from Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie ("The Touch Of Time" on Rural Rhythm), and took a few moments to honor and remember some of the BG (and BG-friendly) performers who died in 2011.  Among those:  Charlie Louvin, Wilma Lee Cooper, Hazel Dickens, Johnnie Wright, and banjo picker, Jake Jenkins.  


And though it might seem kind of maudlin to fixate on those who died, it's really difficult (for me, at least) to think of putting together a radio show on a New Year's Day and NOT play at least a little bit of music from the pen of Hank Williams.  It's amazing to me to think of the number of classic songs that were written by a man who never even reached his 30th birthday.  Hank's life of abusing his body with alcohol came to an end on New Year's Day 1953, as he died in the back of a limousine while on his way to play a concert in Canton, Ohio.  Hank Williams has to be one of the most interesting characters in the history of country music.  If you haven't read anything about the man whose impact continues to be felt in all types of music 59 years after his death, perhaps you can add one of these biographies to your reading list in 2012:  Hank Williams:  The Biography by Colin Escott or Lovesick Blues:  The Life Of Hank Williams by Paul Hemphill.  


Best wishes to everyone for lots of health and happiness in 2012!  Be sure to join Jim in next week's BG Cafe for lots more of the best in BG, won't you?


Amy




MOST MUSIC COMES FROM 2011 RELEASES (OR COMPILATIONS) - REQUESTS WERE NOT REALLY TAKEN.  HOWEVER, ONE REQUEST IS RED.  

• Auld Lang Syne / Kentucky Colonels with Bill Keith / Long Journey Home / Vanguard
• Watermelon On The Vine / Del McCoury Band / Old Memories:  The Songs Of Bill Monroe / McCoury Music
• Live And Let Live / Del McCoury Band / Old Memories:  The Songs Of Bill Monroe / McCoury Music
• I Was Left On The Street / Audie Blaylock & Redline / I'm Going Back To Old Kentucky / Rural Rhythm
• Pike County Breakdown / Frank Wakefield / A Tribute To Bill Monroe / Patuxent Music
• Six Feet Under The Ground / Acoustic Blue / Timeless / Self-Produced
• Walls Of Time / Johnson Mountain Boys / Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration:  A Classic Bluegrass Tribute / Rounder
• Rare Bird Alert / Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers / Rare Bird Alert / Rounder
• I Knew It Wasn't You (The Telephone Song) / Crowe Brothers / Bridging The Gap / Rural Rhythm
• Leaving The Lonely Behind / Ashlee Blankenship & Blades Of Blue / Ashlee Blankenship & Blades Of Blue / Mountain Fever Records
• Redwood Hill / Russ Nixon with Brandon Rickman & Jeff Parker / Last Chance / Patuxent Music
• One Mile East Of Hazel Green / Randy Waller & the Country Gentlemen / One Mile East Of Hazel Green / Lendel Records
• Dooley / The Grascals / Dance 'Til Your Stockings Are Hot And Ravelin' / BluGrascal Records
• My Time / Lee Marcus / Grandpa's Pond / Self-Produced
• Gettin' Outta Here Alive / Steve Spurgin / Past Perfect / Self-Produced
• I'll Take Love / Dale Ann Bradley with Alison Krauss & Steve Gulley / I'll Take Love:  From The Pen Of Louisa Branscomb / Compass Records
• Cold Virginia Night / Rick Pardue & Timmy Massey / The Ghost Of Noah Hayes / Lizard Records
• Trolley Days / Thomas Porter & Copper River Band / Trolley Days / Self-Produced
• Gone At Last / Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / Drive Time / Mountain Home
• What Do You Say? / Sierra Hull / Daybreak / Rounder
• Wishing Well Blues / Russell Johnson with Emily Kirsch / Anytime Anyplace But Only You / New Time Records
• Be Proud Of The Gray In Your Hair / Scott Anderson / Tales From The Swamp / Self-Produced
• My Baby Thinks He's A Train / Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie / The Touch Of Time / Rural Rhythm
• I've Lived A Lot In My Time / Dry Branch Fire Squad / Just For The Record / Rounder
• Love Gone Cold / Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie / The Touch Of Time / Rural Rhythm
• Don't Laugh / Louvin Brothers / The Essential Louvin Brothers:  My Baby's Gone, 1955-1964 / Raven Records
• You Tried To Ruin My Name / Wilma Lee Cooper / O Sister! / Rounder
• Jakebrakes / Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show / In Full Color / Rebel
• Here Today And Gone Tomorrow / Hazel Dickens with the Johnson Mountain Boys / Songs Of The Louvin Brothers / Rounder
• Cryin' Heart Blues / Johnnie & Jack / For Old Times Sake / Bear Family
• Frozen In Time / Gibson Brothers / Help My Brother / Compass Records
• I've Got Nothin' / Donna Ulisse / An Easy Climb / Hadley Music Group
• Baby We're Really In Love / Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters / Phoenix / Happy Appy Records
• Cold Cold Heart / Spinney Brothers / Going Home / Self-Produced
• There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight / Jim Mills with Alan O'Bryant / Bound To Ride / Sugar Hill
• You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave) / Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers / Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers/Hot Rize / Flying Fish
• Walking The Floor Over Me / Charlie Sizemore / Heartache Looking For A Home / Rounder
• Carolina Dreams / Edgar Loudermilk / Roads Travelled / Mountain Fever Records
• A Far Cry From Lester And Earl / Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice / The Heart Of A Song / Rebel
• Mash Your Finger / Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa / It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Day! / Self-Produced
• Mandolin Tango / Travers Chandler & Avery County / State Of Depression / Patuxent Music
• I Saw The Light / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Anthology / MCA
• Lord Protect My Soul / Kathy Kallick Band / Count Your Blessings:  A Bluegrass Gospel Collection / Live Oak Records
• You Better Wake Up / Volume Five / Children Of The Mountain / Mountain Fever Records
• My Eyes Shall Be On Canaan's Land / Terry Baucom with Doyle Lawson, Jimmy Haley, & Lou Reid / In A Groove / John Boy & Billy, Inc.
• Lord Lift Me Up / Darin & Brooke Aldridge / So Much In Between / Mountain Home
• Journey To My Savior's Side / Missy Werner Band / Three Kinds Of Lonesome / Self-Produced
• Give Me Just A Little More Time / Paul Williams & the Victory Trio / Satisfied / Rebel
• On The Jericho Road / Tom Mindte & Jeremy Stephens / Radio Favorites & Sacred Songs / Patuxent Music
• Wheel Hoss / Bluegrass Album Band / Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration:  A Classic Bluegrass Tribute / Rounder