Playlist - 2/22/2015 - Don Reno, Ralph Stanley, Monroe Fields

Hi Folks,

Monroe Fields on the left

The UCONN spurts department nearly wiped us out on this day, preempting everything from 1pm to 6pm.  With the one hour remaining, we celebrated and remembered Don Reno whose birthday was 2/21/1927, Ralph Stanley whose birthday was 2/25/1927, and Monroe Fields who just passed away the day before this broadcast.

A new CD of some of Monroe Fields' broadcasts with Carl Sauceman and the Green Valley Boys had been released by the Patuxent label just weeks before Monroe's passing, so we focused on that release to remember him.

Also, Ralph Stanley just released a new CD on the Cracker Barrel label from which we drew a couple songs to celebrate his 88th birthday along with a song from a relatively unknown album he recorded in the late 1980s on cassette-only.

And of course we dug into but a fraction of the material recorded by Don Reno, focusing mostly on his classic recordings from the early 1950s with Red Smiley, but also the last recording session with Red Smiley on Ray Davis' Wango label.


If you had a chance to catch our one-hour broadcast, we hope you enjoyed our celebrations and tribute. 

Amy will make the banjos and fiddles ring next Sunday if the spurts department gives us some time.

Jim Beaver

Artist/Song/Album/Label

• Don Reno & Red Smiley and The Tennessee Cut-Ups / Charlotte Breakdown / 1951-1959 / King
• Don Reno & Red Smiley and The Tennessee Cut-Ups / I'm The Talk Of The Town / 1951-1959 / King
• Don Reno & Red Smiley and The Tennessee Cut-Ups / Tally Ho / 1951-1959 / King
• Don Reno & Red Smiley and The Tennessee Cut-Ups / Barefoot Nellie / 1951-1959 / King
• Don Reno & Red Smiley and The Tennessee Cut-Ups / I'm the Biggest Liar In Town / 1951-1959 / King
• Don Reno & Red Smiley and The Tennessee Cut-Ups / Dixie Breakdown / 1951-1959 / King
• Don Reno / I'm Troubled in Mind / Profile / Wango
• Ralph Stanley / I Only Exist (feat. Dierks Bentley) / Man of Constant Sorrow / Cracker Barrel
• Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys / Dirty Black Coal / Like Father, Like Son / Copper Creek
• Monroe Fields with Carl Sauceman and the Green Valley Boys / Poor Me / 1950s-60s Broadcasts / Patuxent
• Monroe Fields with Carl Sauceman and the Green Valley Boys / You Gotta Be My Baby / 1950s-60s Broadcasts / Patuxent
• Monroe Fields with Carl Sauceman and the Green Valley Boys / Silver Threads and Golden Needles / 1950s-60s Broadcasts / Patuxent
• Don Reno & Red Smiley / I'm Using My Bible For A Road Map / 1951-1959 / King
• Monroe Fields with Carl Sauceman and the Green Valley Boys / There's Only One Way To Heaven / 1950s-60s Broadcasts / Patuxent
• Ralph Stanley / We Shall Rise (feat. Josh Turner) / Man of Constant Sorrow / Cracker Barrel
• Larry Gillis / That Beautiful Picture / Swamp Folk / Tin Man
• Gibson Brothers / What A Wonderful Savior Is He / Brotherhood / Rounder
• Fred Etheridge with Nick Anderson & Mark Doyle / Walking in a Dream / Pickin' And Singin' / Self-released

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 2/15/2015

Another super-chilly, extremely-windy Sunday afternoon found us in the warm WHUS Studio A for another edition of our Bluegrass Cafe.  While the trip to the studio was a bit more challenging than one might hope, the show went by in a fairly smooth way, so that's a good thing.  Hope you were able to join us for at least a few minutes of the ol' radio program...

The Boston Bluegrass Union hosted the 30th Annual Joe Val Bluegrass Festival in Framingham, MA this past weekend, and the folks who attended were "welcomed" with yet another Boston-area super dose of winter -- 12+ inches of new snow and crazy winds.  While I had a ticket for the festival, I opted to stay home in eastern CT this weekend, but the reports I've heard from Joe Val attendees have been positive ones.  For those who made it to the festival and for those who didn't, I included a few songs throughout the radio show from Joe Val performers, including Rhonda Vincent, the Roland White Band, Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick, the Seldom Scene, and the Del McCoury Band.

It's always fun to include a little bit of new music with each radio show, and this week's newest recording came from Cody Shuler -- a dandy, self-titled recording on Rural Rhythm featuring all original songs.  We also shared newer music from recent recordings by Hot Rize, Blue Mafia, Shannon & Heather Slaughter, the Spinney Brothers, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, and Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, as well as a song or two from recent SPBGMA Award winners the Gibson Brothers, the Larry Stephenson Band, and the Farm Hands.  

In addition, there was a song or two from Connecticut performers, Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters.  Amy's most recent recording, "Everything I Wanted Love To Be" got a "Highlight Review" in the February issue of Bluegrass Unlimited.  If you missed the review, you can see it here (scroll down).  Look for Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters playing over the next few weeks in eastern CT at the Killingly Grange on February 28th and at the Bread Box Folk series in Willimantic on March 8th.

Hope you're able to join Jim on the radio next Sunday for another edition of Bluegrass Cafe starting at 4PM.  

Enjoy the week -- stay warm!

Amy

SONG / PERFORMER / ALBUM / LABEL

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• Cold Wind / Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boys / Diamond Joe / Rounder
• Wind To The West / Blue Highway / Wind To The West / Rebel
• The Howling Blue Winds / David Peterson & 1946 / The Howling Blue Winds / Self-Produced
• Windy Mountain / Lonesome Pine Fiddlers / Windy Mountain / Bear Family
• Hickory Wind / Seldom Scene with Emmylou Harris / Long Time...Seldom Scene / Smithsonian Folkways
• If Lonely Was The Wind / Gary Ferguson / I'm Really Leaving / Webco
• Candle In The Wind / IIIrd Tyme Out / IIIrd Tyme Out / Rebel
• Lonesome Wind Blues / Rhonda Vincent / Back Home Again / Rounder
• Your Love Is Like A Flower / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Foggy Mountain Jamboree / Columbia
• Sunny Side Of The Mountain / Jimmy Martin / You Don't Know My Mind / Rounder
• Banjo Signal / Reno & Smiley / Early Years, 1951-1959 / Gusto
• The Last Log Drive / Fred Pike, Sam Tidwell & the Kennebec Valley Boys / The Last Log Drive / Revonah
• I Don't Know What To Do / Warrior River Boys / New Beginnings / Rounder
• The Young Fisherwoman / Country Gentlemen / Folk Session Inside / Copper Creek
• You Are My Flower / Traditional Grass / 10th Anniversary Collection / Rebel
• Lake Champlain / BearTracks / Rough Edges / AMT Records
• Another Day From Life / Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers / Another Day From Life / Rebel
• Crazy Creek / Sally Van Meter / All In Good Time / Sugar Hill
• Western Skies / Hot Rize / When I'm Free / Ten In Hand Records
• Let The Whole World Talk / Johnson Mountain Boys / Let The Whole World Talk / Rounder
• Lost In A Memory / Lou Reid & Carolina / 20th Anniversary Concert / KMA Records
• Thinkin' Of Home / Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick / Laurie & Kathy Sing The Songs Of Vern & Ray / Spruce And Maple Music
• Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way / Barry Berrier / First Time With Feeling / Pinecastle
• On My Mind / Earls Of Leicester / The Earls Of Leicester / Rounder
• Big Blue Raindrops / Del McCoury Band / The Streets Of Baltimore / McCoury Music
• If I Lose / Roland White Band / Straight-Ahead Bluegrass / Self-Produced
• My Home Is On This Ole Boxcar / Cody Shuler / Cody Shuler / Rural Rhythm
• Born To Be With You / Blue Mafia / Pray For Rain / Pinecastle
• There Ain't No Need To Be Lonely / Shannon & Heather Slaughter / Never Just A Song / Self-Produced
• When The Bonnets Are In Bloom / Cody Shuler / Cody Shuler / Rural Rhythm
• Sugar Coated Love / J.D. Crowe & the New South / Live In Japan / Rounder
• Cold Cold Heart / Jeff White / The White Album / Rounder
• Love Me Darlin', Just Tonight / Stanley Brothers / The Early Starday King Years, 1958-1961 / Gusto
• The Ballad Of Buck & Don / Feller & Hill / Here Come Feller & Hill...Again! / Blue Circle Records
• Flame In My Heart / Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters / Everything I Wanted Love To Be / Happy Appy Records
• Leavin' / James King / These Old Pictures / Rounder
• My Music Comes From Bill / Spinney Brothers / Tried & True / Mountain Fever Records
• Evening Prayer Blues / Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / In Session / Mountain Home
• Bye Bye Love / Gibson Brothers / Brotherhood / Rounder
• Cardboard Mansion / Bob Paisley & the Southern Grass / Back To The Blue Ridge / Brandywine
• Sad Situation / Delia Bell & Bill Grant / Dreaming / Rounder
• Streets Of Gold / The Farm Hands / Better Than I Deserve / Pinecastle
• Jesus Walked Upon The Water / Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice / Trouble Follows Me / Rebel
• (We're Goin') Just Over In The Gloryland / Bill Monroe / Anthology / MCA
• Country Church / Pike Brothers & the Pine Hill Ranchers / The Pike Brothers & the Pine Hill Ranchers / Rebel
• Won't It Be Wonderful There / Blue Sky Boys / On Radio, Volume 4 / Copper Creek
• Get Behind Me Satan / Reno & Smiley / Early Years, 1951-1959 / Gusto
• Angel At Your Side / Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters / Everything I Wanted Love To Be / Happy Appy Records
• The Touch Of God's Hand / Longview / Longview / Rounder
• Pull Your Savior In / Larry Stephenson Band / Pull Your Savior In / Whysper Dream Music
• I Have Found The Way / Gibson Brothers / Brotherhood / Rounder
• Black Mountain Blues / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 2/8/2015

Another Sunday afternoon found us waiting on another Sunday-into-Monday snow event here in eastern Connecticut, but we tried to warm things up right out of the chute with four "sunshine" songs.  It's a pity these songs didn't zoom us right into Spring, but that will happen in due time...

The "Award-Winning" Country Gentlemen, circa 1971ish.
(Bill Emerson, Doyle Lawson, Bill Yates, Charlie Waller)

Other "features" on Sunday's show included the sharing of a few more songs from the Bill Yates repertoire:  a couple each from Country Gentlemen and the Country Gentlemen Reunion Band, as well as one song from Bill's tenure with Red Allen & the Kentuckians.  We also shared a bit of newer music from 2015 recordings by Shannon & Heather Slaughter, Volume Five, Blue Mafia, the Farm Hands, and the Gibson Brothers.

As we were getting ready to close the show, the news arrived that the 2015

Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album had been awarded to the Earls of Leicester for their self-titled Rounder recording.  This group of Bluegrass all-stars (Jerry Douglas, Tim O'Brien, Shawn Camp, Barry Bales, Charlie Cushman, Johnny Warren) exists to play the music of Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs & the Foggy Mountain Boys.  Does this group perform the songs of Lester & Earl better than the originals?  Nope!  Still, if this recording leads one listener to want to go back and explore the original music of Lester & Earl & the FMBs, so much the better!  

Coming up next weekend is the 30th annual Joe Val Bluegrass Festival in Framingham, MA.  Jim and I will both be attending, so we sure hope to see some of you there, too.  Whether you can get there or not, though, I sure hope you'll join me on the radio next Sunday afternoon for another edition of Bluegrass Cafe.

Enjoy the week!

Amy 



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

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• Sunshine Special / Tennessee Mafia Jug Band / Screams From The Holler / Spring Fed Records
• My Florida Sunshine / Claire Lynch / Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration / Rounder
• Do You Know You Are My Sunshine / Dailey & Vincent / Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers / Cracker Barrel
• You Are My Sunshine / Norman Blake / O Brother, Where Art Thou? / Mercury
• Never Again (Will I Knock On Your Door) / The Boxcars / It's Just A Road / Mountain Home
• Wild Mountain Flowers For Mary / Lost & Found / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel
• Wichita / Tim & Mollie O'Brien / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• The Crow / Tony Trischka with Steve Martin / Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular / Rounder
• You Tried To Ruin My Name / Wilma Lee Cooper / O Sister / Rounder
• Walls Of Time / Johnson Mountain Boys / Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration / Rounder
• I've Got The Moon On My Side / Crowe Brothers / Forty Years Old / Mountain Fever Records
• Crescent City Blues / Eddie Adcock / The Patuxent Banjo Project / Patuxent Music
• Rocks In The River / Missy Werner / Turn This Heart Around / Self-Produced
• Goin' To The Dance / Chris Warner with Tom Adams / Goin' To The Dance / Patuxent Music
• I Got A Date / Nashville Bluegrass Band / Unleashed / Sugar Hill
• Foggy Mountain Chimes / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Foggy Mountain Jamboree / Columbia
• Banjo Boy Chimes / Dan Paisley & the Southern Grass / The Tradition Continues / Brandywine
• Honky-Tonked To Death / Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice / Trouble Follows Me / Rebel
• Thank God For The Highways / Spinney Brothers / Tried & True / Mountain Fever Records
• Country Life Looks Better (To Me Now) / Bill Emerson & Pete Goble / Webco Classics, Volume One / Pinecastle
• Uphill Climb / Weary Hearts / By Heart / Flying Fish
• Virginia Waltz / Jim & Jesse / First Sounds / Capitol
• Her Love Won't Turn On A Dime / Lonesome River Band / Turn On A Dime / Mountain Home
• Mama Don't Allow / Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show / Take Me Back / Pinecastle
• You're In My Heart / Weary Hearts / By Heart / Flying Fish
• Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher Man / Volume Five with Rhonda Vincent / Voices / Mountain Fever Records
• You'll Always Be My Blue Eyed Darling / Red Allen & Frank Wakefield / The WDON Recordings, 1963 / Patuxent Music
• Ridin' The Lightnin', Ropin' The Storm / Shannon & Heather Slaughter / Never Just A Song / Self-Produced
• Consider It Goodbye / Blue Mafia / Pray For Rain / Pinecastle
• Colder And Colder / Volume Five / Voices / Mountain Fever Records
• I'll Break Out Tonight / Bill Yates & Friends / The Country Gentlemen Tribute / MasterShield Records
• Keep On Going / Red Allen & the Kentuckians / Keep On Going:  The Rebel & Melodeon Recordings / Rebel
• Get In Line Buddy / Country Gentlemen / The Early Rebel Recordings, 1962-1971 / Rebel
• Saro Jane / Roland White Band / Straight-Ahead Bluegrass / Self-Produced
• Trains Are The Only Way To Fly / Audie Blaylock / Trains Are The Only Way To Fly / Self-Produced
• Each Season Changes You / Gibson Brothers / Brotherhood / Rounder
• Sad And Blue / BearTracks / Together 'Til The End / AMT Records
• Steppin' Stones / Paul Williams / A Tribute To Jimmy Martin / Koch Records
• Black-Eyed Susie / Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick / Laurie & Kathy Sing The Songs Of Vern & Ray / Spruce And Maple Music
• Why Don't You Tell Me So / Lilly Brothers & Don Stover / On The Radio, 1952-1953 / Rounder
• I'll Go Stepping Too / The Earls Of Leicester / The Earls Of Leicester / Rounder
• Meet Me Over On The Other Side / Bill Yates & Friends / Country Gentlemen Tribute, Volume 2 / Self-Produced
• Light At The River / Steve Gulley with Rickey Wasson / Family, Friends & Fellowship / Rural Rhythm
• Pray For The Boys / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Foggy Mountain Jamboree / Columbia
• Wicked Path Of Sin / Billy & Terry Smith / Bill Monroe Tribute / K-Tel Records
• Shouting Time In Heaven / Kenny & Amanda Smith / Life Goes On / Rural Rhythm
• He's Coming Back To Earth Again / Feller & Hill / Here Come Feller & Hill...Again! / Blue Circle Records
• The Darkest Hour Is Just Before Dawn / Stanley Brothers / All Gospel, All Bluegrass / Federal
• Lord Don't Leave Me Here / Country Gentlemen / Let The Light Shine Down / Rebel
• Over In The Gloryland / The Farm Hands / Better Than I Deserve / Pinecastle
• Black Mountain Blues / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder

Playlist - 2/1/2015 - Remembering Bill Yates, Happy Birthday Del

Hi Folks.

On this day we remembered long time bass player and vocalist Bill Yates who passed away January 26, 2015 by playing songs he recorded with Jimmy Martin, and later The Country Gentlemen.

We also celebrated the 76th birthday 1 February of Del McCoury, one of the premier bluegrass performers alive today.  Del's catalog is vast -- every song we played was from from a different album and we didn't scratch the surface.  Coincidentally, Del McCoury Band fiddle player and current IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year, Jason Carter, celebrates his birthday on the same day.


A couple of albums were featured in addition to the above.  Ralph Stanley's newest effort was released a couple of weeks ago at Cracker Barrel, and we played a couple songs from that disc today.

The featured Heritage Corner LP was Just Pickin' by Strings of Five -- a 1978 recording by Hoyt Herbert, Ken Poovey, Steve Kilby, Bob Miller, Raymond Pennington, Lester Deaton, and Curtis Ballard.  The group appears to have been from North Carolina.

In addition to the new Ralph Stanley album, new music included the debut on Bluegrass Cafe of a single from Cody Shuler's upcoming new release, and the debut of a track from the new release from The Farm Hands.


Current favorites on the show included tracks from Michael Cleveland, Larry Gillis, Tommy Brown, The Earls of Leicester, Marteka and William, Jackson and Stiltner, Russ Carson, Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick, and Rob McCoury.

Earl Taylor & The Stoney Mountain Boys

Other Heritage Corner songs came from Ralph Stanley with Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs, Earl Taylor and the Stoney Mountain Boys, Joe Val, The Lilly Brothers & Don Stover, Dave Evans, The Johnson Mountain Boys, and Mac Martin.

We hope you enjoyed something you heard on this show.  Be sure to tune in next Sunday when Amy will make the banjos and fiddles ring.

Jim Beaver

Bill Yates tribute in red.  Del McCoury birthday celebration in blue.

Artist / Song / Album / Label

• The Johnson Mountain Boys / Big Rufus / Live At The Birchmere / Rounder
• Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper / Johnny Thompson / On Down The Line / Compass
• Cody Shuler / My Home is On This Ole Boxcar / single / Rural Rhythm
• Ralph Stanley & Ralph Stanley II / Darling Little Joe / Side By Side / Rebel
• Ralph Stanley (Feat. Ricky Skaggs & Keith Whitley) / Too Late To Cry / Great Bluegrass Performances - Ralph Stanley feat. Ricky Skaggs & Keith Whitley / CBuJ Recordings (from Jalyn LP) 
• Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mountain Boys / Living Like A Fool / Jimmy Martin 1954-1974 / Bear Family
• Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mountain Boys / Freeborn Man / Jimmy Martin 1954-1974 / Bear Family
• Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mountain Boys / Milwaukee Here I Come / Jimmy Martin 1954-1974 / Bear Family
• The Country Gentlemen / Secret Of The Waterfall / The Award Winning Country Gentlemen / Rebel
• The Country Gentlemen / Matterhorn / Live In Japan / Rebel
• The Country Gentlemen / Darby's Castle / Sugar Hill Collection / Sugar Hill
• Ralph Stanley & Friends / Brand New Tennessee Waltz (feat. Del McCoury) / Man of Constant Sorrow / Cracker Barrel
• Larry Gillis / Three Sheets in the Wind / Swamp Folk / Self-Produced
• Alex Leach / Moonshiner / Mountain Heartache / Self-released
• Strings of Five / Heart Stealing Mama / Just Pickin' / Atteiram (LP)
• Delia Bell and Bill Grant / Come Back To Me In My Dreams / Kiamichi Moon / Old Homestead
• Tommy Brown and the County Line Grass / Fort Worth Jailhouse / Leaving This Town / Randm
• Larry Efaw and the Bluegrass Mountaineers / Sea of Regret / She Left Me Standing On a Mountain / Blue Circle
• The South Carolina Broadcasters / When I'm Gone / Short Time To Stay Here / Flaming Heart
• The Earls Of Leicester / On My Mind / The Earls of Leicester / Rounder
• Strings of Five / Leave My Blues In Chicago / Just Pickin' / Atteiram (LP)
• The Del McCoury Band / The Blue Side of Town / Blue Side of Town / Rounder
• Del McCoury / I Feel the Blues Moving in / By Request / McCoury Music
• Del McCoury / The Bluest Man in Town / A Deeper Shade of Blue / Rounder
• Del McCoury / I've Endured / My Dixie Home / Rebel 
• Del McCoury & the Dixie Pals / High on a Mountain / High on a Mountain / Rounder
• Marteka and William / Yonder Stands Little Maggie / The Sounds Of A Tradition / Self-released
• The Farm Hands / The Way That I Was Raised / Better Than I Deserve / Pinecastle
• Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass / I Been Walkin' / Road Into Town / Patuxent 
• Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass / Cherokee Shuffle / Road Into Town / Patuxent
• Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick / My Clinch Mountain Home / Laurie & Kathy Sing Songs of Vern & Ray / Spruce and Maple 
• Jackson & Stiltner / Guitar Pickin' Truck Driver / Tribute To Bill Napier / Self Released
• Russ Carson / Heartbreak Hall of Fame / Avenue Of The Giants / 2014 Patuxent 
• Rob McCoury / John Henry / The 5 String Flamethrower / McCoury Music
• Earl Taylor & Stoney Mountain Boys / White House Blues / Mountain Music Bluegrass Style / Smithsonian Folkways
• Eddie & Martha Adcock / Spirited / Spirited / Pinecastle
• The Lilly Brothers & Don Stover / What Would the Profit Be / What Will I Leave Behind / Rebel 
• Ralph Stanley & Friends / I Am the Man, Thomas / Man of Constant Sorrow / Cracker Barrel
• Strings of Five / Touch of God's Hand / Just Pickin' / Atteiram (LP)
• Joe Val / The Angels Rejoiced In Heaven Last Night / Diamond Joe / Rounder
• Del McCoury / Mother's Prayer / Livin' On the Mountain / Rebel 
• Fred Etheridge with Nick Anderson & Mark Doyle / What Would You Do / Pickin' And Singin' / Self-released
• Mac Martin And The Dixie Travelers / Is She Praying There / Travelin' On / Copper Creek
• The Johnson Mountain Boys / God's Not Dead / Favorites / Rounder
• Dave Evans / You'll Never Walk The Streets Of Gold / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel 
• Fred Etheridge with Nick Anderson & Mark Doyle / Walking in a Dream / Pickin' And Singin' / Self-released