Monday, February 20, 2017

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 2/19/2017

Presidents' Day weekend -- for the last several years, that has meant the big weekend for the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival sponsored by the Boston Bluegrass Union.  This year was no exception, and the BBU folks are to be congratulated on another spectacular edition of this mid-winter tradition.  I arrived at WHUS just in time on Sunday afternoon to bring you what we hope you consider our own little "tradition" -- the Bluegrass Cafe.  Hope you enjoyed it!

Got to hear the fabulous Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass
just before leaving Joe Val for WHUS.  Yay!
As always, the Joe Val Festival was full of talented performers representing all different types of Bluegrass, from very traditional to the far reaches of the music.  We shared music from some of those performers on Sunday's show, including Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Blue Highway, Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass, the Feinberg Brothers, Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass, Sideline, the Grascals, Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers, and the Earls Of Leicester.  


We celebrated a couple of Bluegrass birthdays during Sunday's show -- the shared birthdays of Dudley Connell (born February 18, 1956) and Don Rigsby (born February 18, 1968), as well as few songs in celebration of the life of banjo innovator, songwriter, and Bluegrass Hall of Famer, Don Reno (born February 21, 1927).  In fact, Reno is so important to the history of Bluegrass music, our plan for next Sunday's broadcast is to focus a bit more on Don Reno.  

Newer music played a small part in Sunday's show, too, as we included music from the very fine Mac Wiseman's childhood story in song collection ("I Sang The Song" on Mountain Fever Records), plus songs from the newest recordings by the Gibson Brothers, Terry Baucom & the Dukes Of Drive, Big Country Bluegrass, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, and Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show.  In addition, we included a couple of songs from a new compilation recording of a wonderful Colorado band, the Bluegrass Patriots.


For good measure, I even included a couple of songs from a "new" acquisition from the Joe Val Yard Sale -- a 1971 copy of the Country Gentlemen's "Sound Off" LP on Rebel Records.

Hope you were able to listen in on Sunday, but if not, we'll be looking for you next Sunday afternoon for another edition of our Bluegrass Cafe.

Enjoy the week!

Amy O.


SONG / PERFORMER / ALBUM / LABEL [Request is RED]

  • Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
  • Misery River / Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / Quicksilver Rides Again! / Sugar Hill
  • Don't Weep For Me / Blue Highway / Original Traditional / Rounder
  • Bergold's Farm / Feinberg Brothers / Feinberg Brothers / Cabinwood Music
  • Will You Be Lonesome Too? / Earls Of Leicester / Rattle & Roar / Rounder
  • Uncle Ned / Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass / Weary River / Patuxent Music
  • If I Could Go Back Home Again / J.D. Crowe & the New South / Flashback / Rounder
  • Are You Waiting Just For Me / Sideline / Colors & Crossroads / Mountain Fever Records
  • Memories Of You / Bill Monroe & HIs Blue Grass Boys / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, 1950-1951 / JSP Records
  • Airmail Special / Jim & Jesse / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
  • Sweetest Love / Stanley Brothers / Select Sides, 1949-1953 / JSP Records
  • Steppin' Stones / Jimmy Martin / You Don't Know My Mind / Rounder
  • What's Good For You / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Cuts, 1955-1959 / JSP Records
  • Where Is My Sailor Boy / Dudley Connell & Don Rigsby / Another Saturday Night / Sugar Hill
  • Home In The Mountains / Don Rigbsy / Doctor's Orders / Rebel [Don Rigsby birthday, 2/18/1968]
  • Memories That We Shared / Johnson Mountain Boys / Let The Whole World Talk / Rounder [Dudley Connell birthday, 2/18/1956]
  • Falling In Love / Bluegrass Patriots / Through The Years...Favorite Songs And Requests / Red Feather
  • Burn The Barn / Big Country Bluegrass / Tell Them I'm From Virginia / Rebel
  • Remember Who You Are / Gibson Brothers / In The Ground / Rounder
  • Charlie Cotton / Terry Baucom's Dukes Of Drive / 4th & Goal / JohnBoy & Billy, Inc.
  • Dreams About The Hills Of Home / Bluegrass Patriots / Through The Years...Favorite Songs And Requests / Red Feather
  • Where Corn Don't Grow / The Grascals / The Grascals / Rounder
  • Sweet Little Mountain Girl / The Grascals / And Then There's This... / Mountain HOme
  • Choking The Strings / Reno & Smiley / Early Years, 1951-1959 / Gusto [Don Reno birthday, 2/21/1927]
  • No Longer A Sweetheart Of Mine / Reno & Smiley / Good Old Country Ballads / King [Don Reno birthday, 2/21/1927]
  • Reno Ride / Reno & Smiley / Early Years, 1951-1959 / Gusto [Don Reno birthday, 2/21/1927]
  • I Know You're Married But I Love You Still / Reno & Smiley / Good Old Country Ballads / King [Don Reno birthday, 2/21/1927]
  • Manganese Mine / Shawn Camp / I Sang The Song / Mountain Fever Records
  • The Golden West / Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands / The Golden West / HighTone Records
  • Close By / Dailey & Vincent / Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration / Rounder
  • Teach Your Children / Country Gentlemen / Sound Off / Rebel
  • Hi Dee Diddle / Feinberg Brothers / Feinberg Brothers / Cabinwood Music
  • Black Mountain Special / Rich In Tradition / Black Mountain Special / Mountain Roads Recordings
  • You Always Come Back (To Hurting Me) / Chris Jones & the Night Drivers / Made To Move / Mountain Home
  • Lonely Lonely Bed / Spinney Brothers / Living The Dream / Mountain Fever Records
  • Snow Deer / Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show / Sho Nuff Country! / Patuxent Music
  • Come Early Morning / Lynn Morris Band / The Lynn Morris Band / Rounder
  • The Armor Of My God / Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers / Sacred Memories / Rebel
  • You Don't Love God (If You Don't Love Your Neighbor) / Rhonda Vincent & the Rage / In Concert, Volume One -- All The Rage / Upper Management Music
  • Rejoicing All The Way / Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / Burden Bearer / Mountain Home
  • The Automobile Of Life / Bear Minimum / The Automobile Of Life / Open Road
  • I'll Be Rested / Nashville Bluegrass Band / To Be His Child / Rounder
  • Sailing On / Russell Moore / Look To The Light / Rural Rhythm Christian
  • I'd Rather Live By The Side Of The Road / Country Gentlemen / Sound Off / Rebel
  • Get Behind Me Satan / Reno & Smiley / Early Years, 1951-1959 / Gusto
  • Blue Grass Twist / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder

Monday, February 06, 2017

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 2/5/2017

On Sunday's Bluegrass Cafe, we broke out a couple of LPs, shared our usual combo of classic and new Bluegrass, and listened to some music from two 2017 inductees into the Rhode Island Bluegrass Alliance (RIBA) Hall of Fame.  It was a pretty full show ~ hope you were able to listen!
Bill Hall (left) performing with his band at WHUS in 1993

Jimmy Gaudreau (on the right) with the Country Gentlemen, circa 1969

The two RIBA Hall of Famers for 2017 are the late Bill Hall, a banjo picker, bandleader, and songwriter who worked with several notable New England Bluegrass performers including Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boys, and Jimmy Gaudreau, the mandolin playing tenor singer who has been an important part of several bands (Fred Pike, Bill Rawlings & the Twin River Boys, IInd Generation, Spectrum, J.D. Crowe & the New South, Tony Rice Unit), but who made his mark after he joined the Country Gentlemen after John Duffey's departure in early 1969.  Congratulations to these two performers and their families!  If you'd like to learn more about the induction ceremonies to be held on March 4th in Cranston, RI, visit this link.

As we like to do, we shared music from some newer (one year or younger) recordings by Lou Reid & Carolina, Sideline, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show, the Gibson Brothers, the tribute record to Mac Wiseman, Rhonda Vincent & the Rage, Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers, the Larry Stephenson Band, Mickey Galyean & Cullen's Bridge, and Wildfire.

Cathy Day joins you in the Bluegrass Cafe next time around.  Be sure to join her from 4-7PM, won't you?

Have a good week!

Amy O.



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

  • Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
  • The Girl I Left In Sunny Tennessee / Bill Clifton / The Early Years, 1957-1958 / Rounder
  • You're Still On My Mind / Stanley Brothers / Selected Cuts, 1955-1956 / JSP Records
  • No Doubt About It / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Cuts, 1955-1959 / JSP Records
  • Come Back To Me In My Dreams / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, 1957-1958 / JSP Records
  • Eighteen Wheels / Bass Mountain Boys / 18 Wheels / CMH
  • Hobo On A Train / Lou Reid & Carolina / Rollin' On / KMA Records
  • Old Rusty Gate / Paul Adkins & the Borderline Band / Old Rusty Gate / Rebel
  • Bad Fret / Grass Routes / Bailey's Dream / Self-Produced
  • Uphill Climb / Sideline / Colors & Crossroads / Mountain Fever Records
  • Take Me In Chains / Bass Mountain Boys / 18 Wheels / CMH
  • Bring It On Down To My House / Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show / Sho Nuff Country / Patuxent Music
  • I Wonder How The Old Folks Are At Home / Mac Wiseman / Time-Life's Treasury Of Bluegrass / Time Life
  • The Wheat Crop / Junior Sisk, Sonya Isaacs Yeary & Becky Isaacs Bowman / I Sang The Song / Mountain Fever Records
  • You Don't Know My Mind / Jimmy Martin / Time-Life's Treasury Of Bluegrass / Time Life
  • Girl From West Virginia / Rhonda Vincent & the Rage / In Concert, Volume One:  All The Rage / Upper Management Music
  • Fool's Hill / Gibson Brothers / In The Ground / Rounder
  • All The Ways I'm Gone / Chris Jones & the Night Drivers / Made To Move / Mountain Home
  • Swamp Folk / Larry Gillis / Swamp Folk / Swamp Country Productions
  • I Got A Letter / Valerie Smith & Becky Buller / Bell Buckle Memories / Bell Buckle Records
  • Just To Ease My Worried Mind / Loafers' Glory / Loafers' Glory / Arhoolie
  • Like A Bird In A Cage / Bear Bridge Band / Broken Hearts & Better Times / Open Road
  • Bluegrass Swing / Feinberg Brothers / Feinberg Brothers / Cabinwood Music
  • Ground Hog / The Dillards / Bluegrass Breakdown / Vanguard
  • Dixie Home / Bill Hall & Northwind Bluegrass / In The Shadow Of The Pines / Old Homestead Records
  • When I Miss Her Most Of All / Bill Hall & Northwind Bluegrass / In The Shadow Of The Pines / Old Homestead Records
  • Dixie Breakdown / Fred Pike, Bill Rawlings & the Twin River Boys / Authentic Bluegrass Folk Music / Osage
  • Let's / Country Gentlemen / The Early Rebel Recordings, 1962-1971 / Rebel
  • Ashes Of Love / Jimmy Gaudreau with Orrin Star / In Good Company / CMH
  • To The Rescue / Country Gentlemen / The Early Rebel Recordings, 1962-1971 / Rebel
  • Fare Thee Well Cisco / Country Gentlemen / The Early Rebel Recordings, 1962-1971 / Rebel
  • I'll Go Stepping Too / Earls Of Leicester / The Earls Of Leicester / Rounder
  • You Tried To Ruin My Name / Wilma Lee Cooper / Hand-Picked Bluegrass / Rounder
  • It's A Cold Cold World / Mickey Galyean & Cullen's Bridge / My Daddy's Grass / Rebel
  • You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover / Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass / Road Into Town / Patuxent Music
  • Blackberry Blossom / New Kentucky Colonels / Live In Sweden 1973 / Roland White Music
  • Sweet Little Darling (Don't You Cry) / Larry Stephenson Band / Weep Little Willow / Whysper Dream Music
  • Rain And Snow / Del McCoury & the Dixie Pals / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel
  • Wall Around Your Heart / Reno & Smiley / Early Years, 1951-1959 / Gusto
  • I Wish You Knew / Auldridge, Reid & Coleman / High Time / Sugar Hill
  • Nobody's Love Is Like Mine / Wildfire / Rented Room On Broadway / Pinecastle
  • Home Of The Soul / Jimmy Gaudreau with Bill Clifton / In Good Company / CMH
  • Old Roman Soldier / Spinney Brothers / Memories / Mountain Fever Records
  • When The Sun Of Life Goes Down / Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers / Sacred Memories / Rebel
  • Enter The Gates / Bluegrass Patriots / Kneel At The Cross / Red Feather Records
  • I Wouldn't Take Nothin' For My Journey Now / Paul Adkins & the Borderline Band / Wings Of Gold / Rebel
  • Call His Name / Johnson Mountain Boys / Working Close / Rounder
  • Somebody Touched Me / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Bluegrass Breakdown / Vanguard
  • On The Sunny Side Of Life / Country Gentlemen / The Early Rebel Recordings, 1962-1971 / Rebel
  • Blue Grass Twist / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder