"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 5/28/2017

In short, during Sunday's radio show, we included a whole bunch of sad but appropriate songs as we remembered fallen soldiers on Memorial Day, celebrated Mac Wiseman's 92nd birthday, and debuted some songs from a brand new CD by a local trio, Still Pickin'.

Hope you were able to tune in, but if not, we'll be looking for you next Sunday afternoon from 4-7PM!  

See you then!

Amy O.




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

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• Military Five String / Reno & Smiley / Sweethearts In Heaven / Bear Family
• Why Did You Wander? / Earls Of Leicester / Rattle & Roar / Rounder
• Lonesome Whistle Blues / Dreadful Snakes / Snakes Alive! / Rounder
• Fox On The Run / Bill Emerson & Cliff Waldron / Appalachian Stomp / Rhino
• There's No Room In My Heart For The Blues / Bill Emerson & Cliff Waldron / The Best Of Emerson & Waldron / Rebel
• If You're Ever Gonna Love Me / Country Gazette / Appalachian Stomp / Rhino
• Rebel Soldier / Charlie Moore / Charlie Moore Sings Again--Gone But Not Forgotten / Wango
• Weathered Gray Stone / Johnson Mountain Boys / At The Old Schoolhouse / Rounder
• Wise County Jail / Jeff White / Right Beside You / Self-Produced
• Familiar With The Ground / The Boxcars / Familiar With The Ground / Mountain Home
• The Old Crooked Trail / Big Country Bluegrass / Let Them Know I'm From Virginia / Rebel
• Down Yonder / Eddie Adcock & Don Reno / The Sensational Twin Banjos Of Eddie Adcock & Don Reno / Rebel
• Don't Say Goodbye If You Love Me / Bob Paisley & the Southern Grass / Live In Holland / Strictly Country
• Three Cows And Two Horses / Buddy Melton & Milan Miller with Andrea Zonn / I Sang The Song / Mountain Fever Records
• I Still Write Your Name In The Sand / Mac Wiseman / 20 Bluegrass Originals / Gusto
• Each Season Changes You / Aaron "Frosty" Foster / Opening Doors / Self-Produced
• Looking For A Smile In A Heartache / Aaron "Frosty" Foster / Opening Doors / Self-Produced
• I've Gotta Get A Message To You / Bobby Osborne / Original / Compass Records
• Let's Part The Best Of Friends / Stanley Brothers / The Complete Columbia Stanley Brothers / Columbia Legacy
• Leavin' Town / Jimmy Martin / Good 'N Country & Country Music Time / Jasmine
• Live And Let Live / Red Allen & the Kentuckians / Classic Bluegrass / Smithsonian Folkways
• Sugar Coated Love / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / JSP Records
• Little Old Log Cabin In The Lane / Still Pickin' / Reuben's Train / Self-Produced
• Jimmy Brown The Newsboy / Still Pickin' / Reuben's Train / Self-Produced
• A Hero In Harlan / Chris Jones & the Night Drivers / Lost Souls & Free Spirits / Rebel
• Forgotten Soldier Boy / Lilly Brothers & Don Stover / Bluegrass At The Roots / Smithsonian Folkways
• For The Dear Old Flag I Die / American Drive / / Rural Rhythm
• The Legend Of The Rebel Soldier / Country Gentlemen / Live In Japan / Rebel
• Lost Soldier Son / Chris Brashear / Wanderlust / Copper Creek
• Casualty Of War / Larry Sparks / The Last Suit You Wear / McCoury Music
• A Purple Heart / Curly Seckler / Bluegrass, Don't You Know / Copper Creek
• Wildwood Flower / Carter Family / Anchored In Love / Rounder
• Bouquet In Heaven / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Sides, 1948-1950 / JSP Records
• What Will They Say About You / Terry Baucom's Dukes Of Drive / 4th & Goal / JohnBoy & Billy, Inc.
• Pray For The Boys / Earls Of Leicester / Rattle & Roar / Rounder
• The Little White Church / Jim & Jesse with Mac Wiseman / Bluegrass Spirit / Rounder
• I'm On A Journey / Bear Bridge Band / One More Ride / Open Road
• The Touch Of The Master's Hand / Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick / Together / Rounder
• See God's Ark A Movin' / Johnson Mountain Boys / Blue Diamond / Rounder
• Reveille Time In Heaven / Mac Wiseman / Bluegrass Hits And Heartsongs / Rebel

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 5/14/2017

My mother, Eleanor Orlomoski, with her somber children,
c. 1973.

On this second Sunday of May, we put the focus on Bluegrass songs about mother -- of which there are PLENTY.  Hope all of the mothers in our listening audience had a most pleasant and relaxing Mother's Day!

For the next two Sundays in May, we hope to have Cathy Bumgarner Day back on the WHUS airwaves for you.  Please be sure to join her, and I'll be back with you when the calendar turns to June.

Enjoy the week!

Amy O.










SONG / PERFORMER / ALBUM / LABEL

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby / Louvin Brothers / Live At New River Ranch / Copper Creek
• Another Day / McCoury Brothers / The McCoury Brothers / Rounder
• Think Of What You've Done / Hot Rize / Take It Home / Sugar Hill
• Down In Caroline / Front Range / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• God Bless Her ('Cause She Is My Mother) / Louvin Brothers / Live At New River Ranch / Copper Creek
• Mother, Queen Of My Heart / Lonesome Standard Time / Mother, Queen Of My Heart / Sugar Hill
• Mother Knows Best / Jesse Brock / Kickin' Grass / Pinecastle
• Hand That Rocks The Cradle / Gary Ferguson / I'm Really Leaving / Webco
• Mama's Rocking Chair / Southern Rail / Glory Train / Pinecastle
• Tennessee / Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mountain Boys / Bean Blossom / MCA
• My Old Kentucky Home / Dan Paisley & the Southern Grass / The Tradition Continues / Brandywine
• Carolina Smokey Mountain Home / Special Consensus / Everything's Alright / Pinecastle
• My Kentucky Dream / Paul Adkins & the Borderline Band / Reflections Of Love / Rebel
• My Little Georgia Rose / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Anthology / MCA
• Let 'Em Know I'm From Virginia / Big Country Bluegrass / Let Them Know I'm From Virginia / Rebel
• Rocky Top / Osborne Brothers / High Lonesome / CMH
• Sunflower / Junior Barber / Stone Bottom Boogie / Hay Holler
• I Do / Feinberg Brothers / Feinberg Brothers / Cabinwood Music
• Lookin' Out A Window / Tom Ewing / Adventures Of A Blue Grass Boy / Patuxent Music
• Brown Hill / Travers Chandler / Archaic / Patuxent Music
• Wild Mountain Flowers For Mary / Lost & Found / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel
• Crowe Brothers / I've Got The Moon On My Side / Forty Years Old / Mountain Fever Records
• I Know Whose Tears / Gibson Brothers / Ring The Bell / Compass Records
• Her Mother's Eyes / Bear Bridge Band / Bear Essentials / Open Road
• Memories Of Mother / Keith Whitley & Ricky Skaggs / Second Generation / Rebel
• Listen To Me Mother / Springfield Exit / That Was Then / Patuxent Music
• Dreaming Of Mother And Dad / Johnson Mountain Boys / The Johnson Mountain Boys / Rounder
• Thank God For A Mama / Lonesome River Band / Mother, Queen Of My Heart / Sugar Hill
• Momma's Apron Strings / Larry Sparks / Almost Home / Rounder
• Use A Napkin (Not Your Mom) / Kathy Kallick / Mother, Queen Of My Heart / Sugar Hill
• Mama's Hand / Lynn Morris Band / Mama's Hand / Rounder
• Every Day Is Mother's Day To Me / Allerton & Alton / Black, White, And Bluegrass / Bear Family
• Mama's Opry / Chris Brashear / Heart Of The Country / Dog Boy Records
• Mama Don't Allow / Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show / Take Me Back / Pinecastle
• Is The Grass Any Bluer (On The Other Side) / Rhonda Vincent & the Rage / In Concert, Volume One--All The Rage / Upper Management Music
• Windy Mountain / Tim O'Brien / Where There River Meets The Road / Howdy Skies
• Just Ain't / Earls Of Leicester / Rattle & Roar / Rounder
• My Smokey Mountain Rose / Crowe & McLaughlin / Going Back / Rounder
• Living The Dream / Spinney Brothers / Living The Dream / Mountain Fever Records
• Every Day Is Mother's Day / Larry Stephenson / Thankful / Pinecastle
• Mother Prays Loud In Her Sleep / David Peterson / Old Time Power / Self-Produced
• Shake Hands With Mother / Laurel Canyon Ramblers / Mother, Queen Of My Heart / Sugar Hill
• If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again / Fred Pike, Sam Tidwell & the Kennebec Valley Boys / The Last Log Drive / Revonah
• I Saw Mother With God Last Night / Bluegrass Patriots / Kneel At The Cross / Red Feather
• Give Mother My Crown / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Foggy Mountain Gospel / Columbia
• I Heard My Mother Call My Name In Prayer / Bear Bridge Band / One More Ride / Open Road
• Black Mountain Blues / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 5/7/2017

Today was Commencement Day at the University of Connecticut, so the campus was absolutely packed with graduates, parents, friends, and family.  Parking was at a premium, so even though I knew the Bluegrass Cafe's beginning would be delayed by at least an hour for a UConn Baseball broadcast, I still made a point to arrive at UConn much earlier than I might normally arrive.  That left a good bit of pre-show time, which became reading time -- never a bad thing!  

We shared some music to start the show featuring Earl Scruggs -- the subject of the new biography I was reading while waiting for the baseball game to end.  In future weeks, our plan is to speak on-air with the authors of this book:  Earl Scruggs:  Banjo Icon by Gordon Castelnero and David L. Russell.  We'll let you know when that chat is scheduled.

The big focus for Sunday, though, was a remembrance of a great friend who died on May 2nd:  Robert Fraker.  Robert was an amazing person -- a gifted musician, thoughtful songwriter, attentive listener, a great source of encouragement for many folks, and someone who was a joy to be around.  Sometime around 1993, my brother, Dave, joined the Bear

Bear Bridge -- "The Band Who Won't Go Away"
Peru, MA - August 2010

Bridge Band -- a western Massachusetts-based group founded around five years earlier by Robert and his wife, Lillian Fraker, as well as Dave Shaw.  Bear Bridge performed all over the Northeast, from Pennsylvania to Maine and everywhere in between.  Many of the songs they performed came from the creative and thoughtful mind of Robert, and it was several of those songs from the group's four recordings that we shared during the show today.  Even though Bear Bridge played less frequently after Dave Shaw moved to New Hampshire around 1996, they still continued to perform at least once a year at various gigs until 2015, as well as at festival picking sessions and in other groupings (such as in the Old Time Bluegrass Singers or my brother's once-in-a-while group called Tex's Troubadours).  On

Robert out front with Tex's Troubadours
Mineral Springs (CT) BG Festival - July 2015

a personal note, I will miss visiting with Robert, but am very grateful to have had so many happy years of wonderful memories, thanks to the Bear Bridge Band.  If you would like to read more about the fascinating life of Robert Fraker, please click here.  

Hope you'll join us next Sunday for another edition of our Bluegrass Cafe.  Enjoy the week!

Amy O.

SONG / PERFORMER / ALBUM / LABEL [Request is RED; songs in BLUE composed by Robert Fraker]

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• Heavy Traffic Ahead / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / The Essential Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Columbia
• Flint Hill Special / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Sides, 1950-1952 / JSP Records
• Why Did You Wander / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / The Essential Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Columbia
• Earl's Breakdown / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Sides, 1950-1952 / JSP Records
• (It Was) Late Last Night / Stanley Brothers / Don't Cheat In Our Hometown / King
• Are You Missing Me / Jim & Jesse / Jim & Jesse, 1952-1955 / Bear Family
• Milwaukee, Here I Come / Jimmy Martin / Jimmy Martin:  The King Of Bluegrass / Country Music Hall Of Fame Classics
• Afraid For What's Ahead / Bear Bridge Band / A Bluegrass Sampler / Open Road
• I Got A Letter / Bear Bridge Band / One More Ride / Open Road
• The Cheshire Tragedy / Bear Bridge Band / Bear Essentials / Open Road
• Shelbyville Turnaround / Bear Bridge Band / One More Ride / Open Road
• Like A Bird In A Cage / Bear Bridge Band / Broken Hearts & Better Times / Open Road
• Lilacs, Lilies And Roses / Bear Bridge Band / Live Recording / no label
• Fool's Hill / Gibson Brothers / In The Ground / Rounder
• Country Poor, Country Proud / David Parmley & Cardinal Tradition / David Parmley & Cardinal Tradition / Self-Produced
• Kentucky Borderline / Rhonda Vincent & the Rage / In Concert, Volume One -- All The Rage / Upper Management Music
• Old Hickory Cane / Bob Paisley & the Southern Grass / Live In Holland / Strictly Country
• Louisville Suite / Chris Brashear & Peter McLaughlin / So Long Arizona / Dog Boy Records
• Comin' On Strong / Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boys / One Morning In May / Rounder
• Mansion In The Grave / Bear Bridge Band / A Bluegrass Sampler / Open Road
• Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven / Nick Anderson & the Gospel Friends / Nick Anderson & the Gospel Friends / no label
• I Heard My Mother Call My Name In Prayer / Bear Bridge Band / One More Ride / Open Road
• One More Time Let Me Tell You (About Jesus) / Big Country Bluegrass / Let Them Know I'm From Virginia / Rebel
• They Can Only Fill One Grave / Old Time Bluegrass Singers / Plastic Heart / Open Road
• Meet Me Over On The Other Side / Country Gentlemen / The Sugar Hill Collection / Sugar Hill
• I'm On A Journey / Bear Bridge Band / One More Ride / Open Road
• Blue Grass Twist / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 4/30/2017

One of the dusted-off favorites from Sunday's show

Sunday's Bluegrass Cafe was sort of a mixed bag, and included music from a couple of 2017 recordings, some classic favorites from a whole bunch of Bluegrass legends, and even a few songs from favorite CDs from days of yore.  Hope you were able to join us!

Under the category of "new," we heard selections from recordings released in 2017 by Bobby Osborne, the Gibson Brothers, Big Country Bluegrass, Sierra Hull & Justin Moses from the Mac Wiseman biography-in-song CD, Flashback, Doyle Lawson & Paul Williams, and Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice.

Vanderbilt concert for the Lester & Earl & the FMBs recorded 5/2/1963

We also included a couple of tracks each from two fine live recordings of two bona fide Bluegrass legends, including music from the Country Gentlemen's Smithsonian Folkways reissue of "On The Road (And More)," as well as a few songs from "Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs Recorded Live At Vanderbilt University" (which was recorded on May 2, 1963).

Hope you enjoyed the show -- assuming you got to listen! -- and that you'll consider joining us once again this coming Sunday afternoon, 4-7PM.  

Have a good week!

Amy O.


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

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• Till The End Of The World Rolls Round / New Kentucky Colonels / The All Night Gang / Rebel
• Helen / Eddie & Martha Adcock with Tom Gray & Friends / Many A Mile / Patuxent Music
• Climbing The Walls / Mike Compton & David Grier / Climbing The Walls / Rounder
• Ain't It Funny / Lou Reid / When It Rains / Sugar Hill
• Thinkin' About You / The Sidemen / The All Night Gang / Rebel
• The Hills Of My Home / Laurie Lewis / Earth & Sky:  Songs Of Laurie Lewis / Rounder
• Cotton Mill Man / Jim & Jesse / The Old Dominion Masters (DJ Sampler) / Pinecastle
• The Last Log Drive / Fred Pike, Sam Tidwell & the Kennebec Valley Boys / The Last Log Drive / Revonah [remembering Sam Tidwell, who died 4/30/2012]
• We're Steppin' Out Tonight / Bobby Hicks with Del McCoury / Fiddle Patch / Rounder
• Uncle Ned / Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass / Weary River / Patuxent Music
• Running Razorback / Gary Ferguson / I'm Really Leaving / Webco
• I Cried Again / Audie Blaylock / A Tribute To Jimmy Martin - The King Of Bluegrass / Koch Records
• Uncle Ned / Bob Paisley & the Southern Grass / Back To The Blue Ridge / Brandywine
• Sweetheart Of The Mountains / Mark Kuykendall, Bobby Hicks & Asheville Bluegrass / Down Memory Lane / Rebel
• Blue Moon Of Kentucky / Stanley Brothers / Selected Cuts, 1955-1956 / JSP Records
• Pikeville Flood / Blue Highway / Midnight Storm / Rebel
• Have You Come To Say Goodbye / Red Allen / Lonesome And Blue:  The Complete County Recordings / Rebel
• No Doubt About It / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Cuts, 1955-1959 / JSP Records
• I'll Wander Back Someday / Bill Clifton / The Early Years, 1957-1958 / Rounder
• Money, Marbles, And Chalk / Reno & Smiley / Early Years, 1951-1959 / Gusto
• Night / Jimmy Martin / Good 'N' Country & Country Music Time / Jasmine
• Raw Hide / Bill Monroe / Anthology / MCA
• Handsome Molly / Country Gentlemen / On The Road (And More) / Smithsonian Folkways
• The Sunny Side Of Life / Country Gentlemen / On The Road (And More) / Smithsonian Folkways
• Poor Ellen Smith / Country Gentlemen / On The Road (And More) / Smithsonian Folkways
• Ain't Got No Home / Country Gentlemen / On The Road (And More) / Smithsonian Folkways
• Don't Be Cruel / Bobby Osborne / Original / Compass Records
• Remember Who You Are / Gibson Brothers / In The Ground / Rounder
• Burn The Barn / Big Country Bluegrass / Let Them Know I'm From Virginia / Rebel
• The Guitar / Sierra Hull & Justin Moses with Mac Wiseman / I Sang The Song / Mountain Fever Records
• You're Still To Blame / Flashback / Foxhounds And Fiddles / Pinecastle
• I Want To Be Loved, But Only By You / Doyle Lawson & Paul Williams / Chapter 3 / Mountain Home
• What A Way To Go / Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice / The Mountains Are Calling Me Home / Mountain Fever Records
• Lost All My Money / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Recorded Live At Vanderbilt University / Columbia [recorded live 5/2/1963]
• Maggie Blues / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Recorded Live At Vanderbilt University / Columbia [recorded live 5/2/1963]
• Uphill Climb / Sideline / Colors & Crossroads / Mountain Fever Records
• Remembering / David Peterson / Comin' On Strong / Self-Produced
• One Morning In May / Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boys / One Morning In May / Rounder
• Run Little Rabbit Run / Jeff White / Right Beside You / Self-Produced
• Bluegrass Swing / Feinberg Brothers / Feinberg Brothers / Cabinwood Music
• Pick Me Up On Your Way Down / Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show / Sho Nuff Country! / Patuxent Music
• Maybe This Time / Front Range / Back To Red River / Sugar Hill
• Willow Creek Dam / American Drive / American Drive / Rural Rhythm
• Joshua / Rhonda Vincent & the Rage / Sunday Mornin' Singin' Live! / Upper Management Music
• He Took Your Place / Traver Hollow / Lonesome Without You / Self-Produced
• Call His Name / Johnson Mountain Boys / Working Close / Rounder
• Make Him A Soldier / Whitstein Brothers / Sweet Harmony / Rounder
• John The Revelator / Stonewall Bluegrass / I Won't Be Troubled Anymore / Self-Produced
• Where Shall I Be? / Bear Bridge Band / One More Ride / Open Road
• You Must Come In At The Door / Doc Watson / Best Of The Sugar Hill Years / Sugar Hill
• No Hiding Place Down Here / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Recorded Live At Vanderbilt University / Columbia [recorded live 5/2/1963]
• Blue Grass Twist / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder