An online resource for information on all things Bluegrass in southern New England from the folks at WHUS Radio's "Bluegrass Cafe." We broadcast each Sunday from 4:00-7:00PM (EST) on WHUS, 91.7FM and whus.org in Storrs, CT. Call us during the show -- (860)486-9487, or send email to bgcafe@gmail.com.
The last Sunday of February brought us both some unseasonably warm weather (temps in the 50s), and a full three-hour presentation of our Bluegrass Cafe. The main "theme" for Sunday was birthday celebrating, as we played lots of songs in honor of the upcoming birthdays this week of Bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, two Country Music Hall of Fame members, as well as a couple of songs in honor of the recent birthday of Dudley Connell, and one tune from Tom Mindte, who celebrated his day on Sunday. Phew!
The Country Music Hall of Famers in question were both born in 1932 -- one day and about 150 miles apart. Faron Young was born on February 25, 1932 in Shreveport, Louisiana; Johnny Cash arrived the next day in Kingsland, Arkansas. Both country music legends have had their music covered in the Bluegrass world over the years, and Cash even recorded some Bluegrass-themed music with his then-son-in-law, Marty Stuart, back in 1982. We also played a couple more songs from the brand-new record by Junior Sisk ("Load The Wagon"), as well as a little bit of recent music from Terry Baucom's Dukes Of Drive, the duo of Dale Ann Bradley & Tina Adair, the Po' Ramblin' Boys, and Audie Blaylock & Redline. Hope you were able to tune in to the show this week. Next Sunday (March 1st), it appears there may be a UConn Baseball broadcast until around 5:30PM, so we'll be opening our Bluegrass Cafe a bit later than normal. Still, hope you are able to join us! Check out our Facebook page for more up-to-date information: www.facebook.com/WHUS.BluegrassCafe Have a great week! Amy O.
SONG / PERFORMER / ALBUM / LABEL [requests are RED]
Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
Gonna Paint The Town / Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys / Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, 1971-1973 / Rebel [Ralph Stanley birthday, 2/25/1927]
I Love No One But You / Ralph Stanley with Charlie Sizemore / Saturday Night & Sunday Morning / Freeland Recording Company [Ralph Stanley birthday, 2/25/1927]
Man Of Constant Sorrow / Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys / Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, 1971-1973 / Rebel [Ralph Stanley birthday, 2/25/1927]
We'll Be Sweethearts In Heaven / Stanley Brothers / The Complete Columbia Stanley Brothers / Columbia Legacy [Ralph Stanley birthday, 2/25/1927]
Clinch Mountain Backstep / Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys / Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, 1971-1973 / Rebel [Ralph Stanley birthday, 2/25/1927]
Banks Of The Ohio / Ralph Stanley with Charlie Waller / Saturday Night & Sunday Morning / Freeland Recording Company [Ralph Stanley birthday, 2/25/1927]
If That's The Way You Feel / Amanda Smith / Epilogue: A Tribute To John Duffey / Smithsonian Folkways
1500 Miles Away From Home / Feinberg Brothers / Party For One / Cabinwood Music
The Big Burnsville Jail / Marty Raybon / Southern Roots & Branches / Rural Rhythm
I'll Go To My Grave Loving You / Special Consensus / Signs / Pinecastle
My Rose Of Old Kentucky / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, 1940-1946 / JSP Records
Fare Thee Well / The Hillmen / The Hillmen / Sugar Hill
Under The Double Eagle / Five MIle Mountain Road / Five Mile Mountain Road / Patuxent Music
Big Rock Candy Mountain / Harry McClintock / O Brother, Where Art Thou? / Lost Highway Records
I'm Goin' Back To Old Kentucky / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, 1940-1946 / JSP Records
Mountain Flower / Carolina Blue / I Hear Bluegrass Calling Me / Pinecastle
Keep On Going / Big Country Bluegrass / Mountains, Mamas, And Memories / Rebel
Old New Borrowed And Blue / Po' Ramblin' Boys / Toil, Tears & Trouble / Rounder
Get In Line Buddy / Junior Sisk / Load The Wagon / Mountain Fever Records
Here Come The Teardrops / Terry Baucom's Dukes Of Drive / single / Driving Duke Records
Apartment #9 / Dale Ann Bradley & Tina Adair / Oh Darlin' / Pinecastle
Mend This Heart Of Mine / Junior Sisk / Load The Wagon / Mountain Fever Records
Making Up Stories / Johnson Mountain Boys / Live At The Birchmere / Rounder [Dudley Connell birthday, 2/18/1956]
Weathered Gray Stone / Longview / Deep In The Mountains / Rounder [Dudley Connell birthday, 2/18/1956]
The Nights Are So Long / Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper / Fired Up / Rounder [Dudley Connell birthday, 2/18/1956]
The Waves On The Sea / Johnson Mountain Boys / Favorites / Rounder
Riverboat / Faron Young / The Complete Capitol Hits Of Faron Young / Collectors' Choice Music [Faron Young birthday, 2/25/1932]
Alone With You / White Mountain Bluegrass / Oh So Many Years / Self-Produced [Faron Young birthday, 2/25/1932]
A World So Full Of Love / Gibson Brothers / Iron & Diamonds / Sugar Hill [Faron Young birthday, 2/25/1932]
Goin' Steady / Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers / Shades Of The Past / Sugar HIll [Faron Young birthday, 2/25/1932]
Go Back You Fool / Bear Bridge Band / Broken Hearts & Better Times / Open Road [Faron Young birthday, 2/25/1932]
Big River / Nashville Bluegrass Band / The Boys Are Back In Town / Sugar Hill [Johnny Cash birthday, 2/26/1932]
Give My Love To Rose / Sally Love Connell / Life Goes On / Rural Rhythm [Johnny Cash birthday, 2/26/1932]
I Still Miss Someone / Lost & Found / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel [Johnny Cash birthday, 2/26/1932]
Hey Porter / Lynn Morris Band / The Bramble And The Rose / Rounder [Johnny Cash birthday, 2/26/1932]
I'll Break Out Again Tonight / Redwood Hill / live / no label
Sparkling Brown Eyes / Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boys / Diamond Joe / Rounder
Downtown Boogie / Eddie Adcock / Vintage Banjo Jam / Patuxent Music
Hard Rock Bottom Of Your Heart / Charlie Sizemore Band / Good News / Rounder
Wedding Bell Chimes / Bill & the Belles / DreamSongs, Etc. / Jalopy Records
Love Is An Awful Thing / Audie Blaylock & Redline / Originalist / 615 Hideaway Records
Victoria Waltz / Patuxent Partners / Seven Or Eleven / Patuxent Music
Fox On The Run / Tony Trischka with Tom Adams / Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular / Rounder
Get In Line Brother / Marty Stuart with Johnny Cash / Busy Bee Cafe / Sugar Hill [Johnny Cash birthday, 2/26/1932]
My Eyes Shall Be On Canaan's Land / Cody Shuler & Pine Mountain Railroad / Pickin' Praisin' & Singin' -- Hymns From The Mountain / Rural Rhythm Christian
Light At The River / Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass / That's Why I'm Lonesome / Patuxent Music
I'll Meet You In Church Sunday Morning / Ralph Stanley with Bill Monroe / Saturday Night & Sunday Morning / Freeland Recording Company
Heavenward Bound / Country Gentlemen / Let The Light Shine Down / Rebel
Fifty Miles Of Elbow Room / Bear Bridge Band / Broken Hearts & Better Times / Open Road
I Am Just A Pilgrim / Appalachian Road Show / Barry Abernathy & Darrell Webb Present Appalachian Road Show / Billy Blue Records
Who Will Sing For Me / Earls Of Leicester / The Earls Of Leicester / Rounder
Black Mountain Blues / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder
Our Bluegrass Cafeon this February 16th began at 5:25PM, following the conclusion of a UConn Men's Basketball broadcast. Still, we crammed a lot of fine music into our 95 minutes today, including songs for Valentine's Day, tunes remembering a Country Music Hall of Famer, and a good dose of brand-new Bluegrass. Hope you were able to join us! As this is the weekend of the 35th annual Joe Val Bluegrass Festival in Framingham, MA, we started our abbreviated broadcast with two songs from the festival's namesake, Bluegrass Hall of Famer Joe Val. We belatedly celebrated the birthday of Country Music Hall of Famer, the Texas Troubadour, Ernest Tubb (born February 9, 1914). Many Bluegrass performers have recorded songs made famous by the original E.T., including a full record of Tubb tunes from the Osborne Brothers. Other performers of Ernest Tubb songs include Flatt Lonesome, Rhonda Vincent, and the Johnson Mountain Boys. And even though Sunday's broadcast was short, we still included a little bit of new music, including selections from a brand new record from Junior Sisk ("Load The Wagon"), Dale Ann Bradley & Tina Adair, Appalachian Road Show, and the duo of Buddy Melton & Milan Miller. Next Sunday's show should be a full three-hour broadcast Please consider joining us, won't you? Have a great week! Amy O
SONG / PERFORMER / ALBUM / LABEL
Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
Poor Ellen Smith / Joe Val / Diamond Joe / Rounder
Diamond Joe / Joe Val / Diamond Joe / Rounder
Hooked On Bluegrass / Junior Sisk / Load The Wagon / Mountain Fever Records
Pick Me Up On Your Way Down / Dale Ann Bradley & Tina Adair / Oh Darlin' / Pinecastle
The Last Moonshiner / Buddy Melton & Milan Miller / single / Self-Produced
Goin' To Take Her Back / Appalachian Road Show / Tribulation / Billy Blue Records
Poor Sister Cry / Junior Sisk / Load The Wagon / Mountain Fever Records
Redwood Hill / Redwood Hill / live / no label
Come And Sit By The River / Country Gentlemen / The Sugar Hill Years / Sugar Hill
Walking The Floor Over You / Osborne Brothers / The Ernest Tubb Song Folio / Pinecastle [Ernest Tubb birthday, 2/9/1914]
Drivin' Nails In My Coffin / Rhonda Vincent / The Storm Still Rages / Rounder [Ernest Tubb birthday, 2/9/1914]
Letters Have No Arms / Flatt Lonesome / Too / Mountain Home [Ernest Tubb birthday, 2/9/1914]
Waltz Across Texas / Johnson Mountain Boys / At The Old Schoolhouse / Rounder [Ernest Tubb birthday, 2/9/1914]
What A Wonderful Life / Spinney Brothers / Memories / Mountain Fever Records
She Paints A Picture / Gibson Brothers / Another Night Of Waiting / Hay Holler
You're That Certain Someone / Warrior River Boys / New Beginnings / Rounder
Destination Love / Lynn Morris / You'll Never Be The Sun / Rounder
My Mother's Bible / Warrior River Boys / New Beginnings / Rounder [David Davis birthday, 2/16/1961]
You Can Feel It In Your Soul / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Foggy Mountain Gospel / Columbia
Gonna Be Movin' / Balsam Range / Trains I Missed / Mountain Home
I'm Ready To Go Home / Country Gentlemen / Calling My Children Home / Rebel
Lazarus / Traditional Grass / The Blues Are Still The Blues / Rebel
I'm Going There / Junior Sisk / Load The Wagon / Mountain Fever Records
Sweeping Through The Gate / Bob Paisley & the Southern Grass / Forty Years Of Trouble / Strictly Country Records
I'm S-A-V-E-D / South Carolina Broadcasters / Home To Stay / Patuxent Music
Black Mountain Blues / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder
There was really NO plan for Sunday's Bluegrass Cafe, but it seemed like we still managed to get a whole lot of fine music on to our WHUS airwaves. Hope you agree!
For many years in the 1980s and into the 1990s, the Connecticut Friends of Bluegrass brought several top-notch bands to eastern Connecticut each winter to perform. Right around the second or third weekend of February was always the time for the Johnson Mountain Boys to play a show or two at a place called the Chestnut Lodge in Colchester, CT. One of our listeners who attended several of these shows requested some music today from the Johnson Mountain Boys. In the spirit of nostalgia, how could we refuse? We included a brand-new song from a forthcoming album by Appalachian Road Show, as well as selections from upcoming records by Junior Sisk and the All-Stars Of Bluegrass. Other newer music came from the Chuck Wagon Gang and Randy Barrett. Hope you enjoyed the show today. The start of next Sunday's show will be delayed until at least 5PM, as there is a scheduled UConn Basketball broadcast. Enjoy the week! Amy O.
SONG / PERFORMER / ALBUM / LABEL [Requests are RED]
Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
Our "super" Sunday edition of Bluegrass Cafe included music of February 1st birthday celebrants, a couple of new songs, a bunch of favorites, and a mid-show chat with Evan Murphy of Mile Twelve. Hope you were able to tune in to the show! February 1st is a a BIG day for birthdays in the World of Bluegrass, including birthdays of two Bluegrass Hall of Famers. We played music from each of the celebrants, who have performed both separately and together over the years. Belated Happy February 1st birthday wishes to Del McCoury (born 1939), Tom Gray (1941), David Parmley (1959), and Jason Carter (1973).
At the midway point in Sunday's show, we had a telephone chat with Mile Twelve guitar player, lead singer, and songwriter, Evan Murphy. This fine band has gained lots of attention since their formation just about six years ago, and will soon be appearing in shows in Hamden on February 6th as well as at the upcoming Joe Val Bluegrass Festival on February 14th. To learn more about Mile Twelve, be sure to visit their website. There was a tiny bit of new music to share on Sunday, too -- this time from Terry Baucom's Dukes Of Drive and Eliza Meyer. And we couldn't forget to share some music from soon-to-be inductees in to the Rhode Island Bluegrass Alliance (RIBA) Bluegrass Hall of Fame: brothers Fred Pike and Earl Pike. Hope you enjoyed the show, and that you will consider joining me once again next Sunday afternoon, 4-7PM. Enjoy the week! Amy O.
SONG / PERFORMER / ALBUM / LABEL [Request is RED]
PRE-SHOW "WARM-UP":
Tall Timber / Bluegrass Album Band / Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration: A Classic Bluegrass Tribute / Rounder
Will You Be Loving Another Man / The Grascals / Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration: A Classic Bluegrass Tribute / Rounder
Dark As The Night, Blue As The Day / Michael Cleveland with Dan Tyminski & Vince Gill / Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration: A Classic Bluegrass Tribute / Rounder
BLUEGRASS CAFE:
Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
Daisey Mae / Jason Carter / On The Move / Rounder [Jason Carter birthday, 2/1/1973]
Thirty-Two Acres Of Bottomland / David Parmley & Continental Divide / Pathway Of Time / Pinecastle [David Parmley birthday, 2/1/1959]
Bessie's Tune / Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike / Small Town Heroes / Bell Buckle Records [Tom Gray birthday, 2/1/1941]
I Feel The Blues Moving In / Del McCoury / Don't Stop The Music / Rounder [Del McCoury birthday, 2/1/1939]
You Left Me Alone / Country Gentlemen / Can't You Hear Me Callin': Early Classics, 1963-1969 / Rebel [Tom Gray birthday, 2/1/1941]
We didn't create this blog to talk about ourselves. If you'd like to learn a bit about some of the WHUS Bluegrass alumni, you can find info in this blog. Primarily, though, the site exists to promote the Bluegrass music we play weekly on air at the "Bluegrass Cafe." We love to hear from listeners, so give us a call during the show (860-486-9487) or send an email to bgcafe@gmail.com.
We also played a couple more songs from the brand-new record by Junior Sisk ("Load The Wagon"), as well as a little bit of recent music from Terry Baucom's Dukes Of Drive, the duo of Dale Ann Bradley & Tina Adair, the Po' Ramblin' Boys, and Audie Blaylock & Redline.
