"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 7/14/2013

Today's show was an interesting one, at least from my side of the microphone.  This week, WHUS acquired three shiny new CD players, and while the players are very nice and seem to work well...well, adjusting to new equipment is never quite as smooth of a transition as we might like.  We tried to keep the dead air to an absolute minimum, so hope you heard something you really enjoyed during the show...

Happy Birthday on July 14th to banjo-picking
Richard Underwood!

Beyond making a transition to new equipment, Sunday's show was a big one to celebrate birthdays.  Of course our absolute favorite way to celebrate the birthday of a performer is to play their music, whether it's a little bit or a whole lot.  Birthday celebrants this week included both Rhonda Vincent and the Gibson Brothers' underrated bass player, Mike Barber on July 13th; one of the great banjo pickers for the Johnson Mountain Boys, Richard Underwood (celebrating a birthday today, July 14th), and coming up on July 18th, Wayne Taylor (of Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa and Country Current fame).  

Another birthday boy this coming week is Ricky Skaggs, who will turn 59 on July 18th.  Ricky's been making his mark in the music, whether it was as a 8-year-old guest on the "Flatt & Scruggs Grand Ole Opry Show" back in 1961, working with Keith Whitley for Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys in the early 1970s, winning the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year award in 1985 (when country music actually sounded like country music), or making his return to the Bluegrass music after the death of Bill Monroe in 1994.  Ricky has done A LOT in his not-quite-60-years, and come August, you'll be able to read his autobiography:  Kentucky Traveler:  My Life In Music (written with Eddie Dean).  For today, we just listened to a bit of Ricky's music from his time spent with Keith Whitley, J.D. Crowe & the New South, the Country Gentlemen, and with his own Kentucky Thunder band.  

During Ricky's big country career, I got a chance to
see him in concert a few times.  This show as at
Indian Ranch in 1988.

While the emphasis wasn't quite on as much newer music today, we still managed to play a little bit of it.  This time around, it came from several performers, including Chris Davis, Mickey Galyean & Cullen's Bridge, Bob Amos, the Boxcars, Sideline, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, the Snyder Family Band, Balsam Range, the Gibson Brothers, Big Country Bluegrass, the Spinney Brothers, and Dailey & Vincent.  

Hope you enjoyed the show!  Don't forget to email Susan Forbes Hansen of the WHUS "Sunday Night Folk Festival" this week if you want to be part of her drawing for one of five copies of a CD/DVD tribute to Woody Guthrie:  "Woody Guthrie At 100!  Live At The Kennedy Center!"  Send Susan your name and mailing address this week to whusfolk@gmail.com.  There are no strings attached here -- Susan's going to give away five copies of this CD/DVD next Sunday, July 21st, so get your name in to Susan soon...

Have a good week, and if you're in eastern Connecticut, try to stay cool!

Amy


REQUESTS ARE RED.

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• I'm Walking The Dog / Charles Sawtelle & the Whippets / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• Rock Hearts / Jimmy Martin / You Don't Know My Mind / Rounder
• Lights On The Hill / Del McCoury Band / Don't Stop The Music / Rounder
• Hartfordtown 1944 / Laurie Lewis / Skippin' & Flyin' / Spruce & Maple Music [Hartford Circus Fire anniversary -- July 6, 1944]
• Iron & Diamonds / Gibson Brothers / Iron & Diamonds / Sugar Hill
• Shuckin' The Acorns / Kathy Kallick Band / Time / Live Oak Records
• Blow Out The Candle, Laura / Linda Lay & Sammy Shelor / Taking The Crooked Road Home / Virginia Folk Life
• Just Another Broken Heart / Chris Davis / Second Time Around / Mountain Fever Records
• Philadelphia Lawyer / Larry Stephenson with Sam Bush / What Really Matters / Compass Records
• Ridin' The L&N / Mickey Galyean & Cullen's Bridge / Rollin' With Tradition / Self-Produced
• Like The Boys On Music Row / Big Country Bluegrass / Memories Of The Past / Rebel
• Backwards And Forwards / Bob Amos / Borrowed Time / Self-Produced
• Never Again (Will I Knock On Your Door) / The Boxcars / It's Just A Road / Mountain Home
• If That Was Love / Chris Jones & the Night Drivers / forthcoming CD / Rebel
• The Working Man / Shannon Slaughter / The Sideman Steps Out / Self-Produced
• The Blues Are Still The Blues / Sideline / Session One / Mountain Fever Records
• Blockade Runner / Snyder Family Band / Building Bridges / Mountain Roads Recordings
• The Young Fisherwoman / John Duffey [Country Gentlemen] / The Rebel Years, 1962-1977 / Rebel
• When The Bloom Is Off The Rose / Rhonda Vincent with Sally Berry & Tensel Sandker / Taken / Upper Management Music
• The Open Road / Gibson Brothers / Bona Fide / Sugar Hill
• Wishing Well Blues / Rhonda Vincent / A Dream Come True / Rebel
• They Called It Music / Gibson Brothers / They Called It Music / Compass Records
• Sea Of Regret / Keith Whitley & Ricky Skaggs / Second Generation / Rebel
• You Are What I Am / J.D. Crowe & the New South / J.D. Crowe & the New South / Cracker Barrel
• Irish Spring / Country Gentlemen / The Complete Vanguard Recordings / Vanguard
• Highway 40 Blues / Ricky Skaggs / The High Notes / Cracker Barrel
• You Can't Hurt Ham / Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder / Music To My Ears / Skaggs Family Records
• Five Speed / Johnson Mountain Boys / Favorites / Rounder
• Newton Grove / Johnson Mountain Boys / Let The Whole World Talk / Rounder
• Out In The Middle Of Nowhere / Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa / Out In The Middle Of Nowhere / Raincoe Music
• Over The Hills To The Poor House / Earl Taylor & Jim McCall with the Stoney Mountain Boys / The Best Of Mountain Bluegrass / Rural Rhythm
• You've Got A Lover / Ricky Skaggs / The High Notes / Cracker Barrel
• When I'm Gone / BearTracks / From The Hollow / AMT Records
• Lazy John / April Verch / That's How We Run / Self-Produced
• Loggers In The Short Grass / April Verch / Take Me Back / Rounder
• Grandpa's Way Of Life / Spinney Brothers / No Borders / Mountain Fever Records
• Hard Rock Bottom Of Your Heart / Charlie Sizemore Band / Good News / Rounder
• I'm On A Journey / Bear Bridge Band / One More Ride / Open Road
• God Has Been So Good To Me / Crowe & McLaughlin / Going Back / Rounder
• Won't It Be Wonderful There / Dailey & Vincent / Brothers Of The Highway / Rounder
• Bad News For The Devil / John Miller / Look To The Light:  Songs Of Faith From The Pen Of Rick Lang / Rural Rhythm Christian
• Row By Row / Balsam Range / Papertown / Mountain Home
• It Won't Be Long / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Foggy Mountain Jamboree / Columbia
• Wicked Path Of Sin / Jim & Jesse / Music Among Friends / Rounder
• On The Sea Of Life / Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / Rock My Soul / Sugar Hill
• Black Mountain Blues / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 7/7/2013

It was another summer Sunday -- another edition of Bluegrass Cafe.  As it's been exceedingly warm here in eastern Connecticut over the last week or so, we opened the show with a couple of songs that attempted to cool things down a bit.  Maybe this crazy attempt at "coolness" worked, as it was about 92 degrees when the show started at 4PM, and by the time I signed off at 7PM, the temperature had dropped to around 80 degrees.  Hooray!

Even though July 4th was technically on Thursday, this weekend ending Sunday at midnight still is considered a "holiday weekend."  To that end, it's a patriotic holiday, so it seemed quite logical to share a few patriotic-themed songs, including both "The Star Spangled Banner" and "Stars And Stripes Forever," as well as appropriate Independence Day songs from Eddie & Martha Adcock, as well as Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers.

It was a day to celebrate a few Bluegrass (and Bluegrass-related) birthdays, and we included at least two songs from a few different performers who celebrated or would have celebrated birthdays in the first few days of July.  Among them:  Charlie Louvin (born July 7, 1927) and Charlie Monroe (born July 4, 1903), as well as a couple of New

The first LP for a young Rhode
Island mandolin picker...

England contributions to the world of Bluegrass -- Rhode Island's Jimmy Gaudreau (born July 3, 1946) and from Massachusetts, Peter Rowan (born July 4, 1942).  We also wished a Happy Birthday today to the former Nita Pike, who was featured singing with her daughter, the late Earlene Pike, on a couple of songs from the Pike Brothers & Pine Hill Ranchers Rebel LP from 1968.

In spite of all of the birthday celebrating and patriotic music, we still found a few minutes to play a few newer recordings, too.  This time around, these new discs came from projects by the Gibson Brothers, the Spinney Brothers, Mickey Galyean & Cullen's Bridge, Big Country Bluegrass, Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass, and Balsam Range.  We even included a bit of new music from brand-new-to-us-this-week records by Jason Davis, Jeff Brown & Still Lonesome, and Fletcher Bright & Bill Evans.

Hope you enjoyed something you heard on the radio this week, and that you'll be sure to join me once again next Sunday afternoon from 4-7PM for another (hopefully) enjoyable edition of Bluegrass Cafe!  

Amy

REQUESTS ARE RED.

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• Out In The Cold World / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / JSP Records
• Cold And Windy Night / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder
• Cold Chill Of Gone / Cody Shuler & Pine Mountain Railroad / Cody Shuler & Pine Mountain Railroad / Steeltown Records
• Hot Corn, Cold Corn / Here Today / Grisman-Gill-Pedersen-Buchanan-Gordy / Rounder
• Stars And Stripes Forever / John McEuen / String Wizards / Vanguard
• Me And Paul Revere / Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers / single / Rounder
• The Star Spangled Banner / Lynwood Lunsford / Pick Along / Hay Holler
• Cotton Farmer / Travers Chandler & Avery County / State Of Depression / Mountain Fever Records
• There Is A Trap / Gillis Brothers / Down By The River / Hay Holler
• Wearin' The Blues / Josh Williams with David Peterson / I'll Take Love / Compass Records
• Where Dear Friends Will Never Part / Front Porch String Band / Rebel
• Nobody Cares For Me / Travers Chandler & Avery County / State Of Depression / Mountain Fever Records
• Heart And Soul / Gillis Brothers / Heart And Soul / Rebel
• Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone / Jimmy Gaudreau / In Good Company / CMH
• Let's / Country Gentlemen / Early Rebel Recordings, 1962-1971 / Rebel
• Sunny Side Of Life / Fred Pike, Bill Rawlings & the Twin River Boys / Authentic Bluegrass Folk Music / Osage
• Doc Watson Morning / Peter Rowan / The Old School / Compass Records
• One Way / Peter Rowan & the Nashville Bluegrass Band / New Moon Rising / Sugar Hill
• What Is A Home Without Love / Monroe Brothers / Bill & Charlie Monroe, 1936 / JSP Records
• Have A Feast Here Tonight / Monroe Brothers / Bill & Charlie Monroe, 1937-1938 / JSP Records
• Knoxville Girl / Louvin Brothers / When I Stop Dreaming / Razor & Tie
• I Wish You Knew / Louvin Brothers / My Baby's Gone, 1955-1964 / Raven
• Dying For Someone To Live For / Gibson Brothers / They Called It Music / Compass Records
• You Broke Your Promise / Lonesome Pine Fiddlers / Windy Mountain / Bear Family
• It's Just Like Rain / Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick / Together / Kaleidoscope
• Choking The Strings / Big Country Bluegrass / Memories Of The Past / Rebel
• On That Glorious Day / Spinney Brothers / No Borders / Mountain Fever Records
• New Freedom Bell / Eddie & Martha Adcock with Tom Gray / Many A Mile / Patuxent Music
• Where The Wild River Rolls / Jason Davis / Second Time Around / Mountain Fever Records
• Little Country Town / Jeff Brown & Still Lonesome / Blue Side Of Me / Mountain Fever Records
• Yellow Barber / Fletcher Bright & Bill Evans / Fine Times At Fletcher's House / Native & Fine Records
• Two O'Clock [music bed] / Fletcher Bright & Bill Evans / Fine Times At Fletcher's House / Native & Fine Records
• Polly Put The Kettle On [music bed] / Fletcher Bright & Bill Evans / Fine Time At Fletcher's House / Native & Fine Records
• Scott No. 2 [music bed] / Fletcher Bright & Bill Evans / Fine Times At Fletcher's House / Native & Fine Records
• Blackjack Grove [music bed] / Fletcher Bright & Bill Evans / Fine Times At Fletcher's House / Native & Fine Records
• Blue Blue Day / Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show / Take Me Back / Pinecastle
• Bell Of The Ball / Mickey Galyean & Cullen's Bridge / Rollin' With Tradition / Self-Produced
• Margie / Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass / Road Into Town / Patuxent Music
• Dreams About The Hills Of Home / Bluegrass Patriots / E Pluribus Bluegrass / Red Feather
• Feeling Blue / Pike Brothers & the Pine Hill Ranchers / The Pike Brothers & the Pine Hill Ranchers / Rebel
• Other Side Of The Mountain / Balsam Range / Papertown / Mountain Home
• Somehow Tonight / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Sides, 1950-1952 / JSP Records
• I Like To Hear 'Em Preach / Paul Williams / A Tribute To Jimmy Martin / Koch Records
• God Moves In A Windstorm / Blue Highway / Wind To The West / Rebel
• Valley Of Peace / Lynn Morris Band / The Lynn Morris Band / Rounder
• Country Church / Pike Brothers & the Pine Hill Ranchers / The Pike Brothers & the Pine Hill Ranchers / Rebel
• Kept And Protected By God's Love / Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / Kept And Protected / Sugar Hill
• Shouting On The Hills Of Glory / Stanley Brothers / All Bluegrass All Gospel / Federal
• Wait A Little Longer Please Jesus / Del McCoury & the Dixie Pals / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel
• The Lighthouse / Gibson Brothers / Bona Fide / Sugar Hill
• Let Us Travel, Travel On / Louvin Brothers / My Baby's Gone, 1955-1964 / Raven
• Black Mountain Blues / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 6/30/2013

Sometimes, it seems like we let the little electronic "gizmos" in our lives dictate the things we do.  How many people do you know who really can't seem to go two seconds without having their iPhone in their hands?  Now, I don't have an iPhone, I do own an iPod Touch, and I'll admit that I really like the thing.  If there's WiFi available, this little "toy computer" gives me Internet access, and no matter if there is or isn't WiFi, I can always listen to one of the nearly 8,000 songs I have loaded on the iPod.  More often than not, I have the songs playing on "shuffle," so the iPod "gods" choose "random" songs whenever music is being played.  However, while listening to the iPod on shuffle during my nearly 4-hour drive home early Sunday morning from the really terrific Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival in Tunbridge, VT, I heard at least 7 or 8 songs by the sometimes overlooked duo of Don Reno & Red Smiley.  That's a lot of R&S, especially considering that there are just 141 of their songs on the player.  Hearing so much of them on the way back, though,  sure seemed like a good-enough reason to me to put Reno & Smiley front-and-center on Sunday's radio show!  

As enjoyable as the music of Don & Red can be, though, we found some time to play a few other records, too.  There was a second mini-spotlight feature on a band I will admit that I know very little about:  the Bray Brothers with Red Cravens.  Several years ago, I bought a Rounder CD featuring some early 1960s radio transcriptions from these brothers, and it's a very enjoyable collection.  My problem is that I don't always remember I own it, and should bring it to play on the radio.  By some miracle, this week, I actually remembered.

John Burns -- Gettysburg civilian soldier,
and subject of song on "God Didn't Choose Sides"

This week marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg -- a pivotal Civil War battle waged on Northern soil over the course of the first three days of July in 1863.  Several songs have been written to commemorate the battle and some of the characters associated with it, so we put together a few of these songs by performers as varied as Rickey Wasson & Dwight McCall, the Lonesome River Band, Gary Ferguson, and Maine songwriter, Stan Keach (whose "Up On Little Round Top" tells the tale of the 20th Maine Regiment of Volunteers and its heroic leader, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain).  Two of these songs were taken directly from the "God Didn't Choose Sides" project released by Rural Rhythm Records.  

New music is coming from the Seldom Scene in 2014...so they say...

In addition, there was time to play quite a few selections from New England performers past and present, including Hot Mustard, Nick Anderson & the Gospel Friends, Stonewall Bluegrass, the Case Brothers, White Mountain Bluegrass, Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boys, ShoreGrass, and Grass Routes.  Also included was a good bit of newer music, some of which came from performers who'd been at Jenny Brook over the past weekend.  The newer stuff came from the Gibson Brothers, Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers, Mike Compton & Joe Newbery, the Spinney Brothers, Mark Newton & Steve Thomas, Alan Bibey & Wayne Benson, Sweet Potato Pie (from the "Pickin' Like A Girl" box set from the Daughters of Bluegrass), Marty Raybon & Full Circle, Big Country Bluegrass, Dailey & Vincent, the Boxcars, and Don Rigsby.  

Hope you enjoyed something you heard on Sunday's show, and please join me once again next Sunday for another packed Bluegrass Cafe.

Enjoy the 4th!  

Amy


REQUESTS ARE RED.

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• Green Mountain Hop / Reno & Smiley / Early Years, 1951-1959 / Gusto
• I Wouldn't Change You If I Could / Reno & Smiley / Early Years, 1951-1959 / Gusto
• Cruel Love / Reno & Smiley / Early Years, 1951-1959 / Gusto
• Country Boy Rock And Roll / Reno & Smiley / Good Old Country Ballads / King
• I'm The Talk of The Town / Reno & Smiley / Early Years, 1951-1959 / Gusto
• Buy A Ring, Find A Preacher / Gibson Brothers / They Called It Music / Compass Records
• She Left Me Standing On The Mountain / Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers / They're Playing My Song / Rebel
• Close The Door Lightly When You Go / Lonesome River Band / Chronology, Volume One / Rural Rhythm
• You're The Best Of All The Leading Brands / Jesse Brock / Kickin' Grass / Pinecastle
• Sweetest Love / Seldom Scene / SCENEchronized / Sugar Hill
• I Can't Stand To Ramble / Good Ol' Persons / Good 'N Live / Sugar Hill
• East Tennessee Blues / Mike Compton & Joe Newbery / Live / Self-Produced
• Making Plans / Darin & Brooke Aldridge / Live At Red, White & Bluegrass / Mountain Home
• Banjo In The Hollow / The Dillards / A Long Time Ago / Varese Sarabande
• Old MacDonald / Mark Newton & Steve Thomas / Reborn / Rural Rhythm
• Sweet Dixie / Alan Bibey & Wayne Benson / The Mandolin Chronicles / Pinecastle
• Grandpa's Way Of Life / Spinney Brothers / No Borders / Mountain Fever Records
• The Memory Of Your Smile / Hot Mustard / Live At Mole Hill Theatre / Self-Produced
• Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven / Nick Anderson & the Gospel Friends / Nick Anderson & the Gospel Friends / Self-Produced
• Slidin' Delta / Stonewall Bluegrass / I Won't Be Troubled Anymore / Self-Produced
• Nobody's Child / Case Brothers / Radio Album / Self-Produced
• You Ain't Woman Enough / White Mountain Bluegrass / Aragon Mill / Strictly Country
• Where The Old Red River Flows / Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boys / One Morning In May / Rounder
• The Girl In The Blue Velvet Band / Bray Brothers with Red Cravens / Prairie Bluegrass / Rounder
• Harley's Breakdown / Bray Brothers with Red Cravens / Prairie Bluegrass / Rounder
• Thinking About You / Bray Brothers with Red Cravens / Prairie Bluegrass / Rounder
• Old John Burns / Rickey Wasson & Dwight McCall / God Didn't Choose Sides / Rural Rhythm
• Up On Little Round Top / Stan Keach / Cry Of The Loon & Other Original Songs About Maine / Ayuh Records
• The Legend Of Jennie Wade / Lonesome River Band / God Didn't Choose Sides / Rural Rhythm
• Last Day At Gettysburg / Gary Ferguson / I'm Really Leaving / Webco
• Clinch Mountain Mystery / Sweet Potato Pie / Pickin' Like A Girl / Blue Circle Records
• The Big Burnsville Jail / Marty Raybon & Full Circle / The Back Forty / Rural Rhythm
• Gray Eagle / Don Reno / The Golden Guitar Of Don Reno / King
• Polka On The Guitar / Don Reno / The Golden Guitar Of Don Reno / King [music bed]
• Lady Hamlet / Don Reno / The Golden Guitar Of Don Reno / King [music bed]
• Sticks That Made Thunder / The Steeldrivers / The Steeldrivers / Rounder
• The Letter / ShoreGrass / Going Home / Self-Produced
• Bailey's Deal / Grass Routes / Bailey's Deal / Self-Produced
• Won't You Think Of Me / Big Country Bluegrass / Memories Of The Past / Rebel
• Close By / Dailey & Vincent / Brothers Of The Highway / Rounder
• I'm Leaving You This Lonesome Song / The Boxcars / It's Just A Road / Mountain Home
• I'll Be Broken Hearted / Tony Holt & the Wildwood Valley Boys / Lost Highways & Treasured Memories / Old Homestead
• I Hear My Savior Calling / Stanley Brothers / Selected Cuts, 1955-1956 / JSP Records
• Along The Way / Country Gentlemen / Let The Light Shine Down / Rebel
• Traveling The Highway Home / Don Rigsby / Doctor's Orders / Rebel
• Over In The Promised Land / Lou Reid & Carolina / Sounds Like Heaven To Me / Rural Rhythm Christian
• The Old Cross Road / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / JSP Records
• So Many Years, So Many Blessings / Lewis Family / A Gospel Bluegrass Homecoming, Volume One / GGS
• One More Time (I Must Rise) / Gibson Brothers / Another Night Of Waiting / Hay Holler 
• Brighter Mansion Over There / Reno & Smiley / Early Years, 1951-1959 / Gusto
• Blue Grass Twist / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder

"Bluegrass Cafe" Playlist - 6/23/2013 - Old Vinyl

Hi Folks,

This was a fill-in show for me because Amy was not available today.  I used the opportunity to play some old "moldy" vinyl bluegrass that needed to see some light outside of the Heritage Corner.  Some album covers from the source material are shown below.

Cullen Galyean on guitar on this rare recording

Lowell Varney and Landon Messer
Two of the best bluegrassers you never heard of

Flat and Scruggs on the radio - 1957

Boone Estep - old timey bluegrass fiddler

Dutch couple who recorded this LP with Don Stover & Red Rector

Charlie's first LP after the split with Bill Napier - 1970

First bluegrass album by a female leader - 1962

Leslie Keith 1974 LP -- composed "Black Mountain Blues"

Rare LP of Red Allen, Frank Wakefield, & Don Stover
produced by Toshio Watanabe

Not all of the music was legacy as we played a swath of newer music from the likes of The Gibson Brothers, Michael Martin Murphey, Mickey Galyean & Cullen's Bridge, Kathy Kallick, The Kruger Brothers, Clinton Gregory, Dawn Kenney, Scott Brannon, Richard Bennett, The Boxcars, and a good number of tunes from the mandolin duo of Alan Bibey and Wayne Benson.

The Red Rooster Party show just before this edition of Bluegrass Cafe had an extensive interview with Gordon Pike and Darlene Champagne who grew up with the Pike Family in Eastern Connecticut and made music with that pioneering family.  We played a few songs from Darlene Champagne (Reflections of Grass) and Gordon Pike and the Dixie Darlins' to accent that previous show.

Amy will be back next Sunday, so don't miss it.  For some roots of this music, tune in two hours earlier for Red Rooster Party.

Jim Beaver

Title / Artist / Album / Label

• Fire On The Mountain / Michael Cleveland / Sawing On the "C" String / Self-produced
• They Called It Music / The Gibson Brothers / They Called It Music / Compass
• Shake It Off / Michael Martin Murphey / Red River Drifter / Red River Entertainment
• Baby's Back Again / Darlene & Reflections Of Bluegrass / If It Ain't Love / Self-produced
• May I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight Mister / Mickey Galyean & Cullen's Bridge / Rollin' With Tradition / Galyean Family
• Darling Nellie Across The Sea / The Vern Williams Band / Traditional Bluegrass / Arhoolie
• Dark Hollow / Kathy Kallick Band / Time / Live Oak
• Back To Hancock County / Dailey & Vincent / Brothers Of The Highway / Rounder
• Shady Grove / Kruger Brothers / Doc - Remembering Doc Watson / Double Time
• Making Plans / Darin & Brooke Aldridge / Live at Red White & Bluegrass / Mountain Home
• Pretty Woman / Larry Gillis / Swampgrass / Tinman
• Stumblin Stones / Travers Chandler & Avery County / Pardon Me... / Mountain Fever
• Roots Of My Raising / The Clinton Gregory Bluegrass Band / Roots Of My Raising / Melody Roundup
• Life Finds A Way / The Grascals / Life Finds A Way / Mountain Home
• Out The Door / Dawn Kenney / Sing Me Home / Heart Roots
• Tribulations / Carolina Native Sons / Rank Ol' Bluegrass / Patuxent
• Jesus On The Mainline / Dry Branch Fire Squad / Live at the Newburyport Firehouse / Rounder
• I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes / Earl Taylor and the Stoney Mountain Boys / The Bluegrass Touch / Vetco (LP)
• Judy Lou / The Border Mountain Boys / Bluegrass On The Mountain / Homestead (LP)
• Black Mountain Blues / Leslie Keith / Black Mountain Blues / Briar Records (LP)
• Roustabout / Red Allen, Frank Wakefield, Don Stover, et.al / Self-titled / Red Clay (LP)
• Roane County Prisoner / Hylo Brown / Bluegrass Favorites on College and Campus / Nashville (LP)
• Dixie Darlin' / Gordon Pike & The Dixie Darlins' / Self-titled / Self-produced
• Singing Waterfall / Scott Brannon Your Old Standby / Patuxent
• If Teardrops Were Pennies / Big Country Bluegrass / Memories Of The Past / Rebel
• Six More Miles / Jeanie West / Roaming The Blue Ridge with Jeanie West / Prestige (LP)
• Lorena Go Home / Charlie Moore / Charlie Bluegrass / Country Jubilee (LP)
• You Took All The Ramblin' Out Of Me / The Boxcars / It's Just A Road / Mountain Home
• Curtains Of Sorrow / Jim Eanes and the Shenandoah Valley Boys / The Early Days Of Bluegrass Vol. 4 / Rounder (LP)
• Things In Life / A.G. & Kate with Don Stover & Red Rector / Good Friends Vol 1 / Strictly Country (LP)
• Wilkes County Breakdown / Alan Bibey & Wayne Benson / The Mandolin Chronicles / Pinecastle
• Last Train From Poor Valley / Richard Bennett / Last Train From Poor Valley / Lonesome Day
• I Know What It Means To Be Lonely / Jack Casey / Rural Rhythm Presents Jack Casey / Rural Rhythm (LP)
• Owensboro Train (bed) / Alan Bibey & Wayne Benson / The Mandolin Chronicles / Pinecastle
• Sweet Dixie (bed) / Alan Bibey & Wayne Benson / The Mandolin Chronicles / Pinecastle
• Another Night (bed) / Alan Bibey & Wayne Benson / The Mandolin Chronicles / Pinecastle
• Waltz For Pamela (bed) / Alan Bibey & Wayne Benson / The Mandolin Chronicles / Pinecastle
• Owensboro Train (bed) / Alan Bibey & Wayne Benson / The Mandolin Chronicles / Pinecastle
• Don't Let Your Deal Go Down / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / On Radio 1957 / Collectors Classics (LP)
• Lovesick & Sorrow / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs w. Hylo Brown / On Radio 1957 / Collectors Classics (LP)
• Tragic Romance / Earl Taylor and the Stoney Mountain Boys / Body & Soul / Vetco (LP)
• Liberty / Larry Richardson & Red Barker / Blue Ridge Bluegrass / County (LP)
• Rocky Island / Boone Estep and the Rambling Grass / I'll Take The Blame / White Dove (LP)
• Going To A City / Lowell Varney - Landon Messer and the Riverside Grass / Going To A City / Old Homestead (LP)
• City On A Hill / David Peterson / Jesus Use Me / Self-produced
• Shake My Mother's Hand For Me / Charlie Monroe / The Starday Sessions / Gusto
• Home On The River / The Gibson Brothers / They Called It Music / Compass
• Don't Judge / Don Reno Bill Harrell and The Tennessee Cutups / A Variety of New Sacred Gospel Songs / King (LP)
• God's Highway / Leon Morris / Thinking Today Of My Home / Patuxent
• Ain't Gonna Run / Mountain Faith / Battlefield / Pisgah Ridge
• How Great Thou Art / Darlene & Reflections Of Bluegrass / If It Ain't Love / Self-produced
• Walking In A Dream / Fred Etheridge w.Nick Anderson, Mark Doyle / Pickin' And Singin' / Self-produced

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 6/16/2013

On this Father's Day, the "agenda" for Bluegrass Cafe included a good portion of music by Bluegrass fathers and sons, as well as -- of course! -- several songs with the father as the subject.  This coming week also marks the 99th birthday anniversary of a true musical stylist -- one Lester Raymond Flatt -- so there was a good bit of music from Lester's very prolific pen, and the song catalog of Flatt & Scruggs.  

Like a lot of businesses, it seems that Bluegrass is a "family" type of business, wherein a whole lot of Bluegrass musicians were -- and continue to be -- drawn into playing and performing Bluegrass by their musical fathers.  While we could -- and should -- have included music from more musical families than what we had time for today, we still managed to share songs on Sunday from notable Bluegrass families with the surnames of Parmley, McCoury, Reno, Rosenthal, Mullins, Paisley, Harrell, Osborne, Hayes, Armistead, and, of course, Monroe.  Yes, there are Bluegrass fathers and daughters, but for some reason, we didn't get around to playing music from them today.  Maybe next time around, we'll try to squeeze in a few of those...

My father, Alton Orlomoski,
making a rare appearance at a
Bluegrass festival

As can be imagined, there are LOTS of Bluegrass songs that have been written with the subject of "father" in mind, no matter if he's called "Dad," "Daddy," or "Papa."  The dozen father songs we heard today -- some a bit bittersweet -- came from several performers, including Bill Harrell & the Virginians, BearTracks, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Phil Leadbetter, the Whitstein Brothers, White Mountain Bluegrass, the Spinney Brothers & Close Company, Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass, Tim O'Brien & Darrell Scott, Jim Mills with Paul Brewster, and the Gibson Brothers.  We even were able to track down a single from the late Fred Pike along with another IBMM-recognized Bluegrass Pioneer, Maine's Al Hawkes.  

Happy 99th, Lester Flatt!

We absolutely couldn't let the show pass without highlighting a few songs from big-time Bluegrass songwriter and super-musical stylist, Lester Flatt.  It's hard to truly appreciate the groundbreaking influence that Flatt and his long-time musical partner, Earl Scruggs, were able to achieve, but achieve it, they did.  Outstanding!  Lester Raymond Flatt would have turned 99 years old on June 19th.  Obviously, Bill Monroe was extremely important, but Lester Flatt was just plain old remarkable.  

Sideline includes IIIrd Tyme Out bandmates Steve Dilling &
Justin Hayes, as well as Jason Moore (Mountain Heart),
Darrell Webb, and Skip Cherryholmes (now of
Lou Reid & Carolina).

Despite all of the other features, we still managed to share a little bit of newer music on Sunday, too, including songs from projects by Della Mae, the Snyder Family Band, Claire Lynch, a terrific new record from Big Country Bluegrass, the Spinney Brothers, Gordon Pike & the Dixie Darlins, Flatt Lonesome, the Gibson Brothers, and a fun little throw-together band on Mountain Fever Records called Sideline.  

Hope all of the dads had a wonderful Father's Day, and be sure to join Jim next Sunday afternoon as he'll be doing double-duty on the ol' radio, hosting Red Rooster Party from 2-4PM, and then, sticking around for Bluegrass Cafe from 4-7PM.  It'll be fun, so listen, won't you?

Have a great week!

Amy

REQUESTS ARE RED.

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• Smoke Along The Track / Parmley & McCoury / Families Of Tradition / BGC Records
• Nine Pound Hammer / Reno & Smiley with the Stanley Brothers / Bluegrass, 1963 / Rural Rhythm
• Pretty Polly / The Rosenthals / Fly Away / American Melody
• A Broken Heart Keeps Beatin' / Traditional Grass / Songs Of Love And Life / Rebel
• The Evening Train / Bob & Danny Paisley / Plum Pitiful / Time Life
• Roll On Buddy / Bill & James Monroe / Bean Blossom / MCA
• The Hard Times / Bobby Osborne & the Rocky Top X-Press / Try A Little Kindness / Rounder
• Jacob's Ladder / Rick Hayes with Green Hayes / Fly By Night / Kang Records
• Roll On Muddy River / Bluegrass Cardinals / Welcome To Virginia / Rounder
• Do You Remember? / Bill Harrell & the Virginians / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel
• To Daddy / BearTracks / Makin' Tracks / AMT Records
• Me And Dad / Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out / Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out / Rural Rhythm
• California Cotton Fields / Phil Leadbetter with Marty Raybon / Slide Effects / Pinecastle
• Daddy's Old Time Guitar / Fred Pike & Al Hawkes / single / Event Records
• That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine / Whitstein Brothers / Old Time Duets / Rounder
• When Papa Played The Dobro / White Mountain Bluegrass / Aragon Mill / Strictly Country
• Old Hickory Cane / Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass / The Tradition Continues / Brandywine
• Mom & Dad's Waltz / Tim O'Brien & Darrell Scott / We're Usually A Lot Better Than This / Full Light Records
• Daddy Frank / Jim Mills with Paul Brewster / Hide Head Blues / Sugar Hill
• Daddy Come Home / Spinney Brothers & Close Company / The Old Fundy Shore / Self-Produced
• Farm Of Yesterday / Gibson Brothers / Ring The Bell / Compass Records
• Letter From The Road/And Other Things / Della Mae / This World Oft Can Be / Rounder
• Smoky Mountain Railway / Snyder Family Band / Building Bridges / Mountain Roads Recordings
• Roses In The Snow / Gordon Pike & the Dixie Darlins / Gordon Pike & the Dixie Darlins / Self-Produced
• Loneliness And Desperation / Sideline / Session 1 / Mountain Fever Records
• I'll Be Alright Tomorrow / Claire Lynch / Dear Sister / Compass Records
• I'm Longing For My Old Virginia Home / Big Country Bluegrass / Memories Of The Past / Rebel
• Grandpa's Way Of Life / Mark "Brink" Brinkman / On The Brink Of A Dream / Self-Produced
• Grandpa's Way Of Life / Spinney Brothers / No Borders / Mountain Fever Records
• Don't Sell Daddy Any More Whiskey / Joe Val / Diamond Joe / Rounder
• Pages Of Time / Chris Warner with Dudley Connell / Chris Warner & Friends / Webco
• Lula Wall / Tennessee Mafia Jug Band / Screams From The Holler / Spring Fed Records
• Slow Down (You'll Hit A Moose) / Stan Keach & Friends / Cry Of The Loon & Other Original Songs About Maine / Ayuh Records
• Tell All My Pickin' Friends Goodbye / Chris Brashear / Heart Of The Country / Dog Boy Records
• We'll Meet Again Sweetheart / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / The Complete Mercury Recordings / Mercury
• Your Love Is Like A Flower / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Cuts, 1952-1955 / JSP Records
• Don't Get Above Your Raising / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Sides, 1950-1952 / JSP Records
• Down The Road / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Flatt & Scruggs At Carnegie Hall! / Koch Records
• That Glory Bound Train / Bear Bridge Band / Broken Hearts And Better Times / Open Road
• For Him / Gary Waldrep Band / Road Leading Home / Blue Circle Records
• These Men Of God / Country Gentlemen / On The Road (And More) / Smithsonian Folkways
• Get In Line, Brother / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Selected Sides, 1950-1952 / JSP Records
• The Way, The Truth, The Light / Sideline / Session 1 / Mountain Fever Records
• Home On The River / Gibson Brothers / They Called It Music / Compass Records
• The Right Side / Flatt Lonesome / Flatt Lonesome / Pisgah Ridge
• You Can Feel It In Your Soul / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Foggy Mountain Gospel / Columbia
• Blue Grass Twist / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 6/9/2013

As it was kind of a "quiet" week in the Bluegrass World (meaning, not too many birthdays or other events to remember and/or celebrate), the musical selections on Sunday's show were kind of a hodgepodge.  Sometimes, that's really not such a bad way to go, is it?

There was one notable birthday to remember:  that of a certain "guitar hero" for a whole bunch of Bluegrass guitar pickers -- Tony Rice (born June 8, 1951).  The show opened with a few selections a couple of different Rice configurations over the years -- with J.D. Crowe & the New South, the Bluegrass Album Band, as a guest on a David Grisman all-star production, and with occasional duet partner, Ricky Skaggs.

We took a few moments on Sunday's show to remember the musical Pike Family of eastern Connecticut.  In the mid-1960s to early 1970s, banjo/guitar picker Fred Pike worked in a band with his youngest brother, Earl, Earl's wife, Nita, and two musicians from Canterbury, CT, Dave Papuga and John Piela.  The band was called the Pike Brothers & the Pine Hill Ranchers, and the star vocalist in this group was Earl and Nita's oldest daughter, Earlene.  Earlene Pike was a tremendously gifted singer, and her husky, full voice was extremely unique and sounded much older than her actual years.  If you've listened to Bluegrass Cafe at all over the last ten years, you've likely heard me say that the Rebel records of the Pikes were often played around my house, and honestly, I can't remember a time when I didn't know about the band.  Sadly, Earlene died on August 11, 1972 of complications from bone cancer, just a couple of months shy of her 19th birthday.  Still, her music and legacy live on through the life of her younger brother, Gordon, and we are always pleased to share the music of the Pikes on the air at WHUS.  Recently, Jim had an opportunity to talk with Gordon Pike, and Jim's interview -- complete with a whole lot of great Pike music, I'm sure -- will air on an upcoming edition of "Red Rooster Party."  We'll let you know the firm date the interview will air when it's settled, but I'm sure you'll want to tune in to hear it.

The hodgepodge show included a little bit of newer music, too, as always.  This time around, we heard songs from recent projects by Connecticut's Grass Routes, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers, Mickey Galyean & Cullen's Bridge, Shannon & Heather Slaughter & County Clare, Hammertowne, Flatt Lonesome, Big Country Bluegrass, Don Rigsby, the Gibson Brothers, the Spinney Brothers, and Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass.  In addition, there was one brand-spanking new Rebel recording from Big Country Bluegrass.

Hope you heard something you enjoyed on Sunday afternoon, and that you'll be sure to join us once again for three hours of the Bluegrass -- Sunday, 4:00-7:00PM.  

Amy



REQUESTS ARE RED.

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• Old Home Place / J.D. Crowe & the New South / Bluegrass Class Of 1990 / Rounder
• Blue Ridge Cabin Home / Bluegrass Album Band / The Bluegrass Compact Disc / Rounder
• Salt Creek / Tony Rice / Guitar / Rebel
• There's More Pretty Girls Than One / Ricky Skaggs & Tony Rice / Skaggs & Rice / Sugar Hill
• Sophronie / David Grisman with Tony Rice / Home Is Where The Heart Is / Rounder
• Blue Railroad Train / Josh Williams with Tony Rice / Down Home / Pinecastle
• Sockeye / Reno & Smiley / Early Years, 1951-1959 / Gusto
• The River / Lynn Morris / You'll Never Be The Sun / Rounder
• Picture In A Tear / Wyatt Rice & Santa Cruz / Picture In A Tear / Rebel
• It Don't Bring You Back To Me / Johnson Mountain Boys / Blue Diamond / Rounder
• Way Down Deep / Ralph Stanley with Vern Gosdin / Clinch Mountain Country / Rebel
• You Tried To Ruin My Name / Wilma Lee Cooper / O Sister! / Rounder
• Bad Fret / Grass Routes / Bailey's Deal / Self-Produced
• Lover's Quarrel / Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice with Joe Mullins / The Story Of The Day That I Died / Rebel
• A Blue Million Tears / Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers / They're Playing My Song / Rebel
• You Better Get Right / Mickey Galyean & Cullen's Bridge / Rollin' With Tradition / Self-Produced
• If I Were A Carpenter / Shannon & Heather Slaughter & County Clare / One More Road / Self-Produced
• Walkin' The Country / Nightflyer / Nightflyer / Kang Records
• I'm Thinking You Don't Love Me Anymore / Hammertowne / Hammertowne / Mountain Fever Records
• Jackson / Flatt Lonesome / Flatt Lonesome / Pisgah Ridge
• Crawford County / Balsam Range / All In / Mountain Home
• I'll Go To My Grave Lovin' You / Special Consensus / Signs / Pinecastle [Don Reid of the Statler Brothers birthday : June 5, 1945]
• Good Ole Boys Like Me / Volume Five / Children Of The Mountain / Mountain Fever Records [Don Williams birthday:  May 27, 1939]
• Feeling Blue / Pike Brothers & the Pine Hill Ranchers / The Pike Brothers & the Pine Hill Ranchers / Rebel
• To Warm And Comfort You / Pike Family & the Pine Hill Ranchers / To Warm And Comfort You / Rebel
• Each Season Changes You / Pike Brothers & the Pine Hill Ranchers / The Pike Brothers & the Pine Hill Ranchers / Rebel
• My Love For You / Pike Family & the Pine Hill Ranchers / To Warm And Comfort You / Rebel
• I'm Putting On My Leaving Shoes / Big Country Bluegrass / Memories Of The Past / Rebel
• Choking The Strings / Big Country Bluegrass / Memories Of The Past / Rebel
• Tennessee Truck Driving Man / Don Rigsby with Charlie Sizemore / Doctor's Orders / Rebel
• Kickin' Grass [music bed] / Jesse Brock / Kickin' Grass / Pinecastle
• Georgia Stomp [music bed] / Jesse Brock / Kickin' Grass / Pinecastle
• You're The Best Of All The Leading Brands / Jesse Brock / Kickin' Grass / Pinecastle
• Philadelphia Lawyer / Audie Blaylock & Redline / Hard Country / Rural Rhythm
• The Darker The Night, The Better I See / Gibson Brothers / They Called It Music / Compass Records
• Sad And Blue / BearTracks / Together 'Til The End / AMT Records
• Money In The Bank / Lonesome River Band / Chronology, Volume 3 / Rural Rhythm
• The Moon Saw Me Crying / Spinney Brothers / No Borders / Mountain Fever Records
• Theme Time / Hot Mustard / Live At Mole Hill Theatre / Self-Produced
• I Saw Your Face In The Moon / Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass / Road Into Town / Patuxent Music
• Hide Me, Rock Of Ages / Dailey & Vincent / Singing From The Heart / Rounder [Jamie Dailey birthday:  June 9, 1975]
• Stormy Waters / Joe Val / Diamond Joe / Rounder
• Will He Wait A Little Longer / Stanley Brothers / 20th Century Masters / Mercury
• Count Your Blessings / Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick / Together / Kaleidoscope
• Move On / Grass Routes / Bailey's Deal / Self-Produced
• One Is Taken, One Is Left / Case Brothers / Radio Album / Self-Produced
• Good News When I Die / Charlie Sizemore Band / Good News / Rounder
• Journey To My Savior's Side / Missy Werner Band / Three Kinds Of Lonesome / Self-Produced
• Ring The Bell / Gibson Brothers / Ring The Bell / Compass Records
• Black Mountain Blues / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder
  
  
  

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 6/2/2013

While there was some confusion about the start time of today's radio show due to various rain delays moving back the starting time for the UCONN Men's Baseball NCAA tourney game (from 1PM to 3PM), we were finally able to bring you a pretty packed 66 minutes of Bluegrass Cafe this evening.  As the men lost their game today, that ended the summer sports show preemptions from the WHUS Sports Department.  Needless to say, we're rather pleased about that...

As it was a super-short, 66 minute

While I didn't get a chance to go to Strawberry Park
this year, it's good to know Ted Lehmann's fine
photos can let me see the highlights, like the Friday
sets of the Gibson Brothers.  Visit Ted's blog for more:
www.tedlehmann.blogspot.com

show, we didn't get a chance to play a whole lot of new music, but still, there were songs from recent projects by Marty Raybon & Full Circle, John Reischman, the Kathy Kallick Band, the Spinney Brothers, the Boxcars, Don Rigsby, Volume Five, and Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass.  We also played music from two performers featured at this weekend's nearby Strawberry Park Bluegrass Festival:  Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice and the ever-popular Gibson Brothers.  

Next week's show will feature a full 180 minutes of the best in Bluegrass - I hope!  Be sure to join me, if you can...

Amy

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• No Longer A Sweetheart Of Mine / Reno & Smiley / Country Ballads / King
• Deep River Blues / Warrior River Boys / Sounds Like Home / Rounder
• Never Get To Hold You In My Arms Anymore / White Mountain Bluegrass / Oh So Many Years / Self-Produced
• Drinking At The Water Hole / Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice / The Story Of The Day That I Died / Rebel
• They Called It Music / Gibson Brothers / They Called It Music / Compass Records
• Hurt Me All The Time / Marty Raybon & Full Circle / The Back Forty / Rural Rhythm
• Little Maggie / John Reischman / Walk Along John / Corvus Records
• Time / Kathy Kallick Band / Time / Live Oak Records
• On That Glorious Day / Spinney Brothers / No Borders / Mountain Fever Records
• In Memory / Missy Werner / Drifting And Dreaming / Self-Produced
• Never Again (Will I Knock On Your Door) / The Boxcars / It's Just A Road / Mountain Home
• The Mountain Doctor / Don Rigsby / Doctor's Orders / Rebel
• See The Big Man Cry / Volume Five / Run / Mountain Fever Records
• I Been Walkin' / Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass / Road Into Town / Patuxent Music
• Daddy Did His Best / Missy Werner / Send The Angels / Compass Records
• Call His Name / Johnson Mountain Boys / Working Close / Rounder
• Sinner You'd Better Get Ready / Louvin Brothers / Songs That Tell A Story / Rounder
• Waiting For The Boys To Come Home / Country Gentlemen / Let The Light Shine Down / Rebel
• God Loves His Children / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / The Complete Mercury Recordings / Mercury
• Good Night, The Lord's Coming / Nashville Bluegrass Band / To Be His Child / Rounder
• Black Mountain Blues / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder