November 28, 2015

The Legend of Clark Kessinger: Old Time Country Music

Folk Promotions FP-828

Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1965
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country
[Tracklist]
A1 Ragtime Annie (2:20)
A2 Chinky Pin (1:49)
A3 Sally Ann Johnson (2:20)
A4 Red Bird (2:05)
A5 Salt River 1:41
A6 Over The Waves Waltz (3:30)
A7 Poca River Blues 2:30
A8 Cluck Old Hen (1:49)
A9 Flop Eared Mule (2:03)
B1 Turkey Knob (1:58)
B2 Leatherbritches (2:15)
B3 Billy In The Lowground (2:13)
B4 Dance All Night (2:09)
B5 Wednesday Night Waltz (3:00)
B6 Sandy River (1:51)
B7 Hell Among The Yearlings (2:07)
B8 Sally Goodwin (1:45)
B9 Richmond Polka (2:15)
[Credits]
Clark Kessinger (fiddle) Gene Meade (guitar) Wayne Hauser (banjo)
Cover Drawing: Pat Anderson, Recorded by: Scooter Withrow, Album Prduction: Ken Davidson

November 25, 2015

The New Lost City Ramblers: Modern Times

Folkways Records FTS-31027

Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1968
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass, Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 Shut Up In The Mines Of Coal Creek (2:50)
A2 '31 Depression Blues (3:10)
A3 That Little Lump Of Coal (3:15)
A4 Union Man (2:40)
A5 Got The Farm Land Blues (3:08)
A6 We Are Up Against It Now (2:41)
A7 From Earth To Heaven (2:45)
A8 Henry Ford's Model A (2:00)
A9 Truck Driving Man (2:42)
B1 Dollar Down And A Dollar A Week (1:55)
B2 Dear Okie (2:12)
B3 From 40 To 65 (2:53)
B4 Private John Q. (2:02)
B5 Weaver's Life (3:05)
B6 The Death Of Ellenton (2:09)
B7 Take Them For A Ride (2:50)
B8 Timetable Blues (2:43)
B9 Bye, Bye, Black Smoke Choo Choo (2:44)
[Credits]
Mike Seeger (banjo/guitar/harmonica/dobro/autoharp/vocals) John Cohen (guitar/vocals) Tracy Schwarz (fiddle/banjo/guitar/vocals)
Photographer: Robert Frank, Designer: Craig Mierop
[Notes]
As Southern mountaineers and farmers moved into an industrialized era of coal mines and weaving mills their rural songs evolved to express the confrontation with new modes of life and the ensuing conflicts. This album chronicles just that through songs originating in the 1920s and 1930s demonstrating a mix of styles and influences brought to older folk modes with modern subject matters (machines, cars etc.). Producer John Cohen says in the liner notes: "The study of folklore is not simply to preserve the past, but to make the present more comprehensible."

November 24, 2015

Orange Blossom Special: Tommy Hunter's Carolina String Band

Victor Records JET-7143

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Japan
Released: 1962
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 Orange Blossom Special (2:40)
A2 Down In A Willow Garden (3:44)
A3 Gray Eagle (3:44)
A4 Sally Gooden (2:51)
A5 Bury Me Beneath A Willow (4:07)
A6 Old Joe Clark (2:37)
B1 Bill Cheatum (2:42)
B2 Put My Little Shoes Away (3:24)
B3 Soldiers Joy (2:35)
B4 Rabbit In The Log (3:05)
B5 Black Berry Blossom (2:37)
B6 Maggie (2:51)
B7 Fire On A Mountain (2:34)
[Credits]
Tommy Hunter (fiddle) Obray Ramsey (banjo/vocals) Nan Fisher (guitar) George Fisher (bass)
Liner Notes: D. K. Wilgus, Producer: Kenneth S. Goldstein
[Notes]
Track order is different from the Prestige International INT-13026 (US)

Oz and Charlie: Bashful Brother Oswald and Charlie Collins

Rounder Records 0060

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1976
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country, Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 Mountain Dew (2:21)
A2 Indian Killed A Woodcock (2:46)
A3 Homestead On The Farm (2:00)
A4 Hilo March (2:38)
A5 Nobody's Darling But Mine (3:31)
A6 Stoney Point (2:39)
A7 Black Smoke (2:22)
B1 Oswald's Special (2:49)
B2 Polly Wolly Doodle (1:48)
B3 Hills Of Old Kentucky (1:59)
B4 Snowflake Reel (2:44)
B5 Mother, The Queen Of My Heart (2:28)
B6 Loo Loo's Nest (1:40)
B7 What A Friend We Have In Jesus (2:27)
[Credits]
Bashful Brother Oswald (banjo/dobro/guitar/vocals) Charlie Collins (fiddle/mandolin/vocals) Sam Bush (fiddle/mandolin/guitar) Norman Blake (mandolin/guitar)
Designer: Douglas Parker, Recording Engineer: Claude Hill, Mix Engineer: Bob Stoughton, Photograper: Les Leverett, Producer: Michael Melford, Sleeve Notes: Connie Gately
[Notes]
Recorded on November 4, 5 and 6 in 1974 at Hound's Ear Studio, Nashville, Tennessee

November 23, 2015

The Legendary Dock Boggs

Verve Folkways FV/FVS-9025

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1964
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 Down South Blues (2:10)
A2 Country Blues (3:50)
A3 Pretty Polly (2:51)
A4 Coal Creek March (1:52)
A5 My Old Horse Died (1:41)
A6 Wild Bill Jones (2:10)
A7 Rowan Country Crew (6:10)
A8 New Prisoner's Song (2:53)
B1 Oh Death (3:18)
B2 Prodigal Son (3:54)
B3 Mother's Advice (3:39)
B4 Drunkard's Lone Child (4:06)
B5 Bright Sunny South (3:38)
B6 Mistreated Mama Blues (1:47)
B7 Harvey Logan (3:24)
[Credits]
Dock Boggs (banjo/vocals) Mike Seeger (guitar)
Liner Notes: Mike Seeger, Cover Photo: Dan Seeger
[Notes]
Listeners would obviously miss out on a great deal of enjoyment if confined to only one artist in the genre of Appalachian old-timey music. But if that had to be the case, this particular production would be in the running for the honors, as it hits home with just about every swing. First and most important, it fits the criteria of a brilliant documentation of an artist whose playing in front of the microphones was refined to a high degree, having had plenty of time to be seasoned by years of playing music. Mike Seeger recorded the tracks with all the love in his heart, coming up with the warm, appealing sound that is ultimately desired from any analog recording of acoustic instruments. When one digs deep into the 15 songs, all featuring the artist's voice and banjo, a wealth of valuable information seems to be waiting there. There is the matter of Boggs' playing style, an approach to banjo which is quite different than many other players. The details are technical, and would be of interest mostly to banjo players, but the more important dimension to this is the way in which the technical aspects of a style actually dictate the flow of the music while also disappearing into the background. The latter aspect would have to be an essential in order for performances of this emotional quality to emerge. Each track draws the listener in, the bassline being played on the banjo's lowest strings having an effect that goes well beyond the hypnotic. The words are delivered like the mist coming off the French Broad river, the words always clear and a fascinating aspect of this recording in their own right. These are all considered traditional pieces, the type of material of which there are almost endless variations within the state of North Carolina alone. In some ways, these songs all blend together into some kind of bubbling stew of detail, ranging from the inspiration of animals to the cataloging of morbid atrocities. A lyric that is part of old-timey songs such as "Darling Corey" and "Dig a Hole in the Meadow" shows up casually in one of Boggs' other songs, and another corpse is buried in the holler. Verve was smart to nab this as one of the Folkways releases it licensed during the '60s folk revival. Pressings on the former label are pretty darn yummy. --AllMusic Review by Eugene Chadbourne

November 17, 2015

Flatpick Guitar & Fiddle Music from Kanawha County, W.Va.


Bobby Taylor, Robert Shafer and Robin Kessinger, three of the Kanawha Valley's best traditional musicians, have played together over many years at various musical events in the Valley and throughout West Virginia. They were heavily influenced by the musical talents of Clark Kessinger, a world renowned fiddler. Clark Kessinger recorded many tunes on the Brunswick label from 1928 to 1930, and later, five albums in the 1960s. Kessinger lived near where Robert, Robin and Bobby grew up in the Kanawha Valley, and Robin is his great nephew. This trio uses Clark's beautiful arrangements as a foundation for the music they play. Just like Clark Kessinger, who used every technique possible, they continue to explore new and exciting ways to play the great old tunes.

LOC  Captions, transcript, and more information on the Library of Congress Webcasts.

November 16, 2015

Learn to Fiddle Country Style with Tracy Schwarz

Folkways Records FI-8359

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1968
Genre: Non-Music, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Education, Bluegrass, Spoken Word
[Tracklist]
A1 Tuning
A2 The Scale In A
A3 Base And Unison Notes
A4 The Saw Stroke
A5 Learning Cripple Creek With The Saw Stroke
A6 Cripple Creek With More Notes
A7 Double Sring Runs
A8 Saw Stroke Version Of Cripple Creek
A9 The Nashville Shuffle Stroke
A10 Nashville Shuffle Version Of Cripple Creek
A11 The Combined Nashville Shuffle And Saw Strokes
A12 Cripple Creek Using Combined Nashville Shuffle And Saw Strokes
A13 The Long Bow Stroke
A14 Cripple Creek Using Only The Long Bow Stroke
A15 Combining The Long Bow And Saw Strokes
A16 Combination Of Long Bow And Nashville Shuffle Strokes In Old Joe Clark
A17 Combination Of Long Bow Saw And Nashville Shuffle Strokes In Cripple Creek
A18 Unison, And Octave, Notes In G
A19 Leather Britches In G
A20 The Key Of D
A21 Ragtime Annie In D
B1 The Key Of C
B2 The Texas Waggoner In C
B3 Double Stops In G
B4 Double Stops In D
B5 Double Stops In A
B6 Double Stops In C
B7 Country Vibrato
B8 Sliding Into Notes
B9 The Open G And A Tunings
B10 The Black Mt. Blues A Tuning
B11 The Tune Black Mt. Blues
B12 Bonapart's Retreat D Tuning (D Tuning #1)
B13 Bonapart's Retreat
B14 D Tuning #2 And #3
B15 Rocking The Bow
B16 The Jolly Blacksmiths In A
B17 Trills
B18 Soldier's Joy In D With An Old Time Start
B19 Single String Runs
B20 Bluegrass Fiddle In 3/4 Time
B21 Bluegrass Fiddle Lead In 4/4
B22 Fiddle Tune Type Lead In 4/4
B23 Bluegrass Vibrato
B24 The Double Shuffle
B25 Banjo - Fiddle Music
B26 Guitar - Fiddle Music
B27 Guitar - Banjo - Fiddle Band
[Credits]
Tracy Schwarz (fiddle/speaker)
[Notes]
Tracy Schwarz, of New Lost City Ramblers renown, offers instruction on playing the fiddle on this 1965 release. He takes a simple tune (the old-time classic, "Cripple Creek") and walks listeners through different ways to add variations, including adding more notes, drones (playing on two strings), or changing bow strokes. He also demonstrates different techniques such as vibrato. Liner notes include a transcription of the song text, illustrations of scale finger patterns for different musical keys, and an essay by fellow Rambler, John Cohen, on bluegrass, country, and old-time music and their growing popularity in cities and on college campuses.

November 15, 2015

The Sons of the Pioneers

John Edwards Memorial Foundation JEMF-102

Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 1973
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country
[Tracklist]
A1 When Payday Rolls Around
A2 Song Of The Bandit
A3 I Wonder If She Waits For Me Tonight
A4 Ne Ha Nee
A5 The Howl'in Pup
A6 Rocky Mountain Express
A7 Golden Wedding Waltz
A8 South In My Soul
A9 When The Prairie Sun Comes Out Of The Hay
A10 Blow Wind Blow
B1 One More Ride
B2 Hangin' Blues
B3 The Texas Crapshooter
B4 So Long To The Red River Valley
B5 Coyote Serenade
B6 All Through The Night
B7 Love Song Of The Waterfall
B8 Pioneer Mother Of Mine
B9 My Pretty Quadroon
B10 I Grab My Saddle Horn & Blow
[Notes]
The John Edwards Memorial Foundation was incorporated in 1962 as a non-profit organization to promote the study and dissemination of knowledge about American folk music of the 1920s-1940s. John Edwards provided for the Foundation in his 1958 will; it was established at the University of California at Los Angeles.

November 13, 2015

On the South Bound : Lester Flatt & Mac Wiseman

RCA Victor – LSP 4688

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1972
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 Salty Dog Blues (2:09)
A2 Just A Strand From (2:51)
A3 Mama's And Daddy's Little Girl (2:33)
A4 How Lonely Can You Get? (2:28)
A5 I'm Waiting To Hear You Call Me Darling (2:42)
B1 On The Southbound (2:16)
B2 Are You Coming Back To Me (2:16)
B3 You Can't Trust A Friend Anymore (2:25)
B4 Me & Your Memory (2:31)
B5 When You Are Lonely (2:47)
[Original Version]
RCA Victor LSP-4688 (US) 1972
[Credits]
Lester Flatt (guitar/vocals) Mac Wiseman (guitar/vocals) Josh Graves (dobro) Roland White (mandolin/vocals) Haskel McCormick (banjo) Victor Jordan (banjo) Howdy Forrester (fiddle) Paul Warren (fiddle) Hargus Robbins (piano) Don Smith (bass) E.P. Tullock Jr (bass)

November 12, 2015

Roscoe Holcomb / the High Lonesome Sound

Smithsonian Folkways FW-2368

Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1965
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 Swanno Mountain (3:20)
A2 Combs Hotel Burned Down (2:32)
A3 Wandering Boy (4:36)
A4 Hook And Line (1:54)
A5 Barbara Allen Blues (1:31)
A6 Married Life Blues (1:51)
A7 Fair Miss In The Garden (3:37)
A8 Omie Wise (4:36)
A9 Willow Tree (3:02)
B1 Boat's Up The River (3:50)
B2 In The Pines (2:27)
B3 Fox Chase (1:24)
B4 Coney Isle (1:52)
B5 Charles Guitau (1:21)
B6 Free Little Bird (1:59)
B7 Baby Let Your Hair Roll Down (2:33)
B8 Little Bessie (10:14)
[Credits]
Roscoe Holcomb (banjo/guitar/harmonica/vocals)
Produced and edited by John Cohen, Recorded by Peter Bartok on April, 1964
[Notes]
Roscoe Holcomb is a big favorite among musicians and folklorists -- Bob Dylan, for one, is a big fan -- yet it must be said that this is probably too authentic for most listeners to play for pleasure. It's straight from the bone, with high, at times harsh vocals that make no concession to popular clichés to make things easier on the ear. That's one thing which makes the parallel to Dylan easy to see. The banjo playing is impressive, and the anthology is embellished by lengthy liner notes and recollections by John Cohen.

Circle Unbroken - A Gullah Journey from Africa to America


Circle Unbroken – A Gullah Journey from Africa to America is an important, entertaining and educational journey through the roots of our nation’s history. For African Americans in particular, if you have not seen this story and don’t know this history, you are missing a critical piece of your personal identity. UMI has long understood that (our) people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4:6) finally this knowledge is brought credibly and vibrantly to the screen. A must see!”
C. Jeffrey Wright
President and CEO, Urban Ministries, Inc.

November 11, 2015

Carter Family Favorites: Joe and Janette Carter

County Records COUNTY–706

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1966
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country
[Tracklist]
A1 Curtains Of Night
A2 Will You Miss Me
A3 I'm Going Home
A4 Lonesome Blues
A5 Farther On
A6 Kitty And I
B1 Anchored In Love
B2 Waltzing With You
B3 Higher Ground
B4 Let Old Jordan Roll
B5 Ramblin' Man
B6 Sweet Story Of Old
[Credits]
Joe Carter (guitar/vocals) Janette Carter (autoharp/vocals) Leroy Canter (fiddle/guitar)
Liner Notes: Anne Gilbert, Recording: Charles Faurot, Editing: David Grisman, Producer: David Freeman
[Notes]
Recorded January 1966 at Maces Springs, Va.

November 2, 2015

Clarence White And The Kentucky Colonels

Trio Records RA–6362

Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Country: Japan
Released: 1980
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 Alabama Jubilee
A2 I Am A Pilgrim
A3 Billy In The Low Ground
A4 Bury Me Beneath The Willow
A5 Footprints In The Snow
A6 Wildwood Flower
A7 Farewell Blues
A8 When You're Smiling
B1 Prisoner's Song
B2 Good Woman's Love
B3 White-Washed Chimney
B4 Listen To The Mocking Bird
B5 Teardrops In My Eyes
B6 Working On A Building
[Credits]
Clarence White (guitar/vocals) Roland White (mandolin/vocals) Billy Ray Latham (banjo) Roger Bush (bass/guitar/vocals) Bob Worford (banjo) Eric White (bass/vocals)
Design: Susan Marsh, Liner Notes: Russ Barenberg, Photography: David Gahr, Producer: Joseph Robins
[Other Versions]
Rounder Records 0098 (1980)

November 1, 2015

Old Home Place: J.D. Crowe & The New South

Trio Records PA-3072

Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: Japan
Released: 1975
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 Old Home Place (2:42)
A2 Some Old Day (2:25)
A3 Rock Salt & Nails (2:58)
A4 Sally Goodin (3:11)
A5 Ten Degrees 2:13
B1 Nashville Blues (3:23)
B2 You Are What I Am (2:17)
B3 Summer Wages (4:21)
B4 I'm Walkin' (2:05)
B5 Home Sweet Home Revisited (3:17)
B6 Crying Holy (2:11)
[Credits]
J.D. Crowe (banjo/baritone vocals) Tony Rice (guitar/lead vocals) Ricky Skaggs (mandolin/fiddle/viola/tenor vocals) Jerry Douglas (dobro) Bobby Slone (bass/fiddle)
Liner Notes: John Hartford, Photography: John Duvall
[Notes]
Reacorded at Track Recorders, Silver Springs, Md. in Janualy 1975
[Other Versions]
Rounder Records 0044 (1975)