Bluegrass & Old Time Music

[Old San Antone]

Charlie Poole (March 22, 1892 – May 21, 1931) was an American musician, singer and banjo player, as well as the leader of the North Carolina Ramblers, a string band that recorded many popular songs between 1925 and 1930.



Poole was born near the mill town of Franklinville in Randolph County, North Carolina. He was the son of John Philip Poole and Elizabeth Johnson. In 1918, he moved to the town of Spray, now part of Eden. He learned banjo as a youth. He played baseball, and his three-fingered technique was the result of an accident. He bet that he could catch a baseball without a glove. He closed his hand too soon, the ball broke his thumb, and resulted in a permanent arch in his right hand.

Poole bought his first banjo, an Orpheum No. 3 Special, with profits from making moonshine. Later, he appeared in the 1929 catalog of the Gibson Company, promoting their banjo.

He spent much of his adult life working in textile mills.

https://www.youtube.com/v/HgpyFRwEWa4

The best compilation of his recordings is this one:

[Old San Antone]

Eck Robertson & Family



Alexander Campbell "Eck" Robertson (born November 20, 1887 in Delaney, Arkansas, died February 15, 1975 in Borger, Texas) was an American fiddle player, mostly known for commercially recording the first country music songs in 1922 with Henry Gilliland.

Robertson's first record, with his solo "Sallie Gooden" on one side and duet "Arkansaw Traveler" on the other, was released on September 1, 1922, but was not widely circulated until the spring of 1923. Sales figures are not known, but Victor did not promote the record strongly. His next two records were released in 1923 and 1924, but only after the summer of 1923, when Fiddlin' John Carson's recordings on Okeh Records kicked off a boom in old-time country music record sales. In 1925, Victor started using a new electrical recording process, but Robertson's 1922 acoustically made recordings continued to be made available for several years, being listed in "The Catalog of Victor Records 1930".

Robertson approached Victor about recording again, and in 1929 arranged to meet a Victor field recording engineer in Dallas, Texas. This time he included his wife Nettie on guitar, his daughter Daphne on tenor guitar and his son Dueron on tenor banjo. On August 12, 1929 the group recorded four fiddle tunes - "Texas Wagoner", "There's a Brown Skin Gal Down the Road", "Amarillo Waltz" and "Brown Kelly Waltz". On October 10, the Robertson family band returned to Dallas and recorded two fiddle duets with Texas fiddler J. B. Cranfill, "Great Big Taters" and "Run Boy Run". Two additional tunes were recorded that evening, "Apple Blossom" and "My Frog Ain't Got No Blues", but were not issued. The next day, October 11, the band recorded "Brilliancy Medley", released in September 1930, and the ballad "The Island Unknown", released in December 1929. That day the band also recorded three additional sides that were not released - "My Experience on the Ranch" and remakes of "Arkansaw Traveler" and "Sallie Gooden".



A.C. (Eck) Robertson Sallie Gooden VICTOR 18956-A (1922)

https://www.youtube.com/v/O-lYijDB0tU

[Old San Antone]

The bluegrass bandwagon continues to roll in 2001. This collection attempts to capitalize on the breakthrough success of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. Drawn from Rounder's rich catalog, the 19-cut sampler of female singing, fiddling, and picking extends from an era when women were a novelty in this male-dominated music category through the popular crossover ascendance of such contemporary artists (and O Brother favorites) as Alison Krauss and the Cox Family. Harmonies from the likes of Rhonda Vincent and the Stevens sisters soar toward the heavens, while the earthier strains of Hazel Dickens and Ginny Hawker are more reflective of the music's hardscrabble roots. Though Wilma Lee Cooper's "You Tried to Ruin My Name" has all the subtlety of a hog-calling contest, such rawness is about as real as this music gets. --Don McLeese

Opportunistic as the packaging may be, there's no arguing with the quality of the content. Generously packed with outstanding performances by women as stylistically disparate as Hazel Dickens, Claire Lynch, and Kathy Kallick, O Sister is a delightful celebration of several generations of criminally unheralded female bluegrass artists. The highlights are many, but particular standout tracks include Rhonda Vincent's rocking "Lonesome Wind Blues," the hard-edged mountain sound of Phyllis Boyens (backed up by Hazel Dickens and the Johnson Mountain Boys), and the clawhammer banjo-powered "Comin' Down From God" by the relatively unknown Carol Elizabeth Jones. [AllMusic Review by Rick Anderson]

Hazel Dickens was probably the first female singer/musician to break through in the bluegrass world.  Since then, there have been many women who have made great music in the genre.  This recording (there's also a second volume) brings together a number of them in a well-out-together program.

[Old San Antone]

A rare concert recording featuring Ralph Stanley performing at New York's famed Bottom Line club, Ralph Stanley: Live At The Bottom Line, has been released and is in stores and available online now. The live set was recorded at the legendary Big Apple nightclub in 2002, and features many of Stanley's best-known songs, including "Man of Constant Sorrow," and "O Death." He is backed by a host of prestigious musicians on the recording, with Stuart Duncan (violin), James Shelton (guitar), Dennis Crouch (bass), and Mike Compton (mandolin) performing with the bluegrass legend for the special evening.



Live At The Bottom Line Track Listing:
1. O Death
2. Band Introductions
3. Girl from the Greenbriar Shore
4. False-Hearted
5. Henry Lee
6. I'll Remember You Love, In My Prayers
7. Lift Him Up
8. Wild Bill Jones
9. Hemlocks & Primroses
10. Look On and Cry
11. Calling You
12. Pretty Polly
13. Great High Mountain
14. Man of Constant Sorrow
15. Amazing Grace

Really nice live concert with warm sound and featuring Ralph in fine form with a band of great musicians.

[Gurn Blanston]

Bunch of good'uns there, OSA.  I find myself getting rather keen to get to some of those old timey ones, like the Eck Robertson releases.  IMHO, it isn't Bluegrass before Bill Monroe, but even he had to start with something. Kinda like the idea I've seen floated around that Beethoven invented Classical music....  

This one just showed up today:
[asin]B0000002CS[/asin]

Hadn't had time to listen yet, but looking forward to it. Life is short, art is long...

[Old San Antone]

Bunch of good'uns there, OSA.  I find myself getting rather keen to get to some of those old timey ones, like the Eck Robertson releases.  IMHO, it isn't Bluegrass before Bill Monroe, but even he had to start with something. Kinda like the idea I've seen floated around that Beethoven invented Classical music....  

This one just showed up today:
[asin]B0000002CS[/asin]

Hadn't had time to listen yet, but looking forward to it. Life is short, art is long...

I have that High Almosphere and have enjoyed it a lot; hope you do too.   Yep, Bluegrass was Bill Monroe's style of playing old time music and the instrumentation of his band with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs (the "Blue Grass" Boys) 1945-1948, was the template that started the ball rolling.

[Old San Antone]

The Bluegrass Album Band

Bluegrass Album Band was a bluegrass supergroup, founded by Tony Rice and J.D. Crowe in 1980.[1] Originally, there was no intention to build a permanent group and the main reason for the collaboration was to record a solo album for Tony Rice. They found that this cooperation could work and the result was an album called The Bluegrass Album, released in 1981, with 5 more volumes of music to follow.  On September 5, 2012, they announced a reunion show that was held at Bluegrass First Class in Asheville, NC on February 16, 2013.



Past members   
Tony Rice – guitar, vocals
J.D. Crowe – banjo, vocals
Doyle Lawson – mandolin, vocals
Bobby Hicks – fiddle
Jerry Douglas – Dobro, vocals
Vassar Clements – fiddle
Todd Philips – bass
Mark Schatz – bass

Discography
The Bluegrass Album (1981)
Bluegrass Album, Vol. 2 (1982)
Bluegrass Album, Vol. 3 - California Connection (1983)
Bluegrass Album, Vol. 4 (1984)
Bluegrass Album, Vol. 5 - Sweet Sunny South (1989)
Bluegrass Album, Vol. 6 - Bluegrass Instrumentals (1996)
Down the Road: Songs of Flatt and Scruggs (2002; compilation)

I wish these guys would put out another record ...

[Gurn Blanston]

The Bluegrass Album Band

Bluegrass Album Band was a bluegrass supergroup, founded by Tony Rice and J.D. Crowe in 1980.[1] Originally, there was no intention to build a permanent group and the main reason for the collaboration was to record a solo album for Tony Rice. They found that this cooperation could work and the result was an album called The Bluegrass Album, released in 1981, with 5 more volumes of music to follow.  On September 5, 2012, they announced a reunion show that was held at Bluegrass First Class in Asheville, NC on February 16, 2013.



Past members   
Tony Rice – guitar, vocals
J.D. Crowe – banjo, vocals
Doyle Lawson – mandolin, vocals
Bobby Hicks – fiddle
Jerry Douglas – Dobro, vocals
Vassar Clements – fiddle
Todd Philips – bass
Mark Schatz – bass

Discography
The Bluegrass Album (1981)
Bluegrass Album, Vol. 2 (1982)
Bluegrass Album, Vol. 3 - California Connection (1983)
Bluegrass Album, Vol. 4 (1984)
Bluegrass Album, Vol. 5 - Sweet Sunny South (1989)
Bluegrass Album, Vol. 6 - Bluegrass Instrumentals (1996)
Down the Road: Songs of Flatt and Scruggs (2002; compilation)

I wish these guys would put out another record ...

Sweet. That would make a great boxed set... just sayin'.   Vassar Clements. Wow! I've seen videos of him playing, he was in a class of his own! 

[Old San Antone]

Sweet. That would make a great boxed set... just sayin'.   Vassar Clements. Wow! I've seen videos of him playing, he was in a class of his own! 

Tony Rice has a real respect for the tradition and history of Bluegrass and surrounds himself with the best players.  Of course they wouldn't show up if Rice wasn't also an accomplisted singer and guitar player.       Tony Rice has made several records of pure Bluegrass, in a variety of group settings, including one honoring Bill Monroe.  Some of my favorites were two records he made with Norman Blake.  He also did an entire record in bluegrass style of songs by Gordon Lightfoot.  Rice and Peter Rowan have been performing together now for about two-three years and put out one record. 

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Thanks for this great and informative thread.

There is a great series, which originated as a televised documentary from the UK.  Subsequently six volumes each with multiple CDs were released: The Transatlantic Sessions.

I'm interested in this, as I like to explore folk music from both sides of the ocean. Which volume(s) of this series do you most highly recommend? BTW I'm only interested in CDs, not DVDs.

[Old San Antone]

Thanks for this great and informative thread.

I'm interested in this, as I like to explore folk music from both sides of the ocean. Which volume(s) of this series do you most highly recommend? BTW I'm only interested in CDs, not DVDs.

Oh, I can't say which I'd recommend since each CD set includes such a variety of guests most of which I find interesting - but the Wikipedia page lists them all and you could find the one(s) you think most interesting.  It just depends if you like James Taylor more than Emmylou Harris, etc.

Transatlantic Sessions

I listen to them on Spotify and don't know if the CDs are hard to find, but they are a real treat.

[Old San Antone]

The Bristol Sessions are a series of recording sessions held in 1927 in Bristol, Tennessee, considered by some as the "Big Bang" of modern country music.  The recordings were made by Victor Talking Machine Company producer Ralph Peer. Bristol was one of the stops on a two-month, $60,000 trip that took Peer through several major southern cities and yielded important recordings of blues, ragtime, gospel, ballads, topical songs, and string bands.  The Bristol Sessions marked the commercial debuts of Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family.

Wikipedia:
Between 25 July and 5 August 1927, Peer held recording sessions on the third floor of the Taylor-Christian Hat and Glove Company on State Street, which is the state line in Bristol.[9] He placed advertisements in the local newspapers, which did not receive much response aside from artists who had already traveled to New York (such as the Powers Family) or were already known by Stoneman.

Stoneman was the first to record with Peer, on 25 July 1927. He recorded with his wife Hattie, Eck Dunford and Mooney Brewer. Other acts, including the Johnson Brothers vaudeville duo (best known for their Crime of The D'Autremont Brothers) and a church choir, filled out the rest of July. However, these artists were only enough to fill the first week of recordings and Peer needed to fill out his second week.

A newspaper article about one of Stoneman's recordings (Skip To Ma Lou, My Darling), which stressed the $3,600 in royalties that Stoneman had received in 1926 and the $100/day that he was receiving for recording in Bristol, generated much more interest. Dozens of artists went to Bristol, many of whom had never been to Bristol. He scheduled night sessions to accommodate the extra talent, which included Jimmie Rodgers. Rodgers had a disagreement with the band in which he was a member over what name to record under, and so Rodgers recorded solo and the band recorded as the Tenneva Ramblers. Rodgers and the band found out about the sessions only when they stayed at the boarding house run by the mother of one band member.

The arrival of the Carter Family was more expected. Ralph Peer had corresponded with the family earlier in the summer, but later wrote that "he was still surprised to see them," primarily due to their appearance. "They wander in," Peer told Lillian Borgeson during a series of interviews in 1959. "He's dressed in overalls and the women are country women from way back there. They looked like hillbillies. But as soon as I heard Sara's voice, that was it. I knew it was going to be wonderful." The Carters recorded four songs on the second Monday of the sessions and two the next day. On 1 August, Sara sang lead while playing autoharp, A.P. sang bass, and 18-year-old Maybelle played guitar with an unusual and subsequently influential style that allowed her to provide both melody and rhythm. The Victor Company released the first Carter Family record, "Poor Orphan Child" and "The Wandering Boy," on 4 November 1927.

The 1927 sessions recorded 76 songs, recorded by 19 performers or performing groups.

The Bear Family has released an important 5CD compilation of these sessions:




They have also released a remarkable box of all of the Carter Family recordings:




Unfortunately the Jimmie Rodgers box has been deleted and is no longer available, unless from a third party seller:



The Bear Family boxes are produced with 100+ page books documenting the music and history of the musicians and sessions and the production values are high, hence they can be expensive.  But for people interested in these musicians and recordings they were well worth the investment.

Sony has released two volumes in 2019 of the Carter Family containing about 160 tracks (might only be available as downloads). 



Jimmie Rodgers recordings are also available Sony (might only be available as downloads).



It is generally thought that the music recorded by these two acts directly led to the development of Bluegrass, Southern Gospel and Country music.   The Carter Family led to string band music which led to Bluegrass and because many of theri songs were religious in nature, it led to the Southern Gospel tradition.  Jimmie Rodgers led to honky-tonk singers which were an early manifestation of Country music and Jimmie Rodgers created the template for county song-writing, influencing Ernest Tubb, Merle Haggard, and many others.

[Old San Antone]

The concept: Recast a big bunch of bluegrass and rock 'n' roll favorites in a variety of old-time country styles, using an array of vintage instruments. In the hands of the wrong musicians, that could be disastrous, but David Grisman, John Hartford and Mike Seeger — all masters of traditional music — get the job done nicely. Their love for (and knowledge of) both the material and the styles lifts the effort well clear of novelty-only status.

Retrograss is a bluegrass album by David Grisman, John Hartford and Mike Seeger. It was released on the Acoustic Disc record label in 1999. Retrograss received a Grammy nomination in the Traditional Folk Album category in 2000.



John Hartford was a one-of-a-kind American musician.  I think of him as the Mark Twain of vernacular music.  Here he is joined by David Grisman and Mike Seeger, two more unique musicians.  What a wonderful record they left us!  They managed to take songs like Maggie's Farm, When I'm Sixty-Four and Hound Dog and turn them into traditional sounding Bluegrass tunes.

Track listing
    "My Walking Shoes" (Jimmy Martin) – 2:49
    "Hound Dawg" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 2:39
    "Maggie's Farm" (Bob Dylan) – 2:48
    "Memphis" (Chuck Berry) – 2:44
    "Flint Hill Special" (Earl Scruggs) – 2:32
    "The Old Home Place" (Mitch Jayne, Dean Webb) – 3:02
    "Uncle Pen" (Bill Monroe) – 3:02
    "Air Mail Special on the Fly" (Godson, Rusk) – 2:14
    "Rocky Top" (Boudleaux Bryant, Felice Bryant) – 3:30
    "Room at the Stop of the Stair" (Randall Hylton) – 2:14
    "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" (Steve Cropper, Otis Redding) – 2:38
    "Jerusalem Ridge" (Monroe) – 3:39
    "Windy Mountain" (Curley Ray Cline) – 3:07
    "Maybellene" (Berry) – 2:40
    "Blue Ridge Cabin Home" (Louise Certain, Gladys Stacey) – 3:16
    "Rocky Road Blues" (Monroe) – 3:42
    "When I'm Sixty-Four" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 7:51

Personnel
    David Grisman – banjo, bass, guitar, mandolin, vocals, tenor ukulele
    John Hartford – banjo, fiddle, guitar, autoharp, vocals, 5-string banjo
    Mike Seeger – banjo, fiddle, guitar, harmonica, mandolin, autoharp, Jew's harp, vocals
    Sam Grisman – double bass

[Gurn Blanston]

Hartford used to be pretty commercially well-known, I used to see him on television back in the late '60's/early '70's, playing with (IIRC) Glen Campbell, for whom he wrote 'Gentle on my Mind'. I had kinda lost track of him for 40 years or so, it's nice to see he has been hanging in there and doing some pretty great things musically.

I can see that building up any sort of decent collection is going to be time & $$$ intensive, but I think if I go the FLAC/PDF route, I can maybe do OK. Man, there is a lot out there!! 

[Old San Antone]

Hartford used to be pretty commercially well-known, I used to see him on television back in the late '60's/early '70's, playing with (IIRC) Glen Campbell, for whom he wrote 'Gentle on my Mind'. I had kinda lost track of him for 40 years or so, it's nice to see he has been hanging in there and doing some pretty great things musically.

I can see that building up any sort of decent collection is going to be time & $$$ intensive, but I think if I go the FLAC/PDF route, I can maybe do OK. Man, there is a lot out there!! 

Far be it from me to instigate another buying spree and take funds away from Haydn !     But, there is a rich history of this music and plenty of great recordings documenting it.  Speaking of which, I thought I'd mention a few books.

This is the primary historical text by Neil Rosenberg

[asin]0252072456[/asin]

And a few biographies.

[asin]B009PQ8QG0[/asin]
[asin]B00AK78QMC[/asin]
[asin]B002SAUCCQ[/asin]
[asin]B00B08XD1E[/asin]



We lost John in 2001.  He was a well-respected banjo and fiddle player, as well as raconteur, who knew this music backwards - and the composer of "Gentle on My Mind", a really good song.

[Old San Antone]

"Angel Band" is an American gospel music song. The lyrics – a poem written in common metre – were originally titled "My Latest Sun Is Sinking Fast," and were written by Jefferson Hascall (sometimes found as Haskell in hymnals). The lyric was first set in J. W. Dadmun's tunebook The Melodeon in 1860, to a tune by Dadmun. These words, being in common metre, could be sung to many hymn tunes, but the tune now universally associated them is by William Batchelder Bradbury, and was published in Bradbury's Golden Shower of S.S. Melodies in 1862. Bradbury's song was originally titled "The Land of Beulah." "Angel Band" became widely known in the 19th century, both in folk traditions and in published form, e.g. William Walker's Christian Harmony of 1866, and has been recorded by many artists, probably most famously by the Stanley Brothers, and Emmylou Harris. The Stanley Brothers version is included on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack album (2000). [Wikipedia]

https://www.youtube.com/v/WIHFxIQfSxc

Emmylou Harris devoted one of her albums to an acoustic collection of gospel songs, which she called Angel Band, one of her records that I enjoy more than others.



    Emmylou Harris – acoustic guitar, arranger, lead vocals
    Mike Auldridge – dobro
    Jerry Douglas – dobro
    Vince Gill – acoustic guitar, mandolin, tenor vocals
    Emory Gordy Jr. – acoustic guitar, arranger, bass vocals, bass guitar
    Carl Jackson – acoustic guitar, baritone vocals
    Mark O'Connor – fiddle, viola, mandola

https://www.youtube.com/v/L8ONNmapmDw

[Old San Antone]

I've been listening to Del McCoury today. 

Delano Floyd McCoury (born February 1, 1939) is an American bluegrass musician. As leader of the Del McCoury Band, he plays guitar and sings lead vocals along with his two sons, Ronnie McCoury and Rob McCoury, who play mandolin and banjo respectively.  McCoury has had a long career in bluegrass. Although originally hired as banjo player, he sang lead vocals and played rhythm guitar for Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in 1963, with whom he first appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. [Wikipedia]

In 2009 he released a multi-CD collection of 32 newly recorded songs he had previously recorded as well as 18 from his recent releases: 50 songs, covering 50 years in the business.





Other notable recordings include:





And two collaborative recordings of which he was an important part:





David Grisman once said that Bluegrass had been perfected long ago by Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs and the Stanley Brothers.  I'd say that Del McCoury has done a masterful job in preserving the music as well making a unique contribution while not compromising the tradition.

[Gurn Blanston]

I've been listening to McCoury too, this album finally arrived today:



Very nice playing. Some adapted tunes, not originally Bluegrass but they converted well. Nice!

This one arrived too, and I finally got to play it. This is really good. I hadn't heard Ralph singing from that long ago, his voice was really interesting.  I liked the instrumental tunes on here especially, there are a couple of breakdown (who don't love a good breakdown, I ask you!?). Also, the most original sounding version of Orange Blossom Special I ever heard. They really kick it! 


Which made me go take a look at other versions, where I found this little gem from Rhonda Vincent et al. Tell you what, that's some fine fiddlers there, but that chunky guy who leads off is something special! Any thoughts on a Rhonda Vincent CD?

https://www.youtube.com/v/ztmg6lZayrE

[FelixSkodi]

Doodle Thrower and Golden River Grass playing Mountain Dew: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZUoPualHW0 (recorded live by Alan Lomax)

Lead Belly playing Take this Hammer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=280ZECc773g

[Gurn Blanston]

Doodle Thrower and Golden River Grass playing Mountain Dew: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZUoPualHW0 (recorded live by Alan Lomax)

Lead Belly playing Take this Hammer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=280ZECc773g

That festival they were playing at looks like it would have been a great time. I really like the classic tunes, and that guy (Doodle) could play the harmonica for sure!