June 28, 2015

Traditional Country Classics 1927-1929


Historical Records HLP-8003
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 1968
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country
[Tracklist]
A1 Leather Breeches: Earl Johnson (fiddle/vocals) Red Henderson (banjo)
A2 What You Gonna' Do With The Baby: Grayson & Whitter, G.B. Grayson (fiddle/vocals) Henry Whitter (guitar/vocals)
A3 Gray Eagle: Taylors' Kentucky Boys, Marion Underwood (banjo) Jim Booker (fiddle)
A4 Kenney Wagner's Surrender: Ernest V. Stoneman (guitar/harmonica/vocals) Kahle Brewer (fiddle)
A5 Honeysuckle Time: Paul Miles (banjo/vocals) Guy Brooks (fiddle) A.P. Thompson (guitar/vocals) Bob Cranford (harmonica)
A6 Sugar Hill: George Crockett (banjo/vocals)
A7 Georgia Wobble Blues: Carrol County Ramblers, Unknown Artists (banjo/fiddle/vocals)
B1 Red Hot B Take Me Back To The Sweet Sunny South: DeCosta Woltz's Southern Broadcasters, DeCosta Woltz (banjo) Frank Jenkins, Ben Jarrell (vocals)
B4 ust Keep Waiting Till' the Good Time Comes: North Carolina Ramblers, Charlie Poole (banjo/vocals) Lonnie Austin (fiddle) Roy Harvey (guitar)
B5 She's A Flower From the Fields of Alabama: Burnett & Rutherford, Dick Burnett (banjo/vocals) Leonard Rutherford (fiddle/vocals)
B6 Oh Molly Lye Soap Breakdown: Dilly and his Dill Pickles, Pink Lindsey (bass) Bill Kiker (fiddle) Shorty Lindsey (mandolin banjo) Seven Foot Dilly (vocals)
[Credits]
Compiled by: Joe Bussard, Jr., Cover: Fred Romary, Liner Notes: Richard Nevins, Produce: Arnold S. Caplin

June 27, 2015

Women of These Hills - 3 Cultures of Appalachia - 2000


Three Appalachian women in their 80's share their stories of growing up in the rural regions of the Appalachian mountains. Take a glimpse into their lives as they share their memories of growing up not only as mountain women, but also as Cherokee, Scots-Irish and African-American women. Produced in 2000.

June 26, 2015

Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers: Old Time Songs Recorded from 1925-1930

County Records COUNTY-505

Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released:
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country
[Tracklist]
A1 White House Blues
A2 Sweet Sunny South
A3 Shootin' Creek
A4 He Rambled
A5 The Letter That Never Came
A6 Sweet Sixteen
B1 Leaving Home
B2 Took My Gal A-Walkin'
B3 Ramblin' Blues
B4 Mountain Reel
B5 Don't Let Your Deal Go Down
B6 Take A Drink On Me
[Credits]
Charlie Poole (banjo/vocals) Lonnie Austin or Posey Rorer (fiddle) Norman Woodlieff or Roy Harvey (guitar)
Remastering: Peter Siegel, Producer: Dave Freeman
[Notes]
Charlie Poole was one of the founding fathers of recorded country music. His distinctive voice and innovative banjo playing have made Poole legendary. His band, The North Carolina Ramblers featured equally accomplished musicians. Charlie was born in 1892, in North Carolina. Around 1900 his family moved to Haw River in search of mill work. Charlie worked in the mill from an early age. Hours were long and wages were poor - $3 a week is cited. As to music, he appears to have made himself a banjo out of a gourd. Once at work he bought a proper instrument. In 1912 he married. The relationship failed, due to his rambling habits, but did produce a son. On one of his rambling jaunts, around 1917, he met fiddle player Posey Rorer. The third member of what would become the North Carolina Ramblers was guitarist Norman Woodlief. Poole claimed they'd recorded at a field session for OKeh in 1925 but no discs have been found. In July 1925, the three travelled to New York to cut four sides for Columbia. Poole would remain with the label until his final recording session. The four pieces cut at the initial Columbia session are presented here in the order they were cut but Columbia issued Can I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight b/w Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues. The sales were 102,000 at a time when 5000 was reckoned a good seller and 20,000 a hit. The Ramblers took up music full time. At some point Woodlief left the group although he did perform with them occasionally. The fine guitarist Roy Harvey replaced him. With their first issues a success Columbia wanted the Ramblers back in the studios - which Charlie was disinclined to do. He may have been dissatisfied with his royalties and felt the longer he ignored Columbia's pleadings the better the terms he'd get. In fact he did return often to the studio - producing in the process some of the finest music of the era. His waywardness persisted. He died in 1931 after a drinking bout that allegedly had lasted three months.

June 25, 2015

30 APPALACHIAN BLUEGRASS CLASSICS: Rural Rhythm Records


POWER PICKS is a BEST OF series and contains Rural Rhythm's most powerful classic song performances by many Bluegrass legends and pioneers from the heyday of Bluegrass music! This Heritage Collection title contains classic original master performances culled from Rural Rhythm’s treasure trove of over 4,000 original masters dating back to 1955. If you like traditional Bluegrass music and want a collection of classic songs performed by the Legends & Pioneers of Bluegrass, then the Rural Rhythm Heritage Collection series is right for you. The songs were very familiar to our ancestors, and thanks to these traditional Bluegrass musicians, they’re with us still.
  1. Little Maggie - Frosty Mountain Boys
  2. Deep Elm Blues - Jim Greer & The Mac-O-Chee Valley Folks
  3. Uncle Pen - Ernie & Mack With The Bluegrass Cut-Ups
  4. Martin & The Coys - Hylo Brown & The Blue Ridge Mountain Boys
  5. Rabbit In The Log - Log Cabin Boys
  6. Yonder Comes The Sheriff - Bob Ensign & The Stump Jumpers
  7. When It's Time For The Whippoorwill To Sing - Jim Greer & The Mac-O-Chee Valley Folks
  8. Cripple Creek - Frosty Mountain Boys
  9. Whoa, Mule Whoa - J. E. Mainer & The Mountaineers ( Featuring Morris Herbert)
  10. If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again - Hylo Brown & The Timberliners
  11. Gathering Flowers From The Hillside - James Wall
  12. Foggy Mountain Top - Raymond Fairchld
  13. Tupelo County Jail - Red Smiley & The Bluegrass Cut-Ups
  14. Rolling In My Sweet Baby’s Arms - Frosty Mountain Boys
  15. Shady Grove - J.E. Mainer & Red Smiley With The Bluegrass Cut-Ups
  16. Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down - Jim Greer & The Mac-O-Chee Valley Folks
  17. Bring A Little Water Sylvie - Hylo Brown & The Timberliners
  18. Black Eyed Susan - Tater Tate
  19. My Clinch Mountain Home - James Wall
  20. Why Do You Wonder - Ernie & Mack With The Bluegrass Cut-Ups
  21. John Hardy - Jim Greer & The Mac-O-Chee Valley Folks
  22. Down In The Willow Garden - Earl Taylor & Jim Mccall With The Stoney Mountain Boys
  23. Sweet Fern - Hylo Brown & The Timberliners
  24. John Henry - Red White & His Dixie Blue Grass Band
  25. I Wonder How The Old Folks Are At Hom - Ernie & Mack With The Stoney Mountain Boys
  26. Pallet On The Floor - J.E. Mainer & The Mountaineers ( Featuring Morris Herbert)
  27. Plant Some Flowers By My Grave - Red Smiley & The Bluegrass Cut-Ups
  28. I'll Be All Smiles Tonight - Hylo Brown
  29. Chruch In The Wildwoods - Jim Greer & The Mac-O-Chee Valley Folks
  30. Old Mountain Dew - Raymond Fairchild

June 24, 2015

Afro-American Work Songs in a Texas Prison: Pete and Toshi Seeger


Toshi & Pete Seeger 1992
Producers: Pete and Toshi Seeger with Bruce Jackson
Cinematographer: Daniel Seeger
Sound: Pete Seeger
Editing: Daniel Seeger
Copyright: Folklore Research Films, Inc, March 1966
Original format: Film 16mm, 1966 29 minutes, Black and White
Distributor: Vestapol

Pete Seeger and Toshi Seeger, their son Daniel, and folklorist Bruce Jackson visited a Texas prison in Huntsville in March of 1966 and produced this rare document of of work songs by inmates of the Ellis Unit. Worksongs helped African American prisoners survive the grueling work demanded of them. With mechanization and integration, worksongs like these died out shortly after this film was made. Bruce Jackson's book Wake Up Dead Man (University of Georgia Press) is a highly recommended study of work songs in Texas prisons.

June 23, 2015

Appalachian Journey by Alan Lomax


Alan Lomax
Filmmaker: Alan Lomax
Producer: Mike Dibb, Penny Forster
Cinematographer: Jim Brown, Nicholas Echeverria
Sound: Jack Gordon, Robert Zieniewicz
Editing: Mark Tobin, Howard Sharp with Jenny Campbell
Copyright: 1991, Association for Cultural Equity
Distributor: Media_Generation

Appalachian Journey is one of five films made from footage that Alan Lomax shot between 1978 and 1985 for the PBS American Patchwork series (1991). It offers songs, dances, stories, and religious rituals of the Southern Appalachians. Preachers, singers, fiddlers, banjo pickers, moonshiners, cloggers, and square dancers recount the good times and the hard times of rural life there. Performers include Tommy Jarrell, Janette Carter, Ray and Stanley Hicks, Frank Proffitt Jr., Sheila Kay Adams, Nimrod Workman and Phyllis Boyens, Raymond Fairchild, and others, with a bonus of a few African-Americans from the North Carolina Piedmont. Narrated by Alan Lomax. The Association for Cultural Equity’s Alan Lomax Archive channel on YouTube additionally streams outtakes from this film: other strong performances by Sheila Kay Adams, Dellie Norton, and Cas Wallin, Lawrence Eller, the Hickses, Algia Mae Hinton and John Dee Holeman, Tommy Jarrell, John Doodle”Thrower, and Nimrod Workman.

June 22, 2015

Festival Of American Folklife Vol.1 Stereo

Smithsonian Institution SI-100

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1971 (?)
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: World
[Tracklist]
A1 The Old Man and The Old Woman: The Riendeau Family (1:35)
A2 Old Rattler: Grandpa Jones (1:36)
A3 Fisher's Hornpipe, Rickett's Hornpipe, Chicken Reel: Chet Parker (1:30)
A4 Tambor De Yuca: The Rodriguez Brothers (7:06)
A5 Long Distance Call: The Muddy Waters Blues Band (7:06)
A6 Sjaj Mjesece: Aliquippa Tamburitzans (3:15)
A7 What Is The Color of the Soul of Man: Jimmy Driftwood (4:12)
B1 Carmela Reno Con Chinto: Antonio Mosquera (2:42)
B2 Bosco Stomp: Cajun Bands, Elton, Basile, Eunice And Mamou, La. (3:35)
B3 'T Ain't But Me One: Bernice Reagon (2:10)
B4 Jim and John: Ed, G. D. and Lonnie Young (3:26)
B5 I Know My Lord's Gonna Lead Me Out: The Monroe Brothers (1:25)
B6 Uncle Pen: Bill Monroe & The Blue Grass Boys (2:22)
B7 Cherry Ball Blues: Skip James (2:43)
B8 Cadirimin Ustune (The Top of My Tent): Turkish Cabaret Ensemble (3:12)
B9 Hindustan: Billie & Dede Pierce and Preservation Hall Band (2:42)
[Notes]
Recorded in Washington, D.C, 1967-69. The Festival of American Folklife, now the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, was initiated in 1967 and occurs annually over the July 4th weekend on the Mall, Washington, D.C. The 1968 festival was cosponsored by the Institute of Texan Cultures and highlighted Texas culture, including arts, crafts, agriculture, music and foods.

June 20, 2015

Scandinavian Folk Music in Minnesota


Sound: Gunhild Oebakken Pedersen
Editing: Gunhild Oeibakken Pedersen
Copyright: No copyright, Creative Common
Original format: DV Mini, 2014

Scandanavian Folk Music in Minnesota celebrates the musical and cultural legacy that grew out of the Scandinavian immigration to Minnesota- a legacy that is still being practiced by Scandinavian descendants and American musicians alike. By documenting these people, their work and dedication to their heritage, we are able to see the mutual American and Scandinavian musical history being acknowledged through inspiration, practicing and renewal of Scandinavian folk music.

June 17, 2015

All Shook Up: Mississippi Roots of American Popular Music


An exhibit of The Mississippi State Historical Museum, February 18 - August 31, 1990.
Christine Wilson, Curator
Patti C. Black, Director
Elbert R. Hilliard, Director
"The earliest and finest blues musicians came out of Mississippi. Eric Clapton summed that up when he called Muddy Waters "my father". And most people know that Elvis, called by some the greatest single influence on popular culture in the twentieth century, was born and bred in Mississippi..."

June 16, 2015

More Golden Gems From The Original Carter Family

RCA Camden CAS-2554 (e)

Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1972
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country
[Tracklist]
A1 Little Log Cabin By The Sea (2:47)
A2 Anchored In Love (2:45)
A3 Little Darling, Pal Of Mine (3:12)
A4 I'll Be Home Some Day (2:30)
A5 I Have No One To Love Me (But The Sailor On The Deep Blue Sea) (2:49)
B1 Will The Roses Bloom In Heaven (3:15)
B2 Hello, Central! Give Me Heaven (3:28)
B3 Sunshine In The Shadows (2:45)
B4 I Will Never Marry (2:52)
B5 There's No Hiding Place Down Here (2:53)
[Credits]
Maybelle Carter (vocals/guitar) Sara Carter (vocals/guitar/autoharp) A.P. Carter (vocals)
Liner Notes: Gary Giddins
[Notes]
Recordings from 1927 - 1934

June 15, 2015

Fields Ward and His Buck Mountain Band: Early Country Music

Historical Records HLP-8001

Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released:
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country, Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 Way Down In North Carolina
A2 Ain't That Trouble In Mind
A3 The Sweetest Way Home
A4 My Only Sweetheart
A5 Goddbye Little Bonnie
A6 Watch And Pray
A7 The New River Train
A8 Those Cruel Slavery Days
B1 I Got A Bulldog
B2 Say Darling Say
B3 John Hardy
B4 No One Loves You As I Do
B5 The Birds Are Returning
B6 Tie Up Those Broken Chrods
B7 You Must Be A Lover Of The Lord
B8 I Am Gonna Marry That Pretty Little Girl
[Credits]
Sampson Ward (banjo) Fields Ward (guitar/vocals) Eck Dunford (fiddle) Ernest V. Stoneman (guitar/autoharp/vocals)
Liner Notes: Fields Ward, Producer: Arnold S. Caplin, Engineer: Paul Cady
[Notes]
Recorded March 12-16, 1929, Richmond, Indiana.

June 14, 2015

Athabascan Old-Time Fiddle Music in Fairbanks



The Athabascan Fiddle Festival in Fairbanks had its first show 31 years ago, in 1983. Since then the festival has grown, and seen changes in the music, but is still thriving. The event is inter-generational, and it is not uncommon to see an elder and dancing with a young teenager. The dance feels like a throwback to the Gold Rush days, when such gatherings really started going gangbusters.
The popular dances back then were reels and jigs, but over the years other dances entered the mix: Jitterbug, swing, two-step, waltz and foxtrot. But the old days are not lost. Today's dances feature a jigging competition, in which dancers sport their best beaded mukluks and moosehide regalia, and dance an Irish-inspired jig that a someone from the 19th century would recognize.

June 13, 2015

American Moonshine & Prohibition : The New Lost City Ramblers

Folkways Records FH-5263

Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1962
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass, Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 Virginia Bootlegger (3:02)
A2 Kentucky Bootlegger (2:09)
A3 Bootlegger's Story (2:42)
A4 Drunken Driver (2:25)
A5 Moonshiner (3:10)
A6 Drunkard's Hiccups (3:13)
A7 I Saw A Man At The Close Of Day (3:10)
A8 Goodbye Old Booze (3:04)
B1 Prohibition Is A Failure (3:01)
B2 Old Home Brew (2:27)
B3 I've Still Got 99 (3:20)
B4 Whiskey Seller (2:22)
B5 Teetotals (1:02)
B6 Al Smith For President (3:15)
B7 Intoxicated Rat (2:55)
B8 Wreck On The Highway (2:52)
B9 Down To The Stillhouse To Get A Little Cider (1:44)
[Credits]
The New Lost City Ramblers: John Cohen (vocals/autoharp/kazoo/banjo/guitar/mandolin) Mike Seeger (vocals/fiddle/banjo/guitar/mandolin) Tom Paley (vocals/guitar/steel guitar/banjo/dobro)
[Notes]
Longtime Folkways recording artists The New Lost City Ramblers perform 17 period songs about liquor, bootlegging, and Prohibition (1917–1933) in the traditional style of southern mountain string bands. As Rambler member Mike Seeger observes in the liner notes, many of the songs appear to have been written by people who knew drink well and were familiar with its effects. Several of the songs consist of new lyrics commemorating the virtues or evils of alcohol set to familiar melodies of the time. Rambler member John Cohen also contributed to the liner notes, which include an informal history of prohibition in America as well as song lyrics and photos.

June 12, 2015

Billy Cox: The Dixie Song Bird

Kanawha Records KANAWHA-305

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1967
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 Battle Axe and the Devil
A2 The Fiddling Soldier
A3 Franklin D. Roosevelt's Back Again
A4 Democratic Donkey
A5 Filipino Baby
A6 Old Pinto and Me
A7 Alimony Woman
A8 Blind Baggage Blues
B1 Dang My Pop Eyed Soul
B2 Sweet Eloise
B3 Blue and Low
B3 Jailer's Daughter
B4 Rolling Pin Woman
B5 Wino's Last Prayer
B6 Temple of Sin
B7 They Sent Her Gun to War
B8 Browns Ferry Blues
[Credits]
Billy Cox (guitar/harmonica/vocals)
[Notes]
Billy Cox (1897–1968) wrote "Franklin D. Roosevelt's Back Again" when Roosevelt was re-elected in November 1936 and recorded it a week after the election.

June 9, 2015

The Charles River Valley Boys: Bluegrass and Old Timey Music

Prestige Folklore FL-14017

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1963
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 Rocky Island (3:27)
A2 White Dove (3:24)
A3 Front Porch Backstep (2:51)
A4 Flying Saucers 2:03
A5 Away Out On The Mountain (3:04)
A6 Foggy Foggy Dew (2:24)
A7 Easy Winner (1:44)
A8 Leavin' Home (2:57)
B1 The Auctioneer (2:56)
B2 Victim To The Tomb (3:19)
B3 Crazy Creek (2:23)
B4 Baby-O (2:39)
B5 Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me (2:27)
B6 Soldier's Joy (2:14)
B7 Oh Me, Oh My 2:37
B8 Short Life Of Trouble (2:44)
[Credits]
Bob Siggins (banjo) Ethan Signer (mandolin/fiddle) John Cooke (guitar) Fritz Richmond (washtub bass)
Liner Notes by Ethan Signer, Recorded by Stephen B. Fassette and Paul A. Rothchild
[Notes]
One has the tendency to relate certain types of music to certain record labels. Prestige, for instance, is known for its jazz roster. It comes as a surprise, then, to the post-millennium listener when the label reissues roots music recorded during the 1960s. But it shouldn't. Once upon a time, Prestige worked side-by-side with Vanguard and Folkways to bring LP buyers the best in folk-based music. The Charles River Valley Boys were born in the green pastures of Yale and Harvard in 1959 and blossomed into a crack outfit of down-home pickers. Bluegrass and Old Timey Music originates from two albums recorded by the group in 1962 and 1964, the first known by the same title, the second by The Charles River Valley Boys With Tex Logan. With traditional material, high-lonesome vocals, and fancy picking, a listener would never guess that Bob Siggins, John Cooke, Fritz Richmond, and Joe Val were anything but the real deal. The band's version of "White Dove" is every bit as raw as the Stanley Brothers' take, while "Uncle Pen" pays sincere respect to the father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe. The amazing thing about these recordings is how authentic they sound. Many accused young musicians involved in the folk revival of mimicking the old styles but failing to grasp traditional music at a deeper level. Again and again, the Charles River Valley Boys offer felt versions of classic bluegrass repertoire ("Angel Band," "Away Out on the Mountain"). Bluegrass and Old Timey Music offers a great intro to the Charles River Boys and shows how good revival bluegrass could be. (AllMusic Review by Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.)

June 7, 2015

Songs From The Depression: The New Lost City Ramblers

Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: United States
Released: 1959
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk, Country
[Tracklist]
A1 No Depression In Heaven (3:00)
A2 There'll Be No Distinction There (3:00)
A3 Breadline Blues (2:37)
A4 White House Blues (3:10)
A5 Franklin Roosevelt's Back Again (2:21)
A6 How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live (3:35)
A7 Keep Moving (2:31)
A8 Taxes On The Farmer Feeds Us All (3:14)
A9 Serves Them Fine (2:12)
B1 NRA Blues (3:02)
B2 Death Of The Blue Eagle (2:10)
B3 Join The C.I.O. (2:43)
B4 Old Age Pension Check (2:19)
B5 Sales Tax On The Women (3:15)
B6 Wrecks Of The Tennessee Gravy Train (3:13)
B7 Loveless C.C.C. (2:13)
B8 Boys, My Money's All Gone (1:42)
B9 All I Got's Gone (3:10)
[Credits]
Mike Seeger (vocals/fiddle/guitar/harmonica/mandolin/banjo) John Cohen (vocals/guitar/banjo) Tom Paley (vocals/guitar/banjo/steel guitar)
Cover Photo: Ben Shahn (FSA), Design: Sheldon Brody
[Notes]
In the traditional string band style, longtime Folkways recording artists The New Lost City Ramblers offer up 18 topical songs written by country singers during the dark days of the Great Depression. Many of the songs are from commercial recordings, mostly from the South, and field recordings made during the Farm Resettlement Program; they illustrate the economic and social depression that affected this area, often long after prosperity began to return to American's urban centers. Band members Tom Paley, John Cohen, and Mike Seeger contributed to the liner notes, which contain background information on the Great Depression as well as song lyrics.

June 6, 2015

Jean Leaves Home: Michael Palmieri


In 2006, Jean Ritchie invited us to her home to read to us from her memoir "Singing Family of the Cumberlands". Rest in Peace, Jean 1922-2015, by Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher.

Fiddlin' John Carson & Moonshine Kate: The Old Hen Cackled And The Rooster's Gonna Crow

Rounder Records‎– 1003

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Remastered
Country: US
Released: 1973
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country
[Tracklist]
A1 The Little Old Log Cabin In The Lane (ca. June, 1923)
A2 There's A Hard Time Coming (June 24, 1925)
A3 It's A Shame To Whip Your Wife On Sunday (March 17, 1927)
A4 The Old Hen Cackled And The Rooster's Gonna Crow (ca. June, 1923)
A5 The Bachelor's Hall (ca. December, 1925)
A6 The Smoke Goes Out The Chimney Just The Same (December 17, 1929)
A7 Whatcha Gonna Do When Your Licker Gives Out? (October 11, 1927)
A8 Georgia's Three-Dollar Tag (February 27, 1934)
B1 Do Round My Lindy (ca. December, 1925)
B2 The Honest Farmer (June 24, 1925)
B3 Gonna Swing On The Golden Gate (October 10, 1927)
B4 Corn Licker And Barbecue - Part Two (December 17, 1929)
B5 I'm Nine Hundred Miles From Home (August 27, 1924)
B6 I'm Glad My Wife's In Europe (August 27, 1924)
B7 Sugar In The Gourd (ca. March, 1924)
B8 Engineer On The Mogull (October 10, 1927)
[Credits]
Fiddlin' John Carson (vocals/fiddle) Moonshine Kate (vocals/guitar/banjo)
Design: Carole Wilson, Mark Wilson, Photography: Joe Wilson, Remaster: Stoughton
[Notes]
Fiddlin' John Carson This LP Record was released by Rounder Records 1003 in 1973. Fiddlin' John Carson is featured with Moonshine Kate and Earl Johnson and The Virgina Reelers The track listing includes: The Little Old Log Cabin In The Lane*There's A Hard Time Coming*It's A Shame To Whip Your Wife On Sunday*The Old Hen Cackled and The Rooster's Going To Crow*The Bachelor's Hall*The Smoke Goes Out The CHimney Just The Same*Whatcha Gonna Do When The Licker Gives Out?*Georgia's Three-Dollar Tag*Do ROund My Lindy*The Honest Farmer*Gonna Swing On The Golden Gate*Corn Licker & The Barbecue*I'm 900 Miles From Home*I'm Glad My Wife's In Europe*Sugar In The Gourd*Engineer On The Mogul This album cover minor wear with no seam splits and is graded "VG+" -- the vinyl is clean and is graded as "M-". All Grading is visual unless other wise noted: NEW: Still factory sealed…brand new product M-: Mint minus…used product in near new condition EX: Excellent…used product with minor flaws not affecting play VG: Very Good…used product with some damage possibly audible G: Good…used product that will play, but not with passable quality.

June 5, 2015

Thank you, Jean Ritchie

Jean Ritchie, recording session, NYC, ca. 1959.
Photo by Ray Sullivan for Photo Sound Associates. Ron Cohen Collection (20239), Southern Folklife Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill. http://blogs.lib.unc.edu/sfc/#sthash.7mBsZ6nb.dpuf

Jean Ritchie–singer, scholar, songwriter, activist, Kentuckian, “The Mother of Folk”–passed away June 1 at the age of 92. We wanted to share some images of Ritchie in remembrance of her life and in honor of her vitally important contributions to the promotion and preservation of traditional music in Appalachia, America, and beyond. Ray Sullivan of the Photo Sound Associates team in New York City documented Ritchie in the late 1950s, recording herself in a small space on an open reel tape machine and performing at a concert of the Folksingers Guild. From the look on Ritchie’s face, it must have been a good session. Following are a few images from the Southern Folk Cultural Revival Project–including SFCRP founder Anne Romaine, Mike Seeger, Doc Watson, Rosa Lee Watson, Bessie Jones, and more–with whom Ritchie would occasionally tour.

Jean Ritchie, recorded at Renfro Valley Folk Festival, Renfro Valley, Kentucky, April 1946. 12 acetate disc, FD_0501, in the Artus Moser Papers (20004), Southern Folklife Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill. Finally, for listening we pulled out a special recording of Ritchie from the Artus Moser Papers (20004). Ritchie was a senior at the University of Kentucky in April of 1946 when she attended the Renfro Valley Folk Festival and sang a number of ballads for Artus Moser collecting for the Library of Congress. The following, “Lord Grumble,” “I Married Me a Wife (Gentle Fair Jenny),” “Foggy Dew” and “The Little Old Woman” come from a 12″ acetate disc FD_0501. Thank you Jean Ritchie. Peace to you, your family, your friends, and your fans

See more at: http://blogs.lib.unc.edu/sfc/#sthash.7mBsZ6nb.dpuf

June 3, 2015

Jean Ritchie and Doc Watson at Folk City

Folkways Records FA-2426

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1963
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk, Country
[Tracklist]
A1 Storms Are On The Ocean
A2 Go Dig My Grave
A3 Spike Driver Blues
A4 Soldiers Joy
A5 Don't Mind The Weather
A6 Hiram Hubbard
A7 Sugar On The Floor
B1 Where Are You Goin'
B2 Pretty Polly
B3 Willie Moore
B4 What'll I Do With The Baby-O ?
B5 Cripple Creek
B6 Wabash Cannonball
B7 The House Carpenter
B8 Amazing Grace
[Credits]
Jean Ritchie (dulcimer/vocals) Doc Watson (guitar/banjo/harmonica/vocals) Roger Sprung (fiddle/banjo/vocals)
George Pickow - Recorder; Photographer
Ronald Clyne - Designer

June 2, 2015

Joe Hill - Documentary with English Subtitles



Coffin of Joe Hill, Chicago 1915
Click image for the large format
A film by Anders Wesslén and Karl Larsson. Music by Joakim Westlund, Anders Åborg, The Giant's Dream and Per Erik Wesslén. Proofreading the subtitles by Björn Abrahamsson.

Subtitles: http://www.historiskaprogram.se/Joel.Hagglund.srt

June 1, 2015

Will The Circle Be Unbroken: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Liberty Records LLP-9027C

Format: 3 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Gatefold with separate gatefold insert
Country: US
Released: 1972
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 Grand Ole Opry Song (2:59)
A2 Keep On The Sunny Side (3:35)
A3 Nashville Blues (3:10)
A4 You Are My Flower (3:35)
A5 The Precious Jewel (3:30)
A6 Dark As A Dungeon (2:45)
B1 Tennessee Stud (4:22)
B2 Black Mountain Rag (2:10)
B3 The Wreck On The Highway (3:24)
B4 The End Of The World (3:53)
B5 I Saw The Light (3:45)
C1 Sunny Side Of The Mountain (2:23)
C2 Nine Pound Hammer (2:14)
C3 Losin' You (Might Be The Best Thing Yet) (2:44)
C4 Honky Tonkin' (2:19)
C5 You Don't Know My Mind (2:45)
C6 My Walkin' Shoes (2:02)
D1 Lonesome Fiddle Blues (2:41)
D2 Cannonball Rag (1:15)
D3 Avalanche (2:50)
D4 Flint Hill Special (2:12)
D5 Togary Mountain (2:25)
D6 Earl's Breakdown (2:34)
D7 Orange Blossom Special (2:14)
D8 Wabash Cannonball (2:00)
E1 Lost Highway (3:37)
E2 Doc Watson & Merle Travis: First Meeting (Dialogue) (1:48)
E3 Way Downtown (3:30)
E4 Down Yonder (2:58)
E5 Pins And Needles (In My Heart) (2:53)
E6 Honky Tonk Blues (2:22)
E7 Sailin' On To Hawaii (2:00)
F1 I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes (4:25)
F2 I Am A Pilgrim (2:55)
F3 Wildwood Flower (3:34)
F4 Soldier's Joy (2:05)
F5 Will The Circle Be Unbroken (4:50)
F6 Both Sides Now (2:19)
[Credits]
Roy Acuff (vocals) Maybelle Carter (autoharp/guitar/vocals) Doc Watson, Jimmy Martin, Merle Travis (guitar/vocals) Earl Scruggs (banjo/guitar) Vassar Clements (fiddle) Bashful Brother Oswald, Norman Blake (dobro) Randy Scruggs (autoharp/guitar) Junior Husky, Ellis Padgett (bass) Chet Flippo, Martha Flippo, Ray Martin, Tim Martin, Alice McEuen, Larry Murray, Gary Scruggs, Louise Scruggs, Steve Scruggs, Betty Travis (background vocals) Emmylou Harris, John Hiatt, Bruce Hornsby, Béla Fleck, Roger McGuinn (guest artists) Jimmie Fadden, Jeff Hanna, Jimmy Ibbotson, John McEuen, Les Thompson (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
[Notes]
Will the Circle be Unbroken is a 1972 album by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with collaboration from many famous bluegrass and country-western players, including Roy Acuff, Mother Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Merle Travis, Pete "Oswald" Kirby, Norman Blake, Jimmy Martin, and others. It also introduced fiddler Vassar Clements to a wider audience.