September 2, 2018

Brother Oswald

Rounder Records 0013

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1972
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass & Country
[Tracklist]
A1 End Of The World (2:50)
A2 Island March (2:35)
A3 Sailing Along (3:50)
A4 Kansas City Kitty (2:40)
A5 Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain (3:17)
A6 Farewell Blues (2:38)
A7 Echo Chimes (2:28)
B1 Wabash Cannonball (1:38)
B2 Prairie Queen (2:37)
B3 Tennessee Waltz (2:50)
B4 Song Of The Islands (3:00)
B5 Dobro Chimes (2:41)
B6 I'll Be All Smiles Tonight (2:54)
B7 Two Different Worlds (2:54)
B8 Carry Me Back To The Mountains (2:10)
[Credits]
Brother Oswald (dobro) Charlie Collins (guitar) Norman Blake (guitar/mandolin/dobro) Tut Taylor (mandolin/dobro)
Producers: Mike Melford and Tut Taylor
[Notes]
Recorded at Glaser Sound Studios, Nashville, on January 1972. As a member of Roy Acuff's Grand Ole Opry band, Bashful Brother Oswald played a dumb-hick hillbilly character for the sake of comic relief, his slapstick antics and clown-like apparel making him an audience favorite -- but his dobro playing was no joke. During the Depression, Oswald found work playing Hawaiian-style dobro music at a Flint, Mich., radio station. When he was picked up by Acuff later in the decade, he brought with him the weeping, island-flavored style of playing that is one of the defining characteristics of country music. While Oswald was not solely responsible for this sound, his role as a key player in the modern country vocabulary is indisputable. Although he worked mainly as a sideman, he did record a couple of solo efforts on which he sang as well as played, showcasing a taste for old-time Bluegrass and singing in a friendly, weathered voice.

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