Larry Richardson & Red Parker and the Blue Ridge Boys

County Records 702

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1965
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 Let Me Fall (1:32)
A2 You Left Me So Blue (2:25)
A3 More Pretty Girls Than One (2:36)
A4 I Don't Love Nobody (1:51)
A5 Paul & Silas (2:17)
A6 John Henry (2:04)
B1 Pain In My Heart (2:14)
B2 Little Pal (1:53)
B3 Liberty (1:18)
B4 Wild Over Me (2:14)
B5 Sad & Lonesome Day (2:57)
B6 My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains (2:47)
[Credits]
Larry Richardson (banjo/vocals) Red Barker (guitar/vocals) Buddy Crisp (guitar/vocals) Buddy Pendleton (fiddle) Ronnie Pervette (mandolin) Curly Blake (bass)
Liner Notes: Charie Faurot and Bill Vernon
[Notes]
Larry Richardson (August 9, 1927- June 17, 2007) was an American bluegrass and old time banjoist and guitarist from Galax, Virginia. He is known for his work with the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys, and the Blue Ridge Boys. In 1956, Larry was featured on a record that changed the way many people hear and play the banjo. "American Banjo Scruggs Style" (Folkways Records FA-2314) which showcased the many banjo players who had adopted Earl Scruggs' famous "three finger roll" style of picking. On the record, Richardson played a rousing and inventive version of "Little Maggie" that influenced any number of up-and-coming banjo players in the late 1950s. Soon after the release of this record, Larry relocated to Low Gap, North Carolina. From the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s Larry recorded with the Blue Ridge Boys who focused on a traditional bluegrass sound.-- Wikipedia

The Greenbriar Boys: Best of the Vanguard Years

Vanguard 206/07-2

Format: 2xCD, Album, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 2002
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
From New Folks (1961)
1-01 Katy Clyne (2:22)
1-02 I'm Coming Back But I Don't Know When (2:19)
1-03 Stewball (2:31)
1-04 Rawhide (2:01)
From Joan Baez Vol. 2 (1961)
1-05 Banks Of The Ohio (3:06)
1-06 Pal Of Mine (2:47)
From The Greenbriar Boys (1962)
1-07 We Shall Not Be Moved (1:45)
1-08 We Need A Lot More Of Jesus (2:00)
1-09 Girl On The Greenbriar Shore (2:20)
1-10 Life Is Like A Mountain Railway (3:37)
1-11 Down The Road (1:58)
1-12 Rosie's Gone Again (2:18)
1-13 Amelia Earhart's Last Flight (3:41)
1-14 Other Side Of Jordan (1:31)
From Ragged But Right! (1964)
2-01 Sleepy-Eyed John (2:37)
2-02 Ragged But Right (2:57)
2-03 McKinley (2:53)
2-04 Leevee Breaking Blues (3:07)
2-05 A Minor Breakdown (2:19)
2-06 Let Me Fall (1:57)
2-07 The Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me (2:20)
2-08 At The End Of A Long, Lonely Day (3:41)
2-09 Yellin Holler (2:06)
2-10 I Cried Again (2:56)
From Better Late Than Never (1966)
2-11 The Train That I Ride (2:19)
2-12 I Heard The Bluebirds Sing (2:23)
2-13 Morning Train (2:31)
2-14 Shackles And Chains (2:53)
2-15 Chicken (2:24)
2-16 Alligator Man (2:38)
2-17 Russian Around (2:26)
2-18 Up To My Neck In High Muddy Waters (2:50)
2-19 Little Birdie (2:53)
2-20 Prisoner's Song (2:16)
2-21 Different Drum (3:02)
[Credits]
John Herald (guitar/vocals) Bob Yellin (banjo/harmonica/mandolin/vocals) Ralph Rinzler (guitar/mandolin/vocals) Frank Wakefield (guitar/mandolin/vocals) Joan Baez (vocals) Buddy Pendleton (fiddle) Jackie Cook (bass/vocals) Eric Weissberg (bass) Sandy Block (bass) Russ Savakus (bass) Richard Romoff (bass) Jim Buchanan (fiddle)
Producer: Fred Jasper, Liner Notes: Ed Ward, Designer: Jules Halfant & Amy L. VonHolzhausen, Photographer: Joe Alper & David Gahr, Engineer: David Glasser
[Notes]
This two-CD, 35-song compilation could probably hardly be bettered as a summation of this band's best-recorded work. Disc one focuses on tracks from 1961-1962, including four songs from the 1961 New Folks various-artists compilation, two songs from Joan Baez, Vol. 2 on which they played backup, and eight songs from their proper full-length debut, 1962's The Greenbriar Boys. Though their accent at this time was on traditional songs and covers of bluegrass tunes by the likes of Bill Monroe, this does include "Stewball" (here crediting the band as authors, though different writing credits were used when Peter, Paul & Mary covered it slightly later) and Wayne Raney's sly "We Need a Lot More of Jesus" ("and a lot less rock & roll," goes the end of the couplet when the title is sung on the refrain). Disc two contains 21 songs from their mid-'60s albums Ragged but Right! (1964) and Better Late Than Never! (1966). The first of these was the last to feature the trio lineup of John Herald, Bob Yellin, and Ralph Rinzler. Frank Wakefield replaced Rinzler for Better Late Than Never!, the record that was by far their most contemporary Vanguard effort, with more original material and some very interesting covers, like Floyd Chance's Cajun-flavored "Alligator Man." Far more familiar to rock and pop fans, though, is the original version of Mike Nesmith's "Different Drum," a slower and more whimsical arrangement than that used by the Stone Poneys on their 1967 hit cover of the tune. Linda Ronstadt also covered the Greenbriar Boys' best original song, "Up to My Neck in High Muddy Waters," also originally on Better Late Than Never! (and included on this compilation). As a whole, this is a good survey of a band who did a lot to popularize and preserve traditional bluegrass with skill, as well as take some occasional ventures into progressive directions, not only on the above-mentioned songs, but also on unusual (for bluegrass) Bob Yellin-penned instrumentals like "A Minor Breakdown" and "Russian Around." (AllMusic Review by Richie Unterberger)

Galax Va. Old Fiddlers' Convention

Folkways Records FA-2435

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: United States
Released: 1964
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Old Time, & Country
[Tracklist]
A01 Turkey in the Straw: Larry Richardson, Sonny Miller, Johnny Jackson (1:24)
A02 Whoa Mule: Tom Ashley (1:57)
A03 Bill Cheatham: The Southern Mountain Boys (1:38)
A04 The Sweetest Gift A Mother's Smile: Udel McPeak And Billy Edwards (2:35)
A05 Cumberland Gap: Lost John Ray (1:18)
A06 Walking In The Parlor: The Old Timers (1:55)
A07 John Henry: George Pegram (2:19)
A08 Cricket On The Earth: Sunny Mountain Boys (2:27)
A09 Columbus Stockade Blues: Dot Edwards And Katie Golden (2:29)
A10 Concord Rag: J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers (2:25)
A11 Blackberry Blossom: Wade Ward, Dale Poe And Charlie Higgins (1:55)
B01 Patty On The Turnpike: Unknown Artist (0:51)
B02 Wandering Boy: Ivor Melton (2:52)
B03 Stony Creek: The Southern Mountain Boys(1:24)
B04 Cackling Hen: Uncle Rufus Blackburn (1:55)
B05 Bill Cheatham: Buddy Pendleton (2:10)
B06 Seeing Nellie Home: Billy Edwards (1:07)
B07 Leather Britches: Brushy River Boys (1:59)
B08 Sally Ann: George Stoneman (1:57)
B09 Honeysuckle Rag: The Mountain Ramblers (1:41)
B10 Old Man At The Mill: Clint Howard (1:50)
B11 Walking In My Sleep: The Virginia Play Boys (1:32)
B12 Kingdom's Come: Norman Edmonds (2:08)
[Credits]
Producer and Recorder: Lisa Chiera, Photographer and Designer: John Cohen
[Notes]
Held since 1935, the Old Fiddlers' Convention is a southwestern Virginia tradition and a prime destination for old time and bluegrass musicians and fans. This recording was made at the festival from 1960 through 1963, and the tracks included are representative of the skill and spontaneity heard on the Galax stage.