Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard: Who's That Knocking?

Folkways Records – FTS 31055

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1965
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 Walkin' In My Sleep (2:00)
A2 Can't You Hear Me Calling (3:12)
A3 Darling Nellie Across The Sea (2:15)
A4 Difficult Run (1:30)
A5 Coal Miner's Blues (2:40)
A6 Gabriel's Call (2:12)
A7 Just Another Broken Heart (2:40)
A8 Take Me Back To Tulsa (2:13)
B1 Who's That Knocking? (2:52)
B2 Cowboy Jim (2:00)
B3 Long Black Veil (3:20)
B4 Lee Highway Blues (1:55)
B5 Lover's Return (2:45)
B6 Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar (2:53)
B7 I Hear A Sweet Voice Calling (3:05)
[Credits]
Hazel Dickens (bass/vocals) Alice Gerrard (guitar/vocals) Lamar Grier (banjo) Chubby Wise (fiddle) David Grisman (mandolin)
Producer and Mastering Engineer: Peter K. Siegel, Sleeve Notes: Bill Vernon, Liner Notes: Neil V. Rosenberg and James Deutsch, Designer: Cooley Design Lab, Cover Photo: Dorothea Lange
[Notes]
Initially released in 1965, Who's That Knocking? is the first album by Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard. With this trailblazing record, Hazel and Alice shattered the glass ceiling of male-dominated bluegrass, which had typically relegated women to minor musical roles at best. Hazel and Alice’s hard-edged, soulful harmonies were firmly rooted in the older music traditions of the rural South. Their steadfast devotion to their powerful, driving style inspired generations of women in bluegrass, country music, and even punk. They are accompanied on this album by Chubby Wise, arguably the architect of bluegrass fiddling; David Grisman, whose mandolin improvisations changed the landscape of acoustic music; and Lamar Grier, who played banjo as a member of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys in the 1960s. Unavailable on vinyl for decades, Who's That Knocking? was remastered in 2021 by its original producer Peter K. Siegel, and has been reissued with its original artwork and liner notes.

Muleskinner Live: Original Television Soundtrack

Rural Rhythm Records – RHY 1018

Format: CD, Album, Soundtrack
Country: US
Released: 2003
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 New Camptown Races (2:53)
02 Dark Hollow (2:34)
03 Land Of The Navajo (5:49)
04 Blackberry Blossom (2:32)
05 Knockin' On Your Door (3:08)
06 Opus57 In G Minor (2:03)
07 Red Rocking Chair (3:25)
08 Going To The Races (1:56)
09 Eighth Of January (2:44)
10 I Am A Pilgrim (4:51)
11 The Dead March (2:41)
12 Sitting Alone In The Moonlight (2:42)
13 Orange Blossom Special (4:44)
[Credits]
Peter Rowan (guitar/vocals) Clarence White (guitar/vocals) David Grisman (mandolin/vocals) Bill Keith (banjo) Richard Greene (fiddle) Stuart Schulman (bass) Maria Muldaur (vocals)
Television producer: Alan Baker, Director: Allan Muir, Audio engineer: Tom Ancell
[Notes]
For progressive bluegrass aficionados, Muleskinner Live -- Original Television Soundtrack is something of a watershed event. Originally broadcast on public television in the late '70s, the documentary captured the bluegrass supergroup at the peak of its powers in front of a live studio audience in Hollywood. Muleskinner's lineup was a knockout, boasting the talents of Clarence White, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, Bill Keith, and Richard Green, so it should come as little surprise that this live record is a powerhouse, illustrating everything that was right about progressive bluegrass. All nine songs that were originally aired on the TV program are here, along with four songs that were edited for broadcast. These tapes were often believed to be lost, so the presence of Sierra's meticulous, loving reissue is quite a boon indeed. -- AllMusic Review by Thom Owens

Putumayo Presents Bluegrass

Putumayo World Music – PUT 319-2

Format: CD, Compilation
Country: United States
Released: 2012
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 Every Time You Say Goodbye: Alison Krauss / Union Station (03:15)
02 Been Down This Road: Railroad Earth (04:48)
03 Jackaroo: Jerry Garcia / David Grisman (03:59)
04 New Night Dawning: Andrea Zonn (03:18)
05 Across the Great Divide: Frank Solivan II (03:51)
06 Man of Constant Sorrow: Peter Rowan (04:47)
07 Shady Grove: James Alan Shelton (03:09)
08 New Railroad: Crooked Still (03:14)
09 Boots of Spanish Leather: The Seldom Scene (04:50)
10 The Last Goodbye: Uncle Earl (03:39)
11 Diggin' on the Mountainside: Town Mountain (03:47)
12 Diamond Joe: Sam Bush (03:38)
13 I'll Fly Away: Jeff Autry / Wayne Benson / Aubrey Haynie / Rob Ickes / Mark Schatz (03:19)
[Credits]
Producer: Dan Storper, Liner Notes: Holly George-Warren, Coordinator: Akari Uchiyama, Burton Yount, Cody Searles and John McQueeney, Artwork: Nicola Heindl, Designer: Burton Yount, Engineer: Lane Gibso
[Notes]
Born out of the tradition of the old Southern ensemble string bands of the 19th century, bluegrass is no older as a genre than rock & roll is, and both were born when the amplification of instruments became widely available in the '50s. What gives bluegrass the feel of being an older music form is the continued use of the old string band tunes, speeding them up, giving them lift, and reinventing them over and over again, so it probably should come as no surprise that two of the biggest highlights on this set of bluegrass performances are versions of old traditional songs, Peter Rowan's take on "Man of Constant Sorrow" and Sam Bush's rendition of "Diamond Joe." All in all, this is a very pleasant playlist. - AllMusic Bluegrass Review by Steve Leggett

Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard – Won't You Come & Sing For Me?

Folkways Records – FTS 31034

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue
Country: US
Released: 1978
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 I Just Got Wise (2:21)
A2 Please Mommy Please Stay Home with Me (3:05)
A3 They're at Rest Together (3:21)
A4 Sugar Tree Stomp (2:03)
A5 Memories of Mother & Dad (2:34)
A6 Train on the island (1:38)
B1 Won't You Come & Sing for Me (2:39)
B2 A Tiny Broken Heart (2:58)
B3 A Distant Land to Roam (2:56)
B4 John Henry (1:46)
B5 Weary Lonesome Blues (2:39)
B6 The One I Love is Gone (3:05)
[Credits]
Hazel Dickens (bass/vocals) Alice Gerrard (guitar/vocals) Fred Weisz (mandolin/bass vocals) David Grisman (guitar/baritone vocals) Lamar Grier (banjo) Billy Baker (fiddle) Mike Seeger (guitar)
[Notes]
Alice Gerrard's voice lifts and rises from the bottomless. And Hazel Dickens' vocal joins her in the chorus to affirm a unity through loneliness. Dickens, raised poor in the coal mining territory of West Virginia, and Gerrard, a classically trained singer approaching music from a rather more academic angle, were separated by a decade in age when they began running into each other in the lively folk scenes of Baltimore and Washington, D.C., in the '60s. They found that their voices meshed well and that they shared an eclectic approach to the music that they enjoyed singing.

Eric & Suzy Thompson: Adam & Eve Had The Blues

Arhoolie Records – CD 5041

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Blues, Cajun
[Tracklist]
01 Stop And Listen (3:18)
02 Three-In-One Two-Step (2:53)
03 Basile Waltz (3:33)
04 Blame It On The Blues (3:03)
05 Chaussettes Blues (2:55)
06 In My Girlish Days (2:21)
07 When I Get Home (3:02)
08 Valse de Balfa (3:10)
09 Adam & Eve Had The Blues (3:04)
10 Danse de Poullard (2:00)
11 Corrina, Corrina (3:25)
12 Carroll County Blues (3:16)
13 Mean Old Bedbug Blues (5:48)
[Credits]
Suzy Thompson (fiddle/guitar/vocals) Eric Thompson (guitar) Laurie Lewis (bass) Elizabeth Weil (bass) David Grisman (mandolin) Kevin Wimmer (fiddle) Danny Poullard (accordion/triangle) Will Scarlett (harmonica) Bill Bardin (trombone) George Fleming (trumpet) Earl Scheelar (clarinet) Charlie St. Mary (rubboard)
Producer: John Lumsdaine, Photographer: Anne Nadler, Engineer: Michael Cogan and Bob Shumakerg
[Notes]
Eric & Suzy Thompson have devoted their lives to the pursuit of weird and obscure old-time American music – warped fiddle tunes in odd tunings, cinematic ballads, country blues songs that contain mysterious metaphors, early Cajun music with incomprehensible French lyrics and backwards chords. Using fiddle, mandolin, guitars, Cajun accordion, banjo (and the occasional odd instrument such as the ten-stringed cuatro) they bring these early 20th century sounds right into the present day. "

Bluegrass Class of 1990: A Rounder Records Sampler

Rounder Records – CD AN 07

Format: CD, Sampler
Country: US
Released: 1998
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 Lost and I'll Never Find the Way: Ricky Skaggs (02:07)
02 I'll Love Nobody But You: Jim & Jesse (02:18)
03 Let the Whole World Talk: The Johnson Mountain Boys (02:41)
04 Love You in Vain: Alison Krauss (02:23)
05 Bitter Green: Tony Rice (02:44)
06 Feast Here Tonight: David Grisman (02:33)
07 Old Devil's Dream: The Nashville Bluegrass Band (02:32)
08 What Was I Supposed to Do?: Lynn Morris (02:49)
09 Leather Britches: Sam Bush (03:43)
10 Old Home Place: J.D. Crowe (02:49)
11 Devil, Take the Farmer: Dry Branch Fire Squad (03:53)
12 Mansion on the Hill: Whistein Brothers (02:23)
13 Medley: Fiddler's Dream / Whiskey Before Breakfast: Norman Blake / Tony Rice (04:40)
14 This Old House: The Rice Brothers (04:56)
15 Foolish Heart: Alison Krauss (03:27)
16 Whitewater: Béla Fleck (03:10)
17 Preachin', Prayin', Singin': The Bluegrass Album Band (02:33)
18 Don't Worry: The Johnson Mountain Boys (03:00)
19 John Henry: Tony Furtado (02:43)
20 I Ain't Broke (But I'm Badly Bent): David Grisman (01:58)
21 Greenlight on the Southern: Tony Rice (03:23)
22 No Hiding Place: The Nashville Bluegrass Band (02:49)
[Notes]
This compilation album reads like a who's-who of the progressive bluegrass/new acoustic music movement: pros like mandolinist David Grisman, guitarist Tony Rice, dobro player Jerry Douglas and a pre-Flecktones Bela Fleck are all represented, as well as the (very) young Alison Krauss and many, many others. -- AllMusic Review by Rick Anderson

A Tribute: The Songs Of Jimmie Rodgers

Columbia CK-67676

Format: CD, Album, Various Artists
Country: US
Released: 1997
Genre: Rock, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country, Country Rock
[Tracklist]
01 Dreaming With Tears In My Eyes: Bono (3:40)
02 Any Old Time: Alison Krauss And Union Station (3:46)
03 Waiting For A Train: Dickey Betts (4:16)
04 Somewhere Down Below The Mason Dixie Line: Mary Chapin Carpenter (3:36)
05 Miss The Mississippi And You: David Ball (3:05)
06 My Blue Eyed Jane: Bob Dylan (3:16)
07 Peach Pickin' Time Down In Georgia: Willie Nelson (3:40)
08 In The Jailhouse Now: Steve Earle & The V-Roys (2:52)
09 Blue Yodel # 9 (Standin' On The Corner): Jerry Garcia, David Grisman & John Kahn (4:15)
10 Hobo Bill's Last Ride: Iris DeMent (3:06)
11 Gambling Bar Room Blues: John Mellencamp (4:01)
12 Mule Skinner Blues: Van Morrison (4:33)
13 Why Should I Be Lonely: Aaron Neville (3:11)
14 T For Texas: Dwight Yoakam (5:31)
[Credits]
Liner Notes: Bob Dylan, Design: Geoff Gans, Executive Producer: Jeff Kramer & Jeff Rosen, Production Team: Christy Epstein, Debbie Sweeney, Diane Lapson, Julia Kim & Vickie Mathis, Product Manager: Greg Linn, Mastered by: Vic Anesini
[Notes]
Sometimes tribute albums are just that, an act of homage meant to remind us of how good a set of songs are. So The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers: A Tribute stands as a 14-song reminder that Rodgers was, as Bob Dylan puts it in the liner notes to the first release on his new boutique label, ”one of the guiding lights of the 20th century.”

Muleskinner Live : Original Television Broadcast

SIERRA-V101

Format: DVD, Color, NTSC
Country: US
DVD Released: 1992
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 New Camptown Races (2:53)
02 Dark Hollow (2:34)
03 Land Of The Navajo (5:49)
04 Blackberry Blossom (2:32)
05 Knockin' On Your Door (3:08)
06 Opus57 In G Minor (2:03)
07 Red Rocking Chair (3:25)
08 Going To The Races (1:56)
09 Eighth Of January (2:44)
10 I Am A Pilgrim (4:51)
11 The Dead March (2:41)
12 Sitting Alone In The Moonlight (2:42)
13 Orange Blossom Special (4:44)
[Credits]
Richard Greene (fiddle) Peter Rowan (guitar/vocals) Clarence White (guitar/vocals) Bill Keith (banjo) David Grisman (mandolin/vocals) Stuart Schulman (bass) Maria Muldaur (chorus)
Television producer: Alan Baker, Director: Allan Muir, Audio engineer: Tom Ancell
[Notes]
Recorded a live audience on February 13, 1973 at KCET television studios, Hollywood, CA. The TV show was first broadcast in September 1973.

Old & In The Way

Round Records RX 103

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue
Country: United States
Released: Jan 01, 1975
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 Pig In A Pen
A2 Midnight Moonlight
A3 Old And In The Way
A4 Konckin On Your Door
A5 The Hobo Song
B1 Panama Red
B2 Wild Horses
B3 Kissimmee Kid
B4 White Dove
B5 Land of The Navajo
[Credits]
Jerry Garcia (vocals/banjo) Peter Rowan (vocals/guitar) David Grisman (vocals/mandolin) Vassar Clements (fiddle) John Kahn (bass)
Produced by: David Grisman, Artwork: Greg Irons
[Notes]
The first release from Jerry Garcia's short-lived backcountry bluegrass act was this 1973 recording that also highlighted the amazing skills of mandolin player David Grisman. The quintet actually released only this record, recorded at a series of performances in 1973, but the sound caught on with Grateful Dead fans and the record actually built up the group's legacy long after they disbanded. The songs themselves, mostly penned by guitarist Peter Rowan and Grisman as well as a handful of traditional numbers and even a revamped version of the Rolling Stones' classic "Wild Horses," are delivered with the sincere reverence of true bluegrass fanatics. Soaring multi-part harmonies; fiddle, guitar, banjo, bass, and mandolin lines that seamlessly intertwine with a good-time feel; and exceptionally solid musicianship round out the ten-track effort. Fans of the Grateful Dead's jolly throwback tunes should already have this in their collection, but even those put off by the member's psychedelic resumés will find that Old & in the Way is nothing of the sort. This is the sound of purists re-creating the music they grew up with and it's both enjoyable and inspiring to listen to. Like American Beauty and Workingman's Dead, this record showcases Garcia going back to his roots, and it shows that he and his buddies have more than the chops required to live up to their legend. -- AllMusic Review by Peter J. D'Angelo

Bill Keith‎– Something Auld, Something Newgrass, Something Borrowed, Something Bluegrass

Rounder Records‎ RB-1

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: United States
Released: 1976
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 No Expectations
A2 Green Mountain Hop
A3 I'll Stay Around
A4 Crazy Creek
A5 Pain In My Heart
A6 Farewell Blues
B1 Caravan
B2 Detour
B3 Sugar Foot Rag
B4 Jordu
B5 Rickett's Hornpipe
B6 Auld Lang Syne
[Credits]
Bill Keith (banjo) Jim Rooney (guitar/vocals) Tony Rice (guitar) Vassar Clements (fiddle) Tom Gray (bass) Ken Kosek (banjo/piano) David Grisman (mandolin) Al Jones (vocals: A5)
Liner Notes: Tony Trischka

Marin County Bluegrass Festival 1974

Marin County Bluegrass Festival April 27-28, 1974
Golden State College, San Rafael, CA

Disc 1 [75:25]
Cornbread (4/27)
1-01: Old Joe Clark
1-02: I Don’t Believe You Met My Baby
1-03: Fire On The Mountain
Homestead Act (4/27)
1-04: I’ve Been Everywhere
1-05: Take Five
1-06: Columbus Stockade Blues
1-07: Chime Bells
1-08: Diggy Liggy Lo
1-09: The Foggy Mountain Breakdown
Emmylou Harris (4/27)
1-10: Jambalaya
Tut Taylor and Norman Blake (4/27)
1-11: Instrumental
1-12: Southern Railroad Blues
Mac Wiseman (4/27)
1-13: Footprints Through The Snow
1-14: Keep on the Sunny Side
1-15: Wabash Cannonball
1-16: Mule’s Done Gone Away
Jim & Jesse McReynolds (4/27)
1-17: Are You Missing Me
Doc & Merle Watson (4/27)
1-18: Poor Boy Blues
1-19: Wabash Cannonball (same as above..)
1-20: Salt Creek
1-21: Tennessee Stud
Great American String Band (4/27) Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Richard Greene, Taj Mahal, David Nichtern
1-22: My Plastic Banana Isn’t Stupid
1-23: Dawg’s Rag (with Richard Green)
1-24: I’ll Be The Gambler If You’ll Deal The Cards

Disc 2 [73:23]
Great American String Band (4/27)
2-01: Sweet Georgia Brown
The Hired Hands (4/28)
2-02: Bear Tracks
White & The Down Homers (4/28)
2-03: She Left Me Standing There
Jim & Jesse McReynolds and The Virginia Boys (4/28)
2-04: Pick Away
2-05: Cotton Mill Man
2-06: The River Of Jordan
Great American String Band (4/27) Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Richard Greene, Taj Mahal, David Nichtern
2-07: Maybelline
2-08: Johnny B. Goode
Jim & Jesse McReynolds and The Virginia Boys
2-09: Dueling Banjos
Tut Taylor and Norman Blake
2-10: Instrumental #1
2-11: Instrumental #2
Taylor, Blake, & Mac Wiseman
2-12: The Wreck Of The Old 97
2-13: Catfish John
2-14: Love Letters In The Sand
2-15: Shackles And Chains
2-16: Prisoner Song
2-17: Jimmy Brown
2-18: The Old Folks At Home
2-19: Man Walking On The Water
2-20: Keep On The Sunny Side Of Life
Frank Wakefield
2-21: Jesus Loves His Mandolin Player #1
Wakefield, Garcia ..et al
2-22: Heartbreak Hotel
2-23: Orange Blossom Special
Doc & Merle Watson (4/28)
2-24: Doc Bog’s Country Blues
2-25: Movin’ On
2-26: Wabash Cannonball
2-27: Tennessee Stud

Disc 3 [79:50]
Ramblin’Jack Elliott (4/28)
3-01: Talking Fishing Blues
3-02: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
3-03: Down The Line
3-04: Pretty Boy Floyd
Dillard & Frank Wakefield (4/28)
3-05: Dixie Breakdown
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (4/28) with Garcia, Vassar Clements, Doc Watson, David Nelson, John Hartford, & Jerry Mills
3-06: Tulane And Johnny
3-07: Cosmic Cowboy
3-08: Jambalaya
3-09: Sally Goodin
3-10: Battle Of New Orleans
3-11: Teardrops In My Eyes
3-12: Bonie Maronie
3-13: Randy Lynn Rag
3-14: Flint Hill Special
3-15: Mr. Bojangles
3-16: Honky Tonkin’
3-17: Diggy Liggy Lo
3-18: Will The Circle Be Unbroken*
3-19: Way Downtown Fooling Around*
3-20: Down Yonder*
* w/Doc & Merle Watson

[disc 4: 19:31]
Old And In The Way (4/28) Garcia, Grisman
4-01: High Lonesome Sound
4-02: Pig In A Pen
4-03: Panama Red
4-04: Wild Horses
4-05: The Hobo Song

  Marin County Bluegrass Festival 1974/04/27-28 (w/ Doc Watson, Norman Blake, Jerry Garcia and others)