Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers Vol. 2: Old Time Songs Recorded 1926-1930

County Records CD-3508

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: Feb 27, 1996
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country
[Tracklist]
01 If the River Was Whiskey (3:09)
02 Bill Mason (3:00)
03 Baltimore Fire (3:11)
04 Honeysuckle (3:14)
05 My Gypsy Girl (2:56)
06 Ragtime Annie (3:12)
07 It's Movin' Day (3:26)
08 Budded Rose (3:02)
09 A Kiss Waltz (3:08)
10 Jealous Mary (2:59)
11 Wild Horse (3:07)
12 If I Lose, I Don't Care (3:06)
13 There'll Come a Time (3:29)
14 Southern Melody (3:05)
15 Mother's Last Farewell Kiss (3:03)
16 One Moonlight Night (3:21)
[Credits]
Charlie Poole (banjo/vocals) Lonnie Austin (fiddle) Odell Smith (fiddle) Posey Rorer (fiddle) Norman Woodlieff (guitar) Roy Harvey (guitar)
Liner Notes: Kinney Rorrer, Producer: Dave Freeman, Remastering: Peter Siegel
[Notes]
County Records' second installment of Charlie Poole & the North Carolina Ramblers is another great testament to this seminal band: while most or all of Poole and the Ramblers' best-known songs are included on the earlier volume of Old Time Songs, the lesser-known tunes on this disc are every bit as entertaining, if often less familiar.

Charlie Poole And The North Carolina Ramblers: Old Time Songs Recorded 1925-1930

County Records CD-3501

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 1993
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country
[Tracklist]
01 White House Blues (3:26)
02 Sweet Sunny South (2:53)
03 Shootin' Creek (3:23)
04 He Rambled (2:57)
05 The Letter That Never Came (2:47)
06 Mountain Reel (3:02)
07 You Ain't Talkin' To Me (2:53)
08 Sweet Sixteen (2:50)
09 Leaving Home (3:08)
10 Took My Gal A-Walkin' (2:46)
11 Monkey On A String (3:05
12 Ramblin' Blues (3:05)
13 Flying Clouds (3:15)
14 Falling By THe Wayside (3:04)
15 Don't Let Your Deal Go Down (2:51)
16 Take A Drink On Me (3:13)
[Credits]
Charlie Poole (banjo/vocals) Lonnie Austin (fiddle) Posey Rorer (fiddle) Norman Woodlieff (guitar) Roy Harvey (guitar)
Liner Notes: Kinney Rorrer, Producer: Dave Freeman, Remastering: Peter Siegel
[Notes]
Old-Time Songs contains 16 songs Charlie Poole recorded for Columbia Records between 1925 and 1930. This sampling features nearly every one of his best songs -- including the hits "White House Blues" and "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues" -- and provides the definitive retrospective of Poole, as well as a good glimpse into the style and sound of old timey country music in the first half of the 20th Century.

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

County Records COUNTY-505

Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: United States
Released: 1965
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Old Time, & 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.