The Kentucky Colonels: Long Journey Home

Vanguard – VCD 77004

Series: Newport Folk Festival Classics
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 1991
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 Roll On Buddy (2:18)
02 Bill Cheatham (2:53)
03 There Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone (2:51)
04 Shuckin' The Corn (1:58)
05 A Beautiful Life (1:58)
06 Get Down On Your Knees And Pray (3:09)
07 Over In The Glory Land (1:52)
08 Sally Ann (1:36)
09 Brakeman's Blues (3:15)
10 Soldier's Joy (1:14)
11 Listen To The Mockingbird (1:13)
12 Farewell Blues (1:58)
13 Lonesome Road Blues (1:18)
14 Beaumont Rag (1:58)
15 Footprints In The Snow (2:08)
16 Long Journey Home (1:58)
17 In The Pines (2:24)
18 Chicken Reel (2:06)
19 Old Hickory (1:27)
20 Auld Lang Syne (3:20)
21 Nola (2:33)
22 Flat Fork (1:36)
23 Shady Grove (1:36)
[Credits]
Roland White (mandolin/vocals) Clarence White (guitar/vocals) Billy Ray Latham (banjo/vocals) Roger Bush (bass/vocals) Doc Watson (guitar) Bill Keith (banjo)
Producer and Liner Notes: Mary Katherine Aldin, Producer: Kent Crawford, Photographers: John Delgato and Bev Male, Engineer: Jeff Zaraya
[Notes]
The Kentucky Colonels are heard at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival on this Vanguard CD. A quartet at the time, as fiddler Scotty Stoneman had not yet joined the band, their performances include both instrumentals and vocals, with bassist Roger Bush also serving as the MC. Guitarist Clarence White, mandolinist Roland White, banjo player Billy Ray Latham, and bassist Roger Bush seem effortless as they delve into bluegrass favorites like "Shuckin' the Corn," "Sally Ann," and "Shady Grove," though there are a few surprises in store. Doc Watson joins Clarence White for six intricate guitar duets (including White's arrangement of "Soldier's Joy" and Watson's chart of "Lonesome Road Blues"). Several of the numbers near the end of the CD actually feature the Kentucky Colonels backing banjo master Bill Keith, who later joined Clarence White in the short-lived group Muleskinner. While there are a few spots where the sound is a tad overmodulated, this vintage live music will be of great interest to serious bluegrass fans.-- AllMusic Review by Ken Dryden

Bill Monroe: Anthology

MCA Nashville / Decca 088 113 207-2

Format: 2 x CD, Compilation
Country: United States
Released: 2003
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
1-01 New Mule Skinner Blues (02:30)
1-02 My Little Georgia Rose (03:06)
1-03 Uncle Pen (02:45)
1-04 Raw Hide (02:36)
1-05 Kentucky Waltz (03:16)
1-06 When The Cactus Is In Bloom (02:04)
1-07 Get Down On Your Knees And Pray (03:01)
1-08 In The Pines (03:11)
1-09 Footprints In The Snow (02:40)
1-10 Walking In Jerusalem (02:00)
1-11 Get Up John (02:11)
1-12 On And On (02:47)
1-13 I'm Working On A Building (2:43)
1-14 Blue Moon Of Kentucky (02:08)
1-15 Roanoke (02:39)
1-16 Goodbye Old Pal (02:04)
1-17 Molly & Tenbrooks (02:22)
1-18 I'm Sitting On Top Of The World (02:18)
1-19 I Saw The Light (02:30)
1-20 Scotland (01:55)
1-21 Panhandle Country (02:05)
1-22 Gotta Travel On (02:34)
1-23 Big Mon (02:17)
1-24 Linda Lou (02:10)
1-25 Lonesome Road Blues (02:28)
2-01 Time Changes Everything (02:15)
2-02 I'm Going Back To Old Kentucky (02:23)
2-03 Toy Heart (02:15)
2-04 Live And Let Live (02:40)
2-05 Old Joe Clark (02:24)
2-06 Columbus Stockade Blues (03:05)
2-07 Drifting Too Far From The Shore (02:29)
2-08 Somebody Touched Me (02:32)
2-09 Jimmy Brown The Newsboy (02:26)
2-10 I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (02:13)
2-11 Devil's Dream (02:24)
2-12 Highway Of Sorrow (02:22)
2-13 Roll On Buddy, Roll On (02:11)
2-14 (We're Going) Just Over In The Glory Land (02:23)
2-15 Fire On The Mountain (02:05)
2-16 The Long Black Veil (02:40)
2-17 I Wonder Where You Are Tonight (02:34)
2-18 Dusty Miller (02:19)
2-19 Midnight On The Stormy Deep (03:42)
2-20 Sally Goodin (03:15)
2-21 Walls Of Time (03:19)
2-22 I Haven't Seen Mary In Years (03:04)
2-23 With Body And Soul (03:06)
2-24 Walk Softly On This Heart Of Mine (02:35)
2-25 My Last Days On Earth (04:42)
[Credits]
Bill Monroe (mandolin/vocals) James Monroe (bass/guitar/vocals) Jimmy Martin (guitar/vocals) Carter Stanley (guitar/vocals) Edd Mayfield (guitar/vocals) Del McCoury (guitar/vocals) Jimmy Maynard (guitar/vocals) Franklin G. Buchanan (guitar/vocals) Roland White (guitar/vocals) Peter Rowan (guitar/vocals) Rudy Lyle (banjo/vocals) Charlie Cline (fiddle/ocals) Kenny Baker (vocals) Boudleaux Bryant (vocals) Milton Estes (vocals) Culley Holt (vocals) Arlene Hardin (vocals) Bobby Hardin (vocals) Cindy Nelson (vocals) Curtis Young (vocals) Carl Butler (guitar) Jack Cooke (guitar) Jimmy Elrod (guitar) Grady Martin (guitar) Norman Blake (guitar) Jackie Phelps (guitar) Jimmy Selph (guitar) Joe Stuart (banjo/fiddle/guitar) Hubert Davis (banjo) Joe Drumright (banjo) Tony Ellis (banjo) Lamar Grier (banjo) Lonnie Hoppers (banjo) Vic Jordan (banjo) Bill Keith (banjo) Don Lineberger (banjo) Curtis McPeake (banjo) Robert Lee Pennington (banjo) Don Stover (banjo) Rual Yarbrough (banjo) Sonny Osborne (banjo) Gordon Terry (fiddle/vocals) Vassar Clements (fiddle) Red Hayes (fiddle) Tommy Jackson (fiddle) Connie Ellisor (fiddle) Carl Gorodetzky (fiddle) Bobby Hicks (fiddle) Byron Berline (fiddle) George Binkley III (fiddle) Richard Greene & Beryl Marriott (fiddle) Dennis Molchan (fiddle) Hal Smith (fiddle) Dale Potter (fiddle) Red Stanley (fiddle) Merle "Red" Taylor (fiddle) Horace "Benny" Williams (fiddle) Tommy Williams Jr. (fiddle) Roy Christensen (cello) Joel Price (bass/vocals) Ernie Newton (bass/vocals) Mark Hembree (bass) Howard Watts (bass) Farris Coursey (drums) Joe Zinkan (bass)
Producer: Owen Bradley, Paul Cohen, Harry Silverstein and Walter Haynes, Photographer: Les Leverett, Designer: Mike Fink, Liner Notes: Mary Katherine Aldin, Engineer: Gavin Lurssen
[Notes]
So much has been said about the founding father of bluegrass music that it would be nice if there was an all-encompassing collection of Bill Monroe's music to accompany the legend. Although the almost-correctly titled Anthology comes close, there is still a wealth of Columbia and RCA-Victor recordings missing from this Decca-centric collection, which runs chronologically from 1950 to 1969 (with one final track from 1981). Unfortunately, this means that the classic lineup of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, with fiddler Chubby Wise and bassist Howard Watts, is not represented. Still, bluegrass luminaries Vassar Clements, Jimmy Martin, Kenny Baker, Del McCoury, Peter Rowan, and many others, all drifted in and out of the Blue Grass Boys during their twenty-some years, and make appearances on classic tracks like "Sally Goodin," "Uncle Pen," "Blue Moon of Kentucky," and "New Mule Skinner Blues." All told, this may be the perfect collection of Monroe's work for Decca, but it falls only slightly short of being the Bill Monroe Anthology.-- AllMusic Review by Zac Johnson

I Wasn't Born To Rock'n Roll: Roland White 1976

Tompkins Square TSQ-2400

Format: CD, Reissue, Album
Country: US
Released: 2010
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 Kansas City Railroad Blues (1:37)
02 The Storms Are On The Ocean (3:40)
03 I'm Head Over Heels In Love With You (2:47)
04 Door Step Of Trouble (3:17)
05 If I Should Wander Back Tonight (2:47)
06 Texas Gales (1:28)
07 I Saw Your Face In The Moon (2:56)
08 Prisoner's Song (3:44)
09 Marathon (7:38)
     Love Come Home
     Nine Pound Hammer
     Shackles And Chains
     Live And Let Live
     Doin' My Time
     Sitting On Top Of The World
10 Same Old Blues Again (2:45)
11 Powder Creek (2:30)
12 Can't You Hear Me Calling (2:56)
13 She's Her Own Special Baby 2:22)
[Credits]
Roland White (mandolin/vocals) Alan Munde (banjo/guitar) Kenny Wertz (guitar/vocals) Dave Ferguson (fiddle) Roger Bush (bass)
[Notes]
Mandolinist Roland White is a bluegrass lifer. As a youth, he rounded up his siblings, including younger brother Clarence, to start the Kentucky Colonels, who helped spearhead the West Coast bluegrass revival in the ‘60s. Guitar hero Clarence went on to make country-rock with the Byrds, while Roland played with legends like Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt, as well as Country Gazette and the Nashville Bluegrass Band. But while White has released a few latter-day solo albums, his 1976 outing, I Wasn't Born to Rock ‘n Roll, remained in the shadowy world of lost vinyl for 34 years before finally being reissued. It's a solidly old-school effort, where White takes on tunes like Flatt & Scruggs' "If I Should Wander Back Tonight" and the Carter Family's "The Storms Are on the Ocean," as well as an epic-length (for bluegrass, anyway) medley entitled "Marathon," which includes pieces of everything from Jimmie Davis' "Shackles & Chains" to Merle Travis' "Nine Pound Hammer." There's a fresh, spontaneous feel to it all that's absent from too much 21st century bluegrass; while White never goes for any showy licks, he sings and plays with what sounds like every ounce of his heart and soul. He was on the front lines alongside some of the men who invented bluegrass, and he doesn't treat these trad tunes like museum pieces, but rather like urgent messages about the raw emotions at the center of American roots music. Of course, he probably felt closest to the lone original tune here, the minor-key instrumental "Powder Creek," written in the ‘60s with Clarence, who was killed when both brothers were hit by a car in 1973. -- AllMusic Review by James Allen

Ry Cooder: My Name Is Buddy

Nonesuch 79961-2

CD, Album, Hardbound
Country: US
Released: 2007
Genre: Latin, Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country Blues, Country, Folk
[Tracklist]
01 Suitcase In My Hand (2:54)
02 Cat And Mouse (5:03)
03 Strike! (5:08)
04 J. Edgar (2:38)
05 Footprints In The Snow (3:07)
06 Sundown Town (2:57)
07 Green Dog (7:34)
08 The Dying Truck Driver (4:56)
09 Christmas In Southgate (3:28)
10 Hank Williams (4:09)
11 Red Cat Till I Die (3:08)
12 Three Chords And The Truth (5:02)
13 My Name Is Buddy (3:13)
14 One Cat, One Vote, One Beer (4:16)
15 Cardboard Avenue (4:34)
16 Farm Girl (3:55)
17 There's A Bright Side Somewhere (4:49)
[Credits]
Ry Cooder (guitar/Keyboards/mandolin/bass/vocals) Mike Seeger (banjo/fiddle/harmonica/jew's Harp) Roland White (mandolin/vocals) Van Dyke Parks (piano) Pete Seeger (fiddle) Flaco Jiménez (accordion) Paddy Moloney (whistle/uilleann pipes) Lefty Mouse (fiddle) Buddy Red Cat (guitar/vocals) Jon Hassell (trumpet) René Camacho (bass) Mike Elizondo (bass) Joachim Cooder (drums/percussion/tambourine) Bobby King, Terry Evans & Juliette Commagere (vocals)
Producer: Ry Cooder & Aisha Ayers, Engineers: Sunny D. Levine, Martin Pradler & Don Smith
[Notes]
'My Name Is Buddy', record by Ry Cooder is the thirteenth studio album by Ry Cooder. It is the second social-political concept album by Ry Cooder. Cooder has described it as the second in a trilogy that began with Chávez Ravine and concluded with I, Flathead. The album is packaged in a small booklet that includes a brief story and drawing to accompany each song. Both the songs and the stories relate tales from the viewpoint of the characters, Buddy Red Cat, Lefty Mouse, and Reverend Tom Toad. The liner notes ask listeners/readers to join them as they "Journey through time and space in days of labor, big bosses, farm failures, strikes, company cops, sundown towns, hobos, and trains... the America of yesteryear." -- Wikipedia

Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys: Live Recordings 1956-1969

Smithsonian Folkways SF CD 40063

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 1993
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 Watermelon Hanging On The Vine (0:37)
02 Roanoke (1:19)
03 Brakeman's Blues (2:40)
04 Close By (2:26)
05 Kentucky Waltz (2:26)
06 Blue Grass Stomp (2:10)
07 Blue Moon Of Kentucky (2:00)
08 I'm Working On A Building (1:59)
09 Angels Rock Me To Sleep (1:53)
10 Wheel Hoss (2:08)
11 Watermelon Hanging On The Vine (0:31)
12 Katy Hill (3:06)
13 True Life Blues (2:40)
14 I Live In The Past (2:41)
15 Wayfaring Stranger (4:27)
16 Fire On The Mountain (3:37)
17 Blue Grass Breakdown (3:22)
18 Raw Hide (2:52)
19 Y'All Come (0:49)
20 Cotton-Eyed Joe (2:49)
21 Get Up John (3:14)
22 White House Blues (2:01)
23 Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms (2:27)
24 Kansas City Railroad Blues (2:51)
25 The Walls Of Time (4:30)
26 When He Reached Down His Hand For Me (2:44)
27 Monroe Family Segment (9:45)
[Credits]
Bill Monroe (mandolin/vocals)
Producer & Liner Notes: Ralph Rinzler, Photographer: David Gahr & Phil Zimmerman, Mastering Engineer: Alan Yoshida
[Notes]
"Howdy, howdy folks. We're glad to be back for another show here. As we do the numbers now, we're gonna call each fellow's name out so we can get right along with the show." And what a show. Bluegrass has always been a live-performance genre, on stage or in the studio, and Bill Monroe never sounded better on stage than during these heady years of the folk revival. He had something to share and to prove to his new audience, and he wouldn't meet them halfway, choosing instead his grittiest traditional material and singing, especially in the late '50s, with full, high yodel and wail. His voice mellowed into the '60s, but his band, including many of the best bluegrass pickers ever (Bill Keith, Peter Rowan, Richard Greene, and Bobby Hicks for starters), never gave quarter. To understand Bill Monroe and his various ensembles, one needs to hear his stage brilliance, and there's no better place to start than with these warm, clear live recordings. --Roy Kasten

Scotty Stoneman with the Kentucky Colonels

Rural Rhythm Records RHY 1017

Format: CD, Album, Reissue
Country: US
Released: 2002
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 Oklahama Stomp (4:25)
02 Once A Day (4:20)
03 Eighth Of January (5:20)
04 Any Damn Thing (2:22)
05 Lee Highway Blues (2:26)
06 Down Yonder (2:20)
07 Sally Goodin (4:09)
08 A Wound Time Can't Erase (4:14)
09 Shuckin' The Corn (2:21)
10 Listen To The Mockingbird (3:34)
11 Cherokee Waltz (5:00)
12 Cacklin' Hen (3:42)
13 Orange Blossom Special (4:00)
14 Goodnight Irene (2:50)
[Credits]
Scotty Stoneman (fiddle/vocals) Clarence White (guitar/vocals) Roland White (mandolin/vocals) Billy Ray Latham (banjo/vocals) Roger Bush (bass/vocals) Skip Conover (dobro)
Director and Designer: Jeremy Kay, Sleeve Notes: Alex Tottle and Jerry Garcia, Photographers: Steve Caholl, Diane Moore and Johm M. Delgatto, Engineer: Brooks Adam Otis
[Notes]
Recorded June-August 1965 at the Cobble Club , N. Hollywood CA & March 27, 29 at the Ash Grove, Hollywood CA. Digitally re-mastered and expanded edition of this classic 1978 Sierra release features the late great Scotty Stone man who Jerry Garcia called the "Bluegrass Charlie Parker " while others called him "the Jimi Hendrix " of the fiddle. With album notes by the equally late great and Stone man fan, Jerry Garcia, Live in L.A. is the only album featuring this innovative country fiddler with both instrumentals and vocals along with the legendary Kentucky Colonels featuring Clarence White. Mastered from the original audio tapes, this release also features many new, rare photos with additional notes by Richard Greene and Peter Rowan, as well as faithful reproductions of the original LP color graphics plus four bonus track not on the original vinyl LP release.

Lester Flatt & Mac Wiseman: On the South Bound

RCA Victor – LSP 4688

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: United States
Released: 1972
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 Salty Dog Blues (2:09)
A2 Just A Strand From (2:51)
A3 Mama's And Daddy's Little Girl (2:33)
A4 How Lonely Can You Get? (2:28)
A5 I'm Waiting To Hear You Call Me Darling (2:42)
B1 On The Southbound (2:16)
B2 Are You Coming Back To Me (2:16)
B3 You Can't Trust A Friend Anymore (2:25)
B4 Me & Your Memory (2:31)
B5 When You Are Lonely (2:47)
[Original Version]
RCA Victor LSP-4688 (US) 1972
[Credits]
Lester Flatt (guitar/vocals) Mac Wiseman (guitar/vocals) Josh Graves (dobro) Roland White (mandolin/vocals) Haskel McCormick (banjo) Victor Jordan (banjo) Howdy Forrester (fiddle) Paul Warren (fiddle) Hargus Robbins (piano) Don Smith (bass) E.P. Tullock Jr (bass)

Clarence White And The Kentucky Colonels

Trio Records RA–6362

Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Country: Japan
Released: 1980
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 Alabama Jubilee
A2 I Am A Pilgrim
A3 Billy In The Low Ground
A4 Bury Me Beneath The Willow
A5 Footprints In The Snow
A6 Wildwood Flower
A7 Farewell Blues
A8 When You're Smiling
B1 Prisoner's Song
B2 Good Woman's Love
B3 White-Washed Chimney
B4 Listen To The Mocking Bird
B5 Teardrops In My Eyes
B6 Working On A Building
[Credits]
Clarence White (guitar/vocals) Roland White (mandolin/vocals) Billy Ray Latham (banjo) Roger Bush (bass/guitar/vocals) Bob Worford (banjo) Eric White (bass/vocals)
Design: Susan Marsh, Liner Notes: Russ Barenberg, Photography: David Gahr, Producer: Joseph Robins
[Other Versions]
Rounder Records 0098 (1980)

The Kentucky Colonels: Live In Stereo

Shikata Records SRCD-1002

Format: CD, Compilation
Country: United States
Released: 1999
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 Intro (0:24)
02 Train 45 (0:40)
03 Green Corn (3:24)
04 Shuckin' the Corn (2:48)
05 Dark Hollow (3:22)
06 Saw Creek (1:31)
07 All the Good Times Are Past and Gone (3:22)
08 Soldier's Joy (2:04)
09 You Won't Be Satisfied (1:35)
10 Alabama Jubilee (2:22)
11 Columbus Stockade (2:59)
12 Mockin' Banjo (3:21)
13 Workin' on a Building (2:39)
14 The Prisoner's Song (2:33)
15 It Ain't Gonna Rain No More (3:58)
16 Johnson's Ole Gray Mule (2:16)
17 Fair and Tender Ladies (2:45)
18 Bluegrass Breakdown (2:39)
19 Long Journey Home (1:58)
20 Howdy Hoss (2:19)
21 Shady Grove (1:34)
[Credits]
Clarence White (guitar/vocals) Roland White (mandolin/vocals) Billy Ray Latham (banjo/vocals) Roger Bush (bass/vocals)
[Notes]
On January 15, 1965 The Kentucky Colonels appeared at the "Ark Club" in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. "Double Barrel Records" released parts of that three hour show 1999 as "The Kentucky Colonels: Live In Stereo". This is one of very few stereo recordings of the COLONELS.