This three lps were issued in 1980 by Morning Star Records, a short-lived record company owned by Richard Nevins, who would continue Nick Perls' work with Yazoo Records a few years after. It's a superb compilation of 78rpm records of Kentucky string bands made in the 1920's and 1930's for Gennett. Like Nevins said: "As the Mississippi Delta is to Blues, Kentucky is to fiddle music, banjo playing, and classic old ballads and songs". The emphasis here is on string band music, with a few songs included as well. The Gennett 78 records are famous for their bad quality pressing and it shows here with lots of surface noise and scratchs. But the music is excellent all the way through, especially the fiddle playing on the dance numbers, with great fiddlers like Doc Roberts, Leonard Rutherford, Andy Palmer or Jim Booker. Booker was the only black fiddler who recorded with a hillbilly string band (Taylor's Kentucky Band) back then but many of this white Kentucky musicians talked about black fiddlers who were sharing the same repertoire of old-time tunes in the region.
The liner notes were written by Guthrie Meade, who made a lot of detective work to find out about all this musicians. Remember that during the 78rpm records aera only the name of the band or singer was written on the disc and it took a lot of leg work and talking with old musicians to bring some informations about this rare recordings.
A few years ago, Yazoo Records released other great compilations of Kentucky old-time music. First there were two cds called "The Music of Kentucky" which included the two most important Kentucky old-time fiddlers ever recored , William Step and Luther Strong, along with recording by banjoists B.F Shelton, Hayes Sheperd, John Hammond and other great artists. Then, there was a box set of 7 cds called "Kentucky Mountain Music" which contained most of the recordings on the 3 lps (I counted only 9 tracks on the lps that aren't included on the boxset) plus many other by the same string bands, many Buell Kazee tracks and a lot of great field recordings of fiddlers, banjo players and ballad singers. All this is of course is highly recommended...
"Wink The Other Eye"
1.Gate to go through Jimmie Johnson's String Band
2.Wink the other eye Hack's String Band
3.Soldier's joy Taylor's Kentucky Boys
4.Richmond Blues Rutherford & Foster
5.Soap in the washpan Jimmie Johnson's String Band
6.Monroe County Quickstep Rutherford & Foster
7.Grey Eagle Taylor's Kentucky Boys
8.Cumberland Gap Rutherford, Burnett & Moore
9.B-Flat Rag Madisonville String Band
10.Old blind dog Jimmie Johnson's String Band
11.Let her go i'll meet her Rutherford & Foster
12.Washington Quadrille Jimmie Johnson's String Band
13.Pretty little girl Hack's String Band
14.Forked Deer Taylor's Kentucky Boys
"Wish I Had My Time Again"
1.Fire in the mountain Ted Gossett's String Band
2.The Fate of Ellen Smith Green Baily
3.Brick Yard Joe Doc Roberts
4.Going across the sea H.L Bandy
5.Fox Chase Ted Gossett's String Band
6.Black Snake Moan Cobb & Underwood
7.Wish I had my time again Hatton Brothers
8.Eight of January Ted Gossett's String Band
9.Knoxville Rag Taylor, Burnett & Moore
10.If I die a railroad man Green Baily
11.Old Buzzard Doc Roberts
12.Sail away ladies H.L Bandy
13.Bow legged Irishman Ted Gossett's String Band
14.Wild hog in the woods Lonesome Luke and His Farm Hands
"Way Down South In Dixie"
1.Cuttin' at the point Charlie Wilson & His Hayloft Boys
2.New Money Doc Roberts
3.Old Voile Blue Ridge Mountaineers
4.Lost Love Asa Martin
5.That's my rabbit... Walter Family
6.Way Down South in Dixie Doc Roberts
7.Five Up H.L Bandy
8.Shaker Ben Walter Family
9.Glide Waltz Green's String Band
10.Old Flannagan Blue Ridge Mountaineers
11.Monkey Show H.L Bandy
12.StovePipe Blues Kentucky String Ticklers
13.And the cat came back Doc Roberts
14.We'll understand it
better... Kentucky Mountain Choristers
21 comments:
Thanks this looks like it will be awesome. I wish more music blogs would use mediafire, it seems like the only one i don't have to wait 20 mins between slow downloads.
Happy New Year! Again, another incredible post - Many Thanks!
A very great set of rare recordings of wonderful music. This set, together with the field collections of Bruce Greene, started a birth of interest in and appreciation of Kentucky fiddle music.
Very important and worth many hours of listening over the years. Cinq étoiles - vaut le voyage!
this looks superb. thank you!
and yes, mediafire is a good service, though from time to time it puts CRC errors in one's files, or has errors uploading, which is why I don't use it as much anymore.
fuck yea! superlative blawg
thanks for making these available. btw Yazoo was founded in the 1960s
You're right about Yazoo records. It was created in 1967 by Nick Perls but the label was bought by Shanachie Records in 1987 and I think Nevins remplaced Perls after his death...
This is a great set and thanks for posting it. But... many of the song names are incorrect as are many of the artists on the tracks. Certainly, I`m not complaining, but just wanting people to know this for their information. If someone downloads this set that is really studying the old music, they need to know this. All the tunes are great. Thanks for your blog. Believe me, I know how troublesome and time consuming it can be doing these music blogs sometimes----Allen
Wow! A friend of mine just turned me on to your site. MANY, MANY thanks to you for this great service and for helping share and preserve an important cultural history!!!
Good work, comrade.
This is nice find, I have just strated to get into old time blugrass, jug bands and the like.
Hey All,
The Morningstar LP's totally hooked me when I first saw them, and hook they still do! There's some confusion as regards Green Bailey's
"If I Die a Railroad Man" - it seems to be a fiddle tune, while Old Flannagan is "If I Die a Railroad Man". I'll have to dig out the recordings to see what's going on -but this is a lovely thing to make available, regardless.
OK, here's a quick review of the fixes required to get this a little more accurate. Bear in mind, according to Jane Keefer's database at ibiblio.unc.edu (where I double-checked this info) some of these cuts are listed on the wrong recording (meaning they're listed as being on Way Down South, when in fact, they're on Wish I Had My Time Again). Simple fix if I was at home but, in fact, I'm goofing off at work! So here's the fix:
Wink the Other Eye
13.Gal I Left Behind Me (not Pretty little girl) - Hack's String Band
Wish I Had My Time Again
8) Cutting at the Point - Charlie WIlson and His Hayloft Boys,
not Eight of January by Ted Gossett's String Band)
9) New Money by Doc Roberts
not Knoxville Rag by Taylor, Burnette and Moore - whch in itself
is incorrect)
10)
not If I Die a Railroad Man - Green Bailey (not Baily)
11.Lost Love Asa Martin (not Old Buzzard)
12.That's My Rabbit My Dog Caught It - The Walter Family
(not Sail away ladies by Henry Bandy
13.Dixie by Doc Roberts
(not Bow legged Irishman by Gossett String Band)
Way Down South
1.Eighth of January by TEd Gossett String Band
(not Cuttin' at the point)
2.Glide Waltz by Green String Band
(not New Money)
4.Monkey Show by H.L. Bandy
(not Lost Love)
5 Stove Pipe Blues by The Kentucky String Ticklers
(not That's my rabbit my dog caught it)
6 And the Cat Came Back (not Way Down South in Dixie) by Doc Roberts
7.We'll Understand it Better, Bye and Bye by the Kentucky Mountain
Choristers
(not Five Up)
8. Eighth of January by Ted Gossett String Band (this one appears in the
wrong compilation, as well. It should be in the Wish I Had My Time Again
lp)
(not Shaker Ben)
9.Knoxville Rag by Rutherford, Burnette and probably Byrd Moore
(not Glide Waltz)
10.If I Die a Railroad Man by Green Bailey
bc09-n13:pmitchel: cat fix
Wink the Other Eye
13.Gal I Left Behind Me (not Pretty little girl) - Hack's String Band
Wish I Had My Time Again
8) Cutting at the Point - Charlie WIlson and His Hayloft Boys,
not Eight of January by Ted Gossett's String Band)
9) New Money by Doc Roberts
not Knoxville Rag by Taylor, Burnette and Moore - whch in itself
is incorrect)
10)
not If I Die a Railroad Man - Green Bailey (not Baily)
11.Lost Love Asa Martin (not Old Buzzard)
12.That's My Rabbit My Dog Caught It - The Walter Family
(not Sail away ladies by Henry Bandy
13.Dixie by Doc Roberts
(not Bow legged Irishman by Gossett String Band)
Way Down South
1.Eighth of January by TEd Gossett String Band
(not Cuttin' at the point)
2.Glide Waltz by Green String Band
(not New Money)
4.Monkey Show by H.L. Bandy
(not Lost Love)
5 Stove Pipe Blues by The Kentucky String Ticklers
(not That's my rabbit my dog caught it)
6 And the Cat Came Back (not Way Down South in Dixie) by Doc Roberts
7.We'll Understand it Better, Bye and Bye by the Kentucky Mountain
Choristers
(not Five Up)
8. Eighth of January by Ted Gossett String Band (this one appears in the
wrong compilation, as well. It should be in the Wish I Had My Time Again
lp)
(not Shaker Ben)
9.Knoxville Rag by Rutherford, Burnette and probably Byrd Moore
(not Glide Waltz)
10.If I Die a Railroad Man by Green Bailey
(not Old Flannagan)
11.Old Buzzard by Doc Roberts
(not Monkey Show)
12.Sail Away Ladies by H.L. Bandy
(not StovePipe Blues)
13. BowLegged Irishman by Ted Gossett String Band
(not And the cat Came Back)
14.Wild Hog in the Woods by Lonesome Luke and His Farm Hands
(not We'll understand it better bye and bye)
Thank you so much. This and the Hammons Family albums are superb!
Any chance you have a copy of:
"June Apple - Old Time Fiddling and Clawhammer Banjo" with Tommy Jarrell?
That appears to be another lost classic.
Hi everyone, I just checked the vinyl rips I made of the three lps and indeed, it seems I incorrectly tagged the titles. So a big thank to Paul for his accurate list. I think i'll repost everything when i finish re-tagging the titles and put them in the correct order...
Sorry for this...
Hi everyone, I just checked the vinyl rips I made of the three lps and indeed, it seems I incorrectly tagged the titles. So a big thank to Paul for his accurate list. I think i'll repost everything when i finish re-tagging the titles and put them in the correct order...
Sorry for this...
Thanks for the music and the re-tagging. I bought these LP's when they came out, and its good to have them in digital form.
@Buffalo Nickel - June Apple is still in print (Heritage) and available from County Sales. That's a marvelous album.
@Gadaya - glad my post (which appears a little confused in itself) was helpful. I can't tell you how important these recordings were for me; besides Leonard Rutherford's fluid
playing (some of which, County had already re-issued) there was Andy Palmer (Jimmie Johnson String Band) arguably the best unknown American fiddler of all time. And the tunes Wink the Other Eye and Wish I Had My Time Again; both of them transforming.
We can work out the mis-labeling problems, digitizing is the important first step.
Using Paul's list as the basis, here's the corrected track list for all 3 volumes [for those who've already downloaded them]:
VOL 1 (Wink The Other Eye)
1.Gate to go through Jimmie Johnson's String Band
2.Wink the other eye Hack's String Band
3.Soldier's joy Taylor's Kentucky Boys
4.Richmond Blues Rutherford & Foster
5.Soap in the washpan Jimmie Johnson's String Band
6.Monroe County Quickstep Rutherford & Foster
7.Grey Eagle Taylor's Kentucky Boys
8.Cumberland Gap Rutherford, Burnett & Moore
9.B-Flat Rag Madisonville String Band
10.Old blind dog Jimmie Johnson's String Band
11.Let her go i'll meet her Rutherford & Foster
12.Washington Quadrille Jimmie Johnson's String Band
13.Pretty little girl Hack's String Band
14.Forked Deer Taylor's Kentucky Boys
VOL 2 (Wish I Had My Time Again)
1.Fire in the mountain Ted Gossett's String Band
2.The Fate of Ellen Smith Green Baily
3.Brick Yard Joe Doc Roberts
4.Going across the sea H.L Bandy
5.Fox Chase Ted Gossett's String Band
6.Black Snake Moan Cobb & Underwood
7.Wish I had my time again Hatton Brothers
8.Cuttin' at the point Charlie Wilson & His Hayloft Boys
9.New Money Doc Roberts
10.Old Voile Blue Ridge Mountaineers
11.Lost Love Asa Martin
12.That's my rabbit... Walter Family
13.Way Down South in Dixie Doc Roberts
14.Five Up H.L Bandy
VOL 3 (Way Down South In Dixie)
1.Shaker Ben Walter Family
2.Glide Waltz Green's String Band
3.Old Old Flannigan Blue Ridge Mountaineers
4.Monkey Show H.L Bandy
5.Stove Pipe Blues Kentucky String Ticklers
6.And the cat came back Doc Roberts
7.We'll understand itbetter... Kentucky Mountain Choristers
8.Eight of January Ted Gossett's String Band
9.Knoxville Rag Taylor, Burnett & Moore
10.If I die a railroad man Green Bailey
11.Old Buzzard Doc Roberts
12.Sail away ladies H.L Bandy
13.Bow legged Irishman Ted Gossett's String Band
14.Wild hog in the woods Lonesome Luke and His Farm Hands
Hopefully this won't get posted too many times!
Using Paul's list as the basis, here's the corrected track list for all 3 volumes [for those who've already downloaded them]:
VOL 1 (Wink The Other Eye)
1.Gate to go through Jimmie Johnson's String Band
2.Wink the other eye Hack's String Band
3.Soldier's joy Taylor's Kentucky Boys
4.Richmond Blues Rutherford & Foster
5.Soap in the washpan Jimmie Johnson's String Band
6.Monroe County Quickstep Rutherford & Foster
7.Grey Eagle Taylor's Kentucky Boys
8.Cumberland Gap Rutherford, Burnett & Moore
9.B-Flat Rag Madisonville String Band
10.Old blind dog Jimmie Johnson's String Band
11.Let her go i'll meet her Rutherford & Foster
12.Washington Quadrille Jimmie Johnson's String Band
13.Pretty little girl Hack's String Band
14.Forked Deer Taylor's Kentucky Boys
VOL 2 (Wish I Had My Time Again)
1.Fire in the mountain Ted Gossett's String Band
2.The Fate of Ellen Smith Green Baily
3.Brick Yard Joe Doc Roberts
4.Going across the sea H.L Bandy
5.Fox Chase Ted Gossett's String Band
6.Black Snake Moan Cobb & Underwood
7.Wish I had my time again Hatton Brothers
All of the above cuts are correct. The order is correct for the rest of the cuts listed below, however, they are attributed to the wrong LP's. I have the recordings in front of me. The next 7 cuts are the A side of Way Down South in Dixie:
8.Cuttin' at the point Charlie Wilson & His Hayloft Boys
9.New Money Doc Roberts
10.Old Voile Blue Ridge Mountaineers
11.Lost Love Asa Martin
12.That's my rabbit... Walter Family
13.Way Down South in Dixie Doc Roberts
14.Five Up H.L Bandy
VOL 3 (Way Down South In Dixie)
This is really the B side of Way Down South in Dixie (meaning they shpuld be cuts 8-14):
1.Shaker Ben Walter Family
2.Glide Waltz Green's String Band
3.Old Old Flannigan Blue Ridge Mountaineers
4.Monkey Show H.L Bandy
5.Stove Pipe Blues Kentucky String Ticklers
6.And the cat came back Doc Roberts
7.We'll understand itbetter... Kentucky Mountain Choristers
This is side B of Wish I Had My Time Again!
8.Eight of January Ted Gossett's String Band
9.Knoxville Rag Taylor, Burnett & Moore
10.If I die a railroad man Green Baily
11.Old Buzzard Doc Roberts
12.Sail away ladies H.L Bandy
13.Bow legged Irishman Ted Gossett's String Band
14.Wild hog in the woods Lonesome Luke and His Farm Hands
Hope this helps.
Paul
This a great collection. Thank you very much for posting--and for taking the time to correct the tags. Think I'll just download the whole thing again since you've already done the work.
Post a Comment