The Music Goes Round & Round - Frank Froeba
How Long How Long Blues - Tampa Red; with the fabulous Jackie 'Half-Pint' Jaxon on the orgasmic vocal
Nobody Knows - The Dillards
Blue Moon Of Kentucky - Ray Charles; Brother Ray does it again. Not only bringing soul to secular music but single handedly snatching country music back from the jaws of Chet Atkins
Fire In The City - Jon Hendricks/Greatful Dead; can you believe this? One of the formost practioners of vocalese with the red hot backing of the Dead.
How Sweet It Is - Karen Dalton; her voice just floats over the efforts of her backup band. She phrases against the melody making the voice an instrument instead of a megaphone.
Sally In the Alley - Holy Modal Rounders; Peter Stampfel says he wrote this about Karen Dalton which he says was not a kind portrait but true to her life & she always insisted on the truth.
They Killed John Henry - Justin Townes Earl
Snow Deer - Alpine String Band (Jim, Debo & Wally); This is off a tape if the 1980 Oregon Folk Festival which was in Corvallis. Thanks Jim.
Mama's Opry - Iris DeMent/Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Jerusalem Ridge - Retrograss (David Grossman/John Hartford & Mike Seeger); another Mike Seeger collaboration.
The (New) Call Of the Freaks - Luis Russell; the words are 'Garbage Man Blues'. Milton Brown has a great version of this song. He starts out in the wrong key ( or the band played in the wrong key & it's still great).
Make My Love Come Rollin' Down - Gov Scrivenor
It Takes A Worried Man To Sing A Worried Song - Lonnie Donnigan/Chris Barber/Van Morrison; it gets hard to start worrying after hearing this song. For years I thought it was 'takes a married man'.
Jesus Made Up My Dyan' Bead - Kelly Joe Phelps; this reminds me of when Kelly Joe was just one of the folks that you could see playing here & there around town.
Roundup Lullaby - Sweet Potato Vine (Joe Divin/Merle Korn); another one from the 1980 OR Folk Fest. This one fooled Merle.
Railroad Bill - David Holt/Josh Goforth
Digga Digga Doo - Mills Brothers; all you mouth trumpet wanna be's take note. This is the gold standard to measure against.
Sun Brimmer's Blues - Federal Cigar Jug Band; an outfit that I think is out of Salem. Thanks Bob.
Oregon Country - Stuck In the Stirrups; another blast from the 1980 Corvallis folk fest. Check out the guy on steel guitar.
Evening Prayer Blues - Floating Glass Balls; I've been laboring under the misinformation that Billy Hults was alive but enduring cancer. I found out the other day that this ain't so. He died back the end of June. I love this tune which is a Bill Monroe arrangement of a DeFord Bailey number. Deford was one of the first stars on the Grand Ole Opery, a unique position for a black man in those times. Billy was many things throughout his life but was always the best washboard player in the room & he plays it here. This one's for you Billy. Goodbye & good luck - to all of us.
When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again - Tim & Mollie O'Brien
Whomp Bomp - Koerner/Ray/Glover
You Rascal You - Jack Teagarden; I heard a story that Lewis Armstrong's whole band was arrested going through a small town somewhere in the out back. When asked by the magistrate to prove they were indeed a band of musicians, this was the song they chose to perform. They were released forthwith.
bornyard Boogie - Louis Jordan
Blame It On the Blues - Suze & Eric Thompson
Idaho - Jethro Burns
Henry & Moggy