Across the Blue Ridge #144 - Bluegrass Classics, New Recordings

This week we hear a solid selection of classics from the early days of bluegrass music – the 1940s and 1950s.  Hear the evolution from Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys before Earl Scruggs joined the group with his highly refined and attention-getting three-finger banjo style.  Listen to Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys, Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys, and Reno and Smiley – all musical descendants of old-time mountain music, and the disruptive influence of Bill Monroe.  Also on the show, Frank Lee & Allie Burbrink take a Monroe tune and move it back in time, performing it in a distinctly old-time style on their new album.  We hear other new recordings as well, from Junior Sisk, Horseneck, and more.

Playlist

1. Ridin' That Midnight Train
   Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
   Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys 1971-73
   Rebel
    
2. Dog House Blues
   Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys
   Mule Skinner Blues
   BMG RCA
    
3. It's Mighty Dark To Travel
   Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys
   The Essential Bill Monroe
   Sony
    
4. I'll Never Shed Another Tear
   Flatt & Scruggs & The Foggy Mountain Boys
   1948-59 Vol. 1
   Bear Family
    
5. You Don't Know My Mind
   Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys
   You Don't Know My Mind
   Rounder
    
6. Love Oh Please Come Home
   Reno & Smiley
   16 Greatest Hits
   Gusto
    
7. Break 1 - Earl's Breakdown
   Flatt & Scruggs & The Foggy Mountain Boys
   1948-59 Vol. 2
   Bear Family
    
8. Somebody On Your Bond
   Frank Lee & Allie Burbrink
   Roll On, Clouds
   Bake Tone
    
9. Travelin' Down This Lonesome Road
   Frank Lee & Allie Burbrink
   Roll On, Clouds
   Bake Tone
    
10. Old Lonesome Blues
    Bill & The Belles
    Dreamsongs, Etc.
    Bill & The Belles
     
11. Preacher & The Bear
    Bill & The Belles
    Dreamsongs, Etc.
    Bill & The Belles
     
12. Ain't Nothin' Wrong With That
    Junior Sisk
    Brand New Shade Of Blue
    Mountain Fever
     
13. Hay Mow
    The Horsenecks
    Fiddlehead
    The Horsenecks
     
14. Break 2 - Sandy Boys
    Frank Lee & Allie Burbrink
    Roll On, Clouds
    Bake Tone
     
15. Have I Stayed Away Too Long
    Dom Flemons
    Prospect Hill
    Music Maker
     
16. Who'll Watch The Home Place
    Kay Justice & Alice Gerrard
    Tear Down The Fences
    Kbell Productions
     
17. I'm Working On A Building
    Paul Brown & Company
    Red Dog
    Ryland Records
     
18. A Picture From Life's Other Side
    Woody Guthrie
    This Land Is Your Land
    Smithsonian Folkways
     
19. Cluck Old Hen
    The Bogtrotters
    Southern Journey Vol. 2
    Rounder