Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy your holidays. I will probably resume posting in the new year.

See ya folks,
mellow

Christmas set

This is the last download post before Christmas, so here are some real nice christmas tunes. I chose several different musical genres, not only country/rock and roll. I think the best musical style that fits to the christmas feeling is jazz, so Bing Crosby seems to be perfect! Listen to them and look out the window at the white winte wonderland!

Download

track list:
1. Ruby Wright - Merry Merry Christmas
2. RCA Victor Salon Orchestra - Jingle Bells Fantasy
3. Bing Crosby - Round and Round the Christmas Tree
4. Bing Crosby - Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
5. Bobby Helms - Jingle Bell Rock (1983 re-recording)
6. Pat Boone - Winter Wonderland

Thanks to Red for the Bobby Helms tune and to Lee from "Music You (Possibly) Won't Here Anybody Else" blog for the first two songs.

Asa Martin day #2

An anonymous visitor requested some more Asa Martin stuff, so here we go. On the left, you can see an advertisement for Martin's Radio Round-Up that aired daily in the morning over WHAS and WLAP in Louisville. The Round-Up featured, apart from Martin and his Kentucky Hillbillies (see photo), also many other artists from that region, including also James Roberts, the son of Fiddlin' Doc Roberts. Martin recorded with both Doc and James during 1928-1934, but Doc retired in 1934. James was a regular feature on the Round-Up, where he also met his future wife, who went under the name of Irene Amburgey (her real name). In 1939, she was a guest at the Round-Up and met James. They married and moved to Bluefield, Virginia, and then to Atlanta. That's where James Roberts became James Carson.
However, Asa Martin was a big star in Louisville during the 1930s and 1940s. Although he never launched a nationally career, he was quite popular in the region. Martin appeared on several radio stations, made personal appereances and promoted country events.

Here are more of his songs:

1. Coal Tipple Blues (Fiddlin' Doc Roberts Trio)
2. Darling Nellie Gray (with James Roberts)

Ric Cartey RIP

The Old-Timey day has to wait til tomorrow. Got something more important to tell you folks. Ric Cartey, famous for "Scratchin' On My Screen", "Born to Love One Woman" or "Young Love", died on August 5, 2009. The rockabilly artist and songwriter was born on January 18, 1937, in Atlanta and recorded his first sides for Stars Records out of his hometown. He then switched to RCA Victor and recorded such songs as "Oooh-Eee", "Heart Throb" (written by Tommy Spurlin), "Born to Love One Woman" (written by Don Johnston) or "Mellow Down Easy". His song "Young Love" was recorded by Sonny James, Tab Hunter, the Crew Cuts, Nat Stuckey and many more.

Read here more.

Something about The Dixie Harmonairs

I bet nobody knows this group. I also know nothing about the group...

The Dixie Harmonaires were a Rockabilly group that recorded two songs for the small Dixie label out of Covington, Kentucky (which was not associated with Starday's Dixie Records). When you look at the labels of the 45s, you will see that the records were rudimentary manufactured. However, the Dixie Harmonaires had their first single out with "Hi Yo Silver" (the flip side as well as catalog number or release date of this single are unknown), which was the only recording re-issued later. A second release followed with "Honey Hush" b/w "Rock Around the Clock". You see that they recorded Rock & Roll classics; the "Hi Yo Silver" was indeed a remake of "Honey Hush" (heavily inspired by the Johnny Burnette version). The Rockabilly Hall of Fame page of "Rock Around the Clock" files the recording as late 1950s/early 1960s.

If anyone has more info on the Dixie Harmonaires, please pass it along. Go to Terry Gordon's RCS site for label shows, re-issue info and song samples.

Rockabilly Duos

Thought it is time for another selfmade comp... This was an idea I had long ago and on the weekend, I compiled the songs and made the covers. No liner notes this time, IMO it's not neccesary. Hope you like it.

Download

track list:
1. George and Earl - Done Gone
2. Jimmy and Johnny - Can't Find the Door Knob
3. Mike and Jim - Baby Don't Knock
4. Wade and Dick - Bob Bob Baby
5. Jimmy Lee and Wayne Walker - Love Me
6. Mike and Jim - Dungaree Cutie
7. George and Earl - Stop, Look and Listen
8. Farmer Boys - Cool Down Mame
9. Jimmy Lee - Look What Love Will Do
10. Tom Tall and Ruckus Tyler - Don't You Know
11. Jimmy and Johnny - Knock on Wood
12. Farm Boys - My Baby Done Left Me

Asa Martin day

Asa Martin and his partner Fiddlin' Doc Roberts were two of the best selling old-time artists on Gennett during the latetr part of the 1920s. Both had the chance to launch a nation-wide career in music, but due to Roberts unwillingness to travel and stay away from his Kentucky home, this never happened. After Martin and Roberts parted ways, it was perhaps too late for Martin. He was born in 1900 in Winchester, KY, to a piano teacher and a fiddler. Apart from the traditional Old-Timey, Martin was heavily influenced by the travelling vaudeville and minstrel shows. As a young man, he went to a medicine school, but left it because of the his bad financial situation and decided to become a professional musician. First he played as a background musician for silent movies and then travelled with tent shows. Around this time, Martin met Doc Roberts and they soon formed a duo, which recorded first in 1928 for Gennett. With the arrival of Roberts' son James (later known as James Carson), who played mandolin and sang, the duo became the Fiddlin' Doc Roberts Trio. Til 1934, the trio recorded countless sides for Gennett and later ARC, but Doc Roberts left the music business in 1934. Martin kept on performing in Kentucky and had his daily radio show on WLAP and appeared on several other radio stations. In 1938, he recorded for Decca but also returned to a day job in 1942 or so. The folk revival of the 1960s caused Martin to perform again with a new band. He cut an album in 1974 and gave one last concert with Doc & James Roberts at Berea College. Martin died in 1979.

Here are a couple of his songs.
1. Gamblin' Cowboy
2. Homestead on the Farm
3. Sunny Tennessee (with James Roberts)

Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning

Some awesome blues by guitarist Bob Heaton. I posted a recording of this three weeks ago. Check it out. The earliest recorded version goes as far back as to 1928 (to my knowlegde), when Blind Willie Johnson cut it for Columbia.

Big Bill Lister died

"Big" Bill Lister, the "tallest cowboy in radio", died on December 1, 2009, in San Antonio, Texas. Lister was one of the more popular country music entertainers during the early 1950s.

He started his career in 1938 with appereances on local Texas radio and worked around San Antonio during the 1940s. In the early 1950s, Lister moved to Nashville, where he got a recording contract with Capitol, toured the country with Hank Williams (Lister was also a member of the Drifting Cowboys for some time), was a regular on the Grand Ole Opry and also played with other major country stars of that era. In the 1960s, Lister went out of the music business, but resumed his career in the 1980s.

Lister is often associated with the song "There's a Tear In My Beer", which he recorded for Capitol in the 1950s. The song was written by Hank Williams and ol' Hank gave Lister a demo of this song, before Lister recorded it. In the 1980s, Lister discovered the demo in his attic and was inspired by this to resume his career. It is the only known copy of this demo. The song was also recorded by Hank Williams, Jr, winning a Grammy with his version.

Carl Perkins set

June Carter, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins

Here are four songs by Carl Perkins. I have no accurate info on the recording date, but they surely come from the 1970s or 1980s. Apart from "Rock Island Line", all songs are covers of great Rock & Roll songs. I have some other recordings from that same session, including "Jailhouse Rock", "All Shook Up", "Matchbox" (covering himself!) and others. Have fun with 'em.

Download

track list:
1. I'm Walking
2. Maybellene
3. Rock Island Line
4. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

Down Yonder

Searching for something to post today, I found this one on youtube. At first, I was hunting for some fine Old-timey on youtube, but I think this is even better. It's Allen Dale performing "Down Yonder", which was made popular by Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers in 1934. In 1951, Del Wood also had a hit with this and it was covered various times and became a standard in ragtime piano playing as well as in Old-Time and Bluegrass.