Holiday Music | Other Country Styles

Jackie & Arlen Vaden "Just As The Sun Went Down" (Vaden Records, 19--?) (LP)
Pioneers of the Ozark indie scene, Arlen and Jackie Vaden were local Arkansas gospel singers who self-released their own music and sold it by mail, but soon branched out into secular styles, releasing several noteworthy rockabilly and R&B singles in the late 1950s. These two gospel LPs collect several older singles, including tracks that featured artists such as Ray Baker, Onie Wheeler and Bobby Trammell. The songs seem to have been recorded in the late 1950s, though don't quote me on that, okay?

Jackie & Arlen Vaden "Gospel Favorites, Volume One" (Vaden Records, 19--?) (LP)
As with the previous LP, what caught my eye with this album was the presence of other artists such as hillbilly bopper Onie Wheeler and the Bailes Brothers, a family-act duo whose post-war recordings kept alive the haunting, pre-bluegrass style of the Delmore Brothers and the Blue Sky Boys. I think several of these tracks were actually originally released under the "guest" artists' names, so this may actually be more of a compilation album.

Leroy Van Dyke "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" (Kapp Records, 1969) (LP)

Leroy Van Dyke "Gospel Greats" (Plantation Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by LeRoy Duncan & Shelby Singleton Jr.)
A truly uninspiring inspirational album, with lackluster vocals and bland, prefab pop-country arrangements. I think they were trying to project a modern sensibility into these gospel oldies, but nobody really seems to have had their heart in it. This is just stuffy, stiff, and boring.

Jack Van Impe & Rexella Van Impe "Singing And Making Melody With The New Accorgan" (Crown V Recordings, 196-?) (LP)
One of the kitschiest, kookiest and most fiery American evangelists of the late 20th Century, Detroit, Michigan's Jack Van Impe (1931-2020) was best known for his broadcasting career, which was punctuated by a steady stream of self-released LPs showcasing his blistering, apocalyptic, fire-and-brimstone sermons. He also put out a few musical albums, including this set, which touted the then-new "Accorgan," an early electronic accordion. Back in his teens, Van Impe played in a duo with his father, and focussed on a musical career early in life, while his wife Rexella was a tent revival organist. Sure, this album is not (at all) country sounding, but I couldn't pass by the chance to give the Van Impes a plug. There's more: see below.

Jack Van Impe "Accorgan Artistry" (Van Impe Recordings, 1977) (LP)
His secular fans mostly just want to hear Jack Van Impe foaming at the mouth and damning us all to eternal torment, but perhaps his mellower musical side may yield a few guffaws as well. This album focusses, again, on his favorite instrument, the electronic accordion hybrid known as the Accorgan, and blends classic hymns with some slightly odder material. Alongside chestnuts such as "Bringing In The Sheaves" and "No, Never Alone" is a newly weaponized rendition of "Keep On The Firing Line" and a track called "Sound Effects Package," which promises a sonic parade of "Chimes, Marimbas, Harpsichord, Banjo, Birds, Steam." The liner notes inform us that Dr. Van Impe is "considered one of the world's five most talented accordionists," although I'm not entirely sure how they made that determination. Anyway, this musical set is plenty kitschy, but not nearly as much as his spoken word albums, which are sometimes downright scary.

Rev. Jack Van Impe "Marked For Death: Can America Survive?" (Artists Records, 1970) (LP)
No music on this one, but I just had to mention it. This is one of my all-time favorite albums, a cherished possession, and an ultra-classic example of hysteric, over-the-top, rabidly paranoid, apocalyptic conservatism, with TV preacher Jack Van Impe holding forth on hippie sex orgies, drugs, rock'n'roll, the impending sabotage of America by the fearsome SDS (the by then nearly-defunct far-left Students For A Democratic Society) as well as imminent the nuclear war that will bring forth the Apocalypse as prophesied in the Book of Revelations. Whoo-hoo!! Apparently mixmaster DJ Shadow sampled part of this album on a track somewhere... and it is certainly a goldmine for hot samples: I used to play it on my radio show from time to time, particularly the part where he rants and raves about rock'n'roll:

...and that's just him getting warmed up. Great record. You can hear it online at the Recordo Obscura blog, if you dare. I bet his other albums are a real hoot as well. (NOTE: some sites list this as having come out in 1972, but I think that's incorrect. Van Impe drops several references that make it clear that these sermons were made in the summer of 1969, and I doubt he wasted much time getting it out, what with the immediate crisis and "sudden destruction" looming at the time. The references to '72 were part of his prophecy, not a marker of when he made this record.)

The Vanwinkle Family "Sings Country Gospel" (Central Recording Studio, 198-?) (LP)
(Produced by Delbert Barker)
The presence of old-school, 1950s hillbilly twangster Delbert Barker is what caught my eye on this one -- apparently he settled down in Ohio and started his own recording studio at some point. The clients for this project were Mr. Arnold Van Winkle, his wife Rosella Van Winkle (1945-2019) and their brood, a flock of sons including Frank (playing lead guitar), Greg and Vance. They were residents of Greensfork, Indiana and initially only cut a 45 single at Barker's studio back in 1980, but were so pleased with the results they returned and recorded a whole album. About half the songs are originals written by Mrs. Van Winkle, with the lads playing all sorts of stringed instruments, getting a little help from Barker's in-house studio crew, drummer Roy Cook, Steve Lake on bass, and Dave Zornes on pedal steel. The family name is apparently misspelled on the album, and was Van Winkle on their earlier single, as well as in Mrs. Van Winkle's obituary; no mention of music or this album was given, so they probably weren't an active band and just made this record for fun.

Lowell Varney & Jim Horn "A Place Called Heaven" (REM Records, 1966) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Mooney)
West Virginia banjoist Lowell Varney recorded a number of gospel albums -- and a few secular sets as well -- frequently collaborating with guitarist Jim Horn, who shares the spotlight on this disc. Varney worked with plenty of top bluegrass talent, including bluegrass elders such as Hylo Brown and Ralph Stanley, though he primarily seems to have led his own bands. Here, he and Jim Horn are backed by an intriguing cast of characters, including Autry Inman (bass guitar) Charlie Nixon (dobro) and Earl White (fiddle), with additional vocal harmonies from Delbert Crum (bass vocals) and Trenton Marcum (tenor). Most of the songs on Side One were written by Jim Horn, while Side Two includes Varney's tune, "Lowell's Gospel 5," as well as a cover of a Louvin Brothers song called "Born Again," and one from Buddy Starcher.

Lowell Varney & Jim Horn "Folk Sound Of Gospel Music" (REM Records, 1967) (LP)

Lowell Varney "Sound Of Blue Grass Gospel Style" (Irma Records, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Tommy Crank & Lowell Varney)

Lowell Varney & Hylo Brown "Sound Of Nashville" (Newland Records, 1972-?) (LP)
(produced by Jay W. Newland)
Despite the Music City reference in the album title, this is another straight-up gospel set, reuniting banjo plunker Varney with his old boss, bluegrass bandleader Hylo Brown... Also on board is Varney's longtime collaborator Jim Horn, who also contributes four of the album's twelve songs... There's also a cover of a Hank Williams classic, "How Can You Refuse Him Now," sung by Hylo Brown, who splits lead vocal duties with Mr. Varney.

Lowell Varney & Landon Messer "Going To A City" (Old Homestead Records, 1983) (LP)

The Vicksburg Quartet "This Ole House" (Jewel Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Reggie Wallace)

The Victors "Life Is Worth Living" (Victor/Cherish Records, 196-?) (LP)
(Produced by Cliffie Stone)
Excellent Southern California southern gospel, mostly in the Blackwood Brothers/Statesmen style, though a few tracks have a tantalizing country feel. What first caught my eye was the liner notes by SoCal country elder Cliffie Stone; then I noticed a couple of the songs were composed by his oldest son, Steve Stone (1943-2017) who I think was in this initial lineup of the Victors, and later assumed a role as the group's producer. The timeline on this album isn't clear -- it's definitely the group's first album, and they went on to cut an album for Capitol in 1968, and another for the Fresno-based Calvary label. In his liner notes, Cliffie Stone mentions becoming aware of the popularity of southern gospel when he experimented with adding religious numbers to the nationally-syndicated Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, which broadcast on NBC up until 1961; that was the same year Steve Stone graduated from bible school, and he seems to have been interested in going into a gospel music career, though he soon settled into the secular country scene instead. Anyway, I think this album might have come out as early as 1965, though that's certainly not for sure. There are three songs on here that should be of interest to twangfans: the title track, "Life Is Worth Living," kicks off the album with a jaunty pop-rockabilly feel, like something you could hear on a Ricky Nelson record, matched by a track called "Never Out Of His Sight." Side Two opens with some sizzling country picking on "Love That Was Meant For You And Me," one of two songs credited to Steve Stone. No idea who the guitar pickers were, though they were probably recruited from Cliffie Stone's cabal of SoCal country stars, though there are no musician credits, so it's hard to say. The vocal quartet members are also not named, though the composer credits include Bob Chilton, Al Harkins, Dennis Miller and Chris Roberts, with two songs credited to Steve Stone. The rest of the album is a bit too churchy for me, although fans of mainstream southern gospel should be wowed by this record... it's a pretty solid set for the genre. [Note: the front cover identified the band as The Victors, though on the back they call themselves the Victors Quartet... this dual name persists on their other albums. Similarly, this album's back cover gives an address in Hollywood for Cherish Records, though the inner label places this as being on Victor Records.]

The Victors "A Brand New Feeling" (Capitol Records, 1968-?) (LP)
(Produced by Steve Stone)
Although this was incorrectly tagged in the contemporary music press as the Victor's first album, it's still notable for the continued participation of Steve Stone, who was moving into full-time work as a Southern California country/country-rock producer. That's evident in the glossy, poppy production on this album, which has a jaunty, prefab feel, typical of the non-counterculture rock coming out of LA at the time. The group's lineup is pretty much the same, though Stone seems to have stepped down as a performing member, leaving in place the quartet of Bob Chilton, Al Harkins, Dennis Miller and Chris Roberts. Apparently there are some "Wrecking Crew" musicians onboard for this album, including guitarists Jimmy Bryant, Glen Keener and Donnie Owens, who contribute to the perhaps overly-commercial, too-groovy, "far out" sound of the production. Though this might be of interest to twangfans, it's definitely got a kitschy factor, and maybe even a bit of a glee club/barbershop feel... On the other hand, gospel fans looking for something out of the ordinary might find this rewarding -- it has a similar feel to the hip, rock-oriented Crusaders album that came out on Capitol's affiliate Tower label around the same time.

The Victors "Put Your Hand In The Hand" (Calvary Records, 196-?) (LP)
I'm not sure when this album came out, but it appears to be after the two listed above, since the lineup is almost completely changed, and had been stable before. Tenor vocalist Al Harkins seems to have taken over the group, which now includes Al Harkins (tenor), Wayne Lansford (baritone) and Ed Loomis (lead vocalist) with Everett Evans on piano, and perhaps most notably Tracy Dartt on bass vocals. Dartt and Harkins were old pals, and he had composed the title track of the Victors' previous album, "Brand New Feeling." Later Mr. Dartt performed with the Weatherfords, back in Oklahoma, but he went on to become a stalwart of the California country-gospel scene, notably working with June Wade and her band in the early 'Seventies, before starting his own solo career. According to his Discogs bio, Tracy Dartt led a congregation in Auberry, California, a mountain town located in Fresno Country's higher elevations -- this matches up with the Victors cutting this record for the Fresno-based Calvary label, though again, I'm not sure exactly when this album came out. The set includes several originals by various band members, as well as one by Dottie Rambo, and one by Porter Jordan(!) who later emerged as a pop artist.

Rhonda Vincent & The Sally Mountain Show "Bound For Gloryland" (Rebel Records, 1991)

Virgil & Bill "I'm Gonna Sing" (Hi-Spot Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Claiborne & Bill Belknap)
An exemplary country gospel set -- joyful, exuberant and full of true twang. Starting in 1953, Virgil Glenn and Bill Thorton hosted a popular country music program on KOAM-TV, in Pittsburg, Kansas, and they sound as confident and relaxed as you'd expect from such seasoned veteran performers. They trucked on down to nearby Tulsa, Oklahoma to record this disc, backed in the studio by the Danny Gilliand band, with Danny Gilliand on banjo, Terry Brown (guitar), Mike Bruce (steel guitar), Mike Dinsmore (bass), Shelby Eicher (fiddle and mandolin) and Doyle Speer on drums. The band really gets into it as well -- maybe they get a little note-happy at times, but overall this is just a fun, joyful record. Highly recommended!

The Vogt Family "Footprints Of Jesus/All Aboard" (Praise Records, 19--?) (LP)

The Vogt Family "Back Home" (Praise Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Irene Carter)
A family band from Pomeroy, Washington with Bud and Ruth Vogt joined by their three children, Bill, Jan and Jon. Jon plays piano and several non-family locals backing them, including lead guitar by George Palmer, some steel guitar from Lee Knight, and Ken Fuller playing the Hammond Organ. The Vogts were not professional musicians -- from the looks of the cartoony cover art, they were an actual farming family -- but they did play some infrequent shows around Spokane and Seattle, playing mainly gospel music.

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