Hi, there... This page is part of the Slipcue guide to old-timey musicians, both old and new. This old-timey guide is part of a much larger Hick Music website. This "guide" is not meant to be comprehensive or authoritative, just a quick look at a few records I've heard recently, as well as some old favorites. Comments, corrections and/or recommendations are are always welcome!
This page covers the letter "T"
Benny Thomasson "Legendary Texas Fiddler" (County/Rebel Records, 2005)
This is some mighty fine fiddle music, representing the true, authentic regional styles that Thomasson -- an old-timer himself -- grew up with in a lifetime of Texas dancehalls and front porch jam sessions. If you like raspy, truly rural fiddle tunes, then this disc is one you'll not want to pass up. Recommended.
Ernest Thompson "Pioneer Artist From North Carolina" (BACM, 2005)
Tom, Brad & Alice "Holly Ding" (Copper Creek Records, 2000)
That's Tom Sauber, Brad Leftwich and Alice Gerrard, as venerable a group of old-timey revivalists as you're ever likely to hear. This is the trio's second album (I still haven't tracked down the first), and it's a nice, gangly set of oddly-arranged proto-bluegrass tunes, arranged and performed in a style that takes the music back to its unruly back-woods roots, when song measures and lyrics veered about with wild unpredictability. This album starts out with an unusual version of a familiar folk tune ("The Cuckoo"), forcing you right off the bat to meet these guys on their own terms. But once you settle in on their wavelength, it's a really fun little record. Recommended!
Tom, Brad & Alice "We'll Die in the Pig Pen Fighting" (Copper Creek Records, 2002)
Tom, Brad & Alice "Carve That Possum" (Copper Creek Records, 2005)
The Tobacco Tags "Get Your Head In Here" (BACM, 2005)
Leroy Troy "The Old Grey Mare" (Rounder Records, 2001)
A little goofy, slightly over-the-top, but convincing and compelling nonetheless, cornpone without being corny. Leroy Troy is not as old as he sounds, singing in a gravelly, whispered lisp, trotting through a bunch of old-time tunes, but his affectations aren't intrusive, they work pretty well in the context of his tunes. Helped out by a bunch of pickin' pals, including Marty Stuart in a welcome return to his hillbilly roots, this is as much a bluegrass novelty album as it is old-timey, although for folks looking for the old-timey sense of nostalgia without quite as much of the musical severity, this could be a fun record to explore. I liked it. (Also see: The Tennessee Mafia Jug Band.)
