Charlie Albertson "He Sure Sings A Good Country Song" (Hilltop Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Linneman)
A veritable institution in the Tar Heel State, Charles W. Albertson was born in Beulaville, North Carolina back in 1932 and pursued a musical career that spanned the 1970s and beyond. Once a regular on the Arthur Smith TV show, he went on to record a number of country records, including both secular and gospel material, and in the late '80s turned towards politics, winning a state house seat in 1989 (running in the Democratic Party) then moved into the state senate from 1993-2011, where he became known as "the singing senator." The apex of his political career may have been in 2010 when he heard that some guys in Willie Nelson's entourage had been busted for for smoking pot, which prompted Mr. Albertson to record a protest anthem, "Leave The Man Alone," which became a regional hit. This early 'Seventies album appears to be all cover songs, mostly big hits of the '60s and '70s, including tunes like "Borrowed Angel," "Love Is The Foundation," "Tie A Yellow Ribbon," and Kris Kristofferson's "Why Me Lord." Earlier he had recorded a few singles for the Nashville-based Stop Records label, and mid-decade had a few songs recorded on Mega Records, but nothing ever clicked nationally.

Charlie Albertson "Honky Tonk Moon" (Hilltop Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Jimmy Capps, Kevin McManus & Billy Linneman)
While his previous album was heavy on cover tunes, this seems to be more of a songwriters demo set, with all the songs on Side One co-written by picker Dave Kirby and Side Two packed with material by guys like Roger Bryant, Gene Dobbins, Weldon Myrick, and even one by Bobby Harden, who also sings backup on this album, along with his sister Arlene. Among the studio hotshots backing him here are Jimmy Capps and Steve Chapman on guitar, Bunky Keels plunking piano, Johnny Gimble sawing the fiddle and Stu Basore and Weldon Myrick chiming in on pedal steel... Although this is mostly new material written by others, there is one rare Alberson original at the end, a tune called "Thankful," tucked away at the tail end of Side Two.

Charlie Albertson "I'm Going To Live For Jesus" (Calvary Records, 1977) (LP)
Mr. Albertson also delved into gospel material, as heard on this disc, although his later albums from the 1990s and '00s mostly seem to be secular sets.

The Almond Hillbillies "Almond Hillbillies" (Southern Railway, 1961-?) (LP)
Beginning in 1951, the Southern Railroad company staged live entertainment in large tent shows for their management-level employees during regular retreats held in Almond, North Carolina. One of the main acts was an informal bluegrass stringband called the Almond Hillbillies, initially organized by Snow Baker, a member of the company's internal police force. The Almond shows also featured audience singalongs and comedic skits, including folksong parodies from another group called the Diddle Singers. These raucous railroad hootenannies were held for over a decade, up until 1965, when the company ended the tradition. I'm not sure how many souvenir albums like this one were created, or if this one from 1961 was the only time one was made. Not surprisingly, the set list is heavy on train-oriented songs such as "Nine Pound Hammer," "Wreck Of The Old 97" and "Life Is Like A Mountain Railroad," though there are also more generic mountain ballads and gospel tunes galore. Unfortunately, the individual musicians aren't listed, though it is worth noting that another band, The Southern Lawmen, was subsequently formed -- also drawing on the ranks of the SP police -- and that that group has recorded a number of albums over the years, including several reviewed here. (Many thanks to the www.railserve.com for filling in a few blanks about this band, posted as part of an exhaustive list of railroad-related albums and recordings.)

Tony Ballew & Free Flight "Let's Go Dancin' " (CPI Records, 198--?) (LP)
Not a lot of info about this (undated) mid/late '80s outing... A pretty slick-sounding, synthy set, aiming in the same direction as Top Forty stars like Gary Morris or Alabama. It's a little clunky, too, with iffy vocals and tinkly arrangements, though clearly he was into it. Tony Ballew was a stalwart of the local scene around Asheville, North Carolina, playing gigs at least as late as 2019, though he shifted gears away from slick-sounding modern country, transforming into more of a rock-pop oriented, for hire "party band." I'm not sure it's the same guy, but I think he may have passed away in 2021.

Lorita Barlow "Cute And Country" (Justice Recording Company, 1966) (LP)
Teen singer Lorita Barlow was an ambitious gal from Lenoir, North Carolina who was only fifteen years old when she cut this album for a label in Winston-Salem, about forty miles away from where she grew up. It's packed with uptempo material, mostly hits of the day such as "Act Naturally," "Under Your Spell Again," and "These Boots Are Made For Walking," as well as the weeper "Put It Off Until Tomorrow," which was a breakthrough hit for Dolly Parton in 1966. There are also some older tunes, catchy classics such as "Crazy Arms," "Love Letters In The Sand" and Don Gibson's "Oh, Lonesome Me." After high school Lorita Barlow really went for it, initially doing some shows around Charlotte before hitting the road to try and break into the music business. Her biggest adventure may have been a stint with Tampa, Florida TV host Jim Foster, where she appears to have been cast on his Nite Hawks program circa 1971 while recording several tracks that were released on a compilation album as well a single or two. She also had gigs in Toledo and Detroit, where she was the subject of a pretty extensive profile in the Free Press in the summer of '72. Her last record seems to have been a single called "I Want You," produced by Jim Foster's pal Finlay Duncan, and released on Capitol Records in 1975. I'm not sure how long she kept at her music career, though she eventually moved back to Lenoir, married, and became a local business owner. As far as I know this was her only LP... Alas, no info on the musicians backing her, though they probably were the house band at the Justice studio.

The Baxters "The Baxters" (RMD Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Wild & The Baxters)
The Baxter brothers -- Duncan, Mark and Rick -- originally were child performers in a 1960s North Carolina gospel harmony group called the Baxter Family, which also included several of their sisters... In the late '70s the guys decided to try their hand at secular country, inspired by the success of harmony-oriented groups such as the Bellamy Brothers and the Oak Ridge Boys... This early '80s album is mainly cover tunes, including versions of contemporary hits such as John Anderson's "Swingin'," and David Frizzell's "I'm Gonna Hire A Wino To Decorate Our Home," along with standards like "Rocky Top" and "Orange Blossom Special," as well as the hippie rock anthem, "Teach Your Children." I think they also worked as backup musicians for folks like Eddy Raven and Conway Twitty, who they thank in the liner notes, as well as Duane Allen on the Oak Ridge Boys, who contributed the liner notes. Two songs, "Headed Right (For The Wrong Kind Of Love)" and "Hurt" might have been originals, though there are no song credits on the album.

Bent Creek Band "Treading High Water" (Little Beast Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Mark Gilbert & Bent Creek Band)
Country-rock from North Carolina. A perfect example of a rock band "going country" and getting it right: this opens with the wildly manic "Git Down Country Music" and similarly uptempo "School Daze," both quite twangy but with super-jangly rhythm guitar riffs worthy of the Feelies or numerous indiepop bands to come. There's also a chunky, riff-heavy Skynyrd/Marshall Tucker rock influence, but when they decide to play country, they do it well. A slight vocal similarity with the Dreadful Grate's Bob Wier (though it's not that pronounced, and these guys do not sound like the Dead...) and some dips into electric blues as well... They also remind me of the Cornell Hurd Band, though much more rock-oriented. For alt-country fans, there's good reason to check these guys out... they were definitely ahead of the curve on the whole twangcore thing... by about a decade or so! The band included Morris Flynn on drums, Gary Hensley (bass), Scott Taylor (keyboards) and Edward Terry on guitars and vocals...

Ernie Bivens III "Musical Fix" (GBS Records/General Broadcasting Service, 1987) (LP)
(Produced by Lynn Carver, Pat Holt, Ronnie Light & Col. Ernie Bivens)
Apparently originally from North Carolina, Ernie Bivens III was the son of Col. Ernie Bivens. an erstwhile record producer and the driving force behind the GBS record label, which released a couple dozen singles and a few LPs during the 1980s. Often recording as just plain Ernie Bivens, EB3 cut several singles in addition to this LP, recording for the American Artists and Nashville American labels, as well as for GBS. This disc gathers some of that earlier material, as well as new songs penned by Ted Harris, as well as Chance Jones, Mike Lantrip, Ann Williams and Linda Craig. There's a faint whiff of song-poem, pay-to-play in the air here, although Harris was an established Nashville songwriter, and the backing band was an a-list Music City studio crew. The pickers are mostly seasoned pros, folks such as Willie Ackerman, Kenny Buttrey, Lloyd Green, Hargus Robbins, Buddy Spicher and Hank Strezlecki. Ernie Bivens had worked as a studio musician himself, including a stint as the drummer and vocalist for the Sligo Studio Band, which cut two early '80s LPs and also went by the name The Country Allstars; an earlier edition of the group recorded an album under Wayne Casper's name, one of his Sligo Studio buds. After this album, the Bivens trail grows cold, although I think he did some session work for various regional artists.

Blue Denim "Take It To The Limit (One More Time)" (Old Homestead, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by John Morris, Chuck Owens & Blue Denim)
These guys from Mooresville, North Carolina were straight-up bluegrassers, although they did cover the Eagles hit as their title track, as well as David Gates & Bread's super-gooey soft-pop twangtune, "Yours For Life." Fashionwise, they really had the whole late-'Seventies thing going for them, in a big way: aviator frames, broad, wide denim bells and some truly awesome hair! Recorded at the Arthur Smith Studio, in Charlotte, NC.

The Blue Sky Boys -- see artist profile

The Bluegrass Experience "Live At The Pier" (Roundhole Records, 1976-?) (LP)
A lively, enthusiastic set from these North Carolinians... A little choppy, but with an interesting song selection that had enough grassed-up country and rock material that I figured it could fit in here as well. Apparently the band had its roots in the early '70s, when they won a national old-timey championship, and they were highly regarded in North Carolina. I don't recognize most of the pickers, other than fiddler Al McCanless, who also cut a Folkways album with the Red Clay Ramblers. Anyway, this is some nice stuff from some real locals. Recommended!

The Bluegrass Kats "Kattin' Around" (Playhouse Productions, 1976-?) (LP)
(Produced by Laura Smith)
This obscuro bluegrass combo had a regular TV gig playing on Wilmington, North Carolina's WWAY for most of the 1970s, dating back six years before this album was made. They also seem to have played at the Pageland Theater in Pageland, South Carolina, which hosted the Sandhill Opry (the same venue that gave Randy Travis a leg-up when he was starting his career...) The group consisted of McCoy Gardiner (banjo), Tommy Simmons (rhythm guitar), "Little Tommy" Simmons (mandolin), Roscoe Canady (bass), Danny Stanley (lead guitar) and Nashville studio player Joe Thomas sitting in on fiddle. Like many off-the-radar 'grass groups, these guys went on to play in innumerable other little bands: Roscoe Canady and the Simmonses formed a group called the East Coast Boys, while Danny Stanley was in Carolina Sonshine and later in the Gentlemen Of Bluegrass. Mostly just listing them here because of the connection to the Sandhill Opry venue...

Bonnie Lou & Buster "...Sing Country Bluegrass And Gospel" (Angel Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Chris White & Tom Easley)
A husband-wife duo who were regulars on the Smokey Mountain Hayride, and whose careers stretched back to the 1940s. Hubert "Buster" Moore (1920-1995) was from rural Tennessee, and worked in various hillbilly and bluegrass bands before and after the war, including stints with Carl Story and Eddie Hill. After Moore met and married Margaret Bell, they formed their own band and changed her stage name to Bonnie Lou, moving from city to city for various jobs at radio stations and concert venues, including gigs in Bristol, Harrisburg, Knoxville, Salem, and her hometown of Ashville, North Carolina. They're best-known for their tenure at the Opry-esque Smokey Mountain Hayride variety show, a venue in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee that opened in 1972. They worked with local musicians including bluegrasser Don McHan, who performs with them on this album, playing banjo, along with Darrell Henry on dobro, and Buster Moore playing fiddle and mandolin. [Note: Mrs. Moore is not to be confused with the nationally-famous singer known as Bonnie Lou (nee Mary Joan Kath) who came from the Midwest and became a pop-country crossover artist in the 1950s.]

Bonnie Lou & Buster "...Sing Gospel" (Masterco Records, 1982) (LP)

Bonnie Lou & Buster "Smoky Mountain Hayride Show" (Green Records, 1983) (LP)

Tex Brownlee "Calling In Stereo" (Blue Star Records, 197--?) (LP)
Square dance calling by Tex Brownlee, the recreation director for the Fontana Village Resort, at the Fontana Dam in North Carolina. In addition to calling and "hash" routines, Mr. Brownlee also organized horseback riding, archery and miniature golf, as pictured on the back cover. From the looks of it the tracks on this LP were originally released as singles, including several "patter" recordings and a rendition of "Country Roads."

Wes Bryan "Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow" (U. S. International Records, 19--?) (LP)
A songwriter from Murphy, North Carolina, Wes Bryan was a teen rock-pop singer back in the late 1950s, and became a pretty successful songwriter, finding a slot in the Brill Building music factory. He's penned material recorded by Dorsey Burnette, Glen Campbell, David Houston, and others. This album was recorded in Los Angeles, though unfortunately there are no producer or musician credits.

The Camp Creek Boys "Over The Years" (Mountain Records, 197--?) (LP)
An old-timey string band from Camp Creek, North Carolina, featuring fiddler Fred Cockerham, Kyle Creed (banjo), Paul Sutphin (guitar), Vernon Clifton (mandolin), Ronald Collins (guitar) and Ernest East on fiddle. This LP draws on recordings from 1964-68, including a couple of tracks that were released as a single in 1967. There's a hint of western swing, with lots of twin fiddles, though mostly this is pretty back-to-basics stuff.

Jimmy Capps "Truck Driver's Instrumentals" (Papa Joe's Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Smith & Walter Smith)
Guitarist Jimmy Capps was from Benson, North Carolina and became one of the best-known, most in-demand superpickers in Nashville... On this trucker-themed LP, Capps plays a bunch of songs credited to producer Jerry Smith, who was also known for his work as a Nashville insider. In an interesting change of pace, this album also gives a shout-out to the cheesecake model posed on a semi hood on the front cover: turns out she was Carole Black, a columnist for Trux Incorporated and Overdrive magazines who, I guess, didn't mind also posing semi-nude (if you'll pardon the pun...)

Caitlin Cary -- see artist profile

Wayne Casper "Tomorrow" (Nashville American Records, 1979) (LP)
Bass player Wayne Casper was part of a group later known as the Sligo Studio Band, an ensemble centered around the trio of drummer Ernie Bivens, vocalist Beverly Taylor, and Casper, along with a core group that only changed slightly over the course of several LPs. I believe they were from North Carolina, although they seem to have played some long-term gigs in Virginia, including a stint at the Lido Inn in Norfolk, where they recorded a "live" album in 1980, billed as The Country Allstars. After a couple of albums in 1981, the trio seems to have called it a day; Ernie Bivens later recorded a string of singles, but I'm not sure if Casper or Taylor stayed in the music business.

Chicken Hot Rod "Chicken Hot Rod" (Old Oblivion Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Scancarelli)
A progressive bluegrass band from Charlotte, North Carolina, known for its humor-filled performances... The group included Thom Case on guitar, Darrell Grey (bass), Mark Wingate (fiddle) and Jim Whitley on banjo... Although this album came out in the shagadelic 'Seventies, the band's roots go back the late 'Sixties, when several members met at college in Winston-Salem. The group was popular on the college concert circuit and at various venues, recording this lone, live album which is mostly packed with original material, as well as a few nods to Flatt & Scruggs and Bill Monroe.

The Connells "True Country" (Jack O' Diamonds Records, 1987) (LP)
(Produced by Alex Zanetis & Jon D'Amelio)
Honkytonker Roger Connell and his son, Shawn Connell (1969-2020) were originally from around Fayetteville, North Carolina, performing together for several decades with their band Southern Pride, mostly local gigs in the Piedmont region. Roger Connell seems to have recorded some material earlier around 1982, though I think this disc from 1987 was the first record they made together as a father-son duo. They headed over to Tennessee to cut this album, with backing by Nashville cats including steel player Weldon Myrick and some younger players such as Randy James, Jimmy Young and Michael Young. The songs are all Roger Connell originals, and he definitely had a penchant for cheating songs, penning titles such as "There's Something Missing In Our Nights," "Lying Here, Lying Again," "I'm Locking Up My Memories For Tonight," and "My Heart Just Can't Take It Anymore." The production vibe is a bit slicker and more modern than I prefer, but it's country for sure. Not sure if they made other records, but the Connells performed together for years, playing local North Carolina gigs at least as recently as 2015-16.

The Country Allstars "Live At Lido Inn" (GBS Records, 1980-?) (LP)
Later known as the Sligo Studio Band, this group was centered around the trio of drummer Ernie Bivens, bass player Wayne Casper and vocalist Beverly Taylor, a gal who had been recording since the late 1960s, and recorded several LPs with this group. I believe they were from North Carolina, though they seem to have played some long-term gigs in Virginia, including this set at the Lido Inn, located in Norfolk, Virginia. It's a pretty solid set, with plenty of traditionally-oriented twang and some nice harmony singing on thumpy covers of tunes like Rodney Crowell's "Ain't Living Long Like This," "Crazy Arms," "I Ain't Never" and "Blue Kentucky Girl" (one of several tracks with Ms. Taylor singing the lead). It's billed as a concert album, but the crowd noises sound pretty darn pasted-in, and their performances a liiitle too smooth for a live setting.

The Country Playboys Show "Nervous Breakdown" (CPL Records, 197--?) (LP)
A bluegrass(y) band featuring lead singer Tony Atkins on banjo, Everette Miller (guitar), Billy Smith (rhythm guitar), and Craig Southern playing bass. The back cover gives Southern as their contact person, with an address in Dobson, NC; since all the guys in the band were seventeen or eighteen years old when they cut this disc, I'd guess that's where they all were from, having met in high school or something like that.

The Country Squires "The Country Squires" (Sound Trax, 19--?) (LP)
A sextet from Raleigh, North Carolina, mostly covering old-time folk, gospel and bluegrass standards... The group included included Al McConnell and Frank Avery, and covered classics such as "Orange Blossom Special," "I'm Using My Bible for a Roadmap" and "Uncle Pen."

Billy "Crash" Craddock -- see artist profile

The Crystal River Trio "I've Never Been This Homesick Before" (Star Studios, 1979-?) (LP)
A Tarheel gospel trio with country backing by a modest ensemble... The group from Hayes, North Carolina -- Shirley Hulte (alto), Betty Shores (soprano) and Jae Shores (tenor) -- took their name from the lyrics of a Dottie Rambo song that was the title track of this album. They cover several songs by the Rambos, as well as other contemporary gospel and southern gospel tunes from the likes of The Listers, The Speers and Andrae Crouch. Mr. Shores anchored the band on piano, with accompaniment by David Johnson on guitar, steel and violin, bassist Steve McKinney, and Anthony McNeil on drums. The liner notes say this group came together in 1979, and I imagine this record came out right around that time... As far as I know this was their only album.

Cullowhee "One More Song" (Cullowhee Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Cullowhee)
A rootsy rock band from Blowing Rock, North Carolina, with songs that include "Bayou Woman," "Ganga" and "When You're Happy," which sort of gives you an idea of where these guys were coming from. The band included Mike Clark, Terry Edwards, Sandy Flynn, Fred Hubbard, Thom Jenkins and Woody Jenkins, all of whom seemed to share in the songwriting... According to the group's well-curated website, the band was together for about a decade, from 1974-84. They started out at Western Carolina University as a trio called "Edwards, Clark & Flynn" which expanded to "Edwards, Clark, Flynn & Jenkins" by 1977, releasing a previous LP under that name.

Charlie Daniels Band -- see artist profile

Buddy Davis "The Buddy Davis Album" (Jay-Jay Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Buddy Davis, Bob Huskey, Eddie Rash & Eddie Swann)
A rootsy, bluegrassy picker with deep roots in Madison County, North Carolina, just north of Ashville. Davis mixes country and old-timey music with equal ease, with some of the more straight-up country material including tunes such as "Coal Tattoo," "I've Enjoyed As Much Of This As I Can Stand" and "Six Days On The Road," with a bit of "Mood Indigo" in there for good measure. Later in the 'Eighties, Davis joined The Norfolk Southern Lawmen (a local band made up of his fellow railroad cops) though I don't know if he ever recorded with them. Davis he also recorded with hometown legends Doc & Merle Watson, among other top-flight artists.

Hubert Davis & The Season Travelers "Harvest" (RHD Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Behrens)
This bluegrass-based band was led by North Carolinian banjo plunker Hubert Davis, an alumnus of the 'Fifties-era Bill Monroe band who modeled his playing on new Earl Scruggs style, and was one of the banjoists brought in to fill the gap when Flatt & Scruggs went solo. Much later, Davis got a full-time gig playing at a local club in Nashville called the Wind In The Willows, where he mostly played straight-up, traditional old stuff. This outlaw-era album is packed with standards like "Roll On Buddy," "Rocky Top," "Wabash Cannonball," and "Orange Blossom Special" -- there are also some cross-genre covers, like Kris Kristofferson's "Me And Bobby McGee," and western swing's "Faded Love." In the band at the time was a young mandolin picker named Mike Compton, who would later help co-found the Nashville Bluegrass Band, and worked with John Hartford throughout the 1990s. Although the Season Travelers, like most bands, had a fair amount of turnover, Davis kept the band running for decades, and recorded several other albums during this era. This disc features backing by Gene Bush on dobro, Mike Compton (mandolin), Rubye Davis (guitar), Shelby Jean Davis (bass) and fiddler Richard Hoffman.

The Dawker Mountain Valley Boys "Bound To Ride" (Deck Hill Records, 1976) (LP)
Peppy, progressive bluegrass from the slightly fictional locale of Dawker Mountain. These fellas from Charlotte, North Carolina seemed like nice young men... even if they had an electric bass! And they played weird stuff, too, like the "William Tell Overture" and songs with names like "The Hobbit" and "What Would He Think Of It Now?" Between 1975-76, the group performed at the Carowinds theme park, outside of Charlotte. The band included Jimmy Bird on banjo, John Bird (mandolin), Ed Bobbitt (guitar), Craig Duncan (fiddle), Bill Lindner (bass... electric!!) and Drexel Rayford on guitar...This disc, a souvenir for their Carowinds gig, was the Dawker Mountain Valley Boys only album. Although they mostly went into other bands (and careers), multi-instrumentalist Craig Duncan became a full-time studio musician and producer in Nashville, mostly working on bluegrass-y type stuff. (Many thanks to Mr. Rayford for his help filling in the blanks on this one!)

The Diana Sisters "Wild And Wonderful" (Celebrity Records, 196--?) (LP)
Blue comedy from a duo that had country influences, but branched out into pop standards as well... The Diana Sisters gave their names as Diane and Lynda Diana, and though their label was in New York, the gals themselves were apparently from North Carolina. Their schtick was to sing mildly obscene parodies of popular songs, both hits and standards, with the punchlines usually being either about some guy's studliness, or his failure to perform. It's not very sophisticated humor, but their carnality is striking, even given that these records were cut in the late 'Sixties, at the height of the sexual revolution. For an act with such ripe kitsch potential, the Diana Sisters have a remarkably low profile online: I poked around for quite a while and found no info other than what was written in the liner notes. They play several instruments -- guitars, banjo, violin and drums -- and purport to have gone to the Juilliard music school, though I would take this info (along with their names and biographies) with a grain of salt. But the musical end of their act was pretty solid, apparently all generated by the gals themselves. This was their first album, released around 1967 or '68, and features parodies of country songs such as "Roly Poly," "Feudin' Fiddler," "Steel Guitar Rag," as well as non-country material and comedic skits. Anyone know more about this duo? I'm all ears.

The Diana Sisters "Go Wild!" (Celebrity Records, 196--?) (LP)
On their second album, the gals include versions of "Just Because," "Orange Blossom Special," "The Race Is On" and "Madam Of The House," a lampoon of "King Of The Road." Again, it's not strictly a country record, but there's certainly enough twang to earn a spot here. There's also a version of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walking," which devolves into a bawdy, Sophie Tucker-like discourse. Not as kinky as one might desire, but hey, this was a long, long time ago...

The Diana Sisters "We're Not Angels" (Celebrity Records, 196--?) (LP)
Their third album also integrates a bunch of country material, including takeoffs on "Alabama Jubilee," "Folsom Prison Blues," "Strawberry Roan," and "We've Been Everywhere," a lampoon of Hank Snow's classic, "I've Been Everywhere."

Alan Dryman "The Alan Dryman Show -- Live" (Juke Box Records/United Image, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Bert Frilot & Lonnie Wright)
A country music impressionist who apparently had cut a few singles for MGM before making this live album... The liner notes say he was born in North Carolina and started performing while living out in San Diego, California. Dryman had moved to Houston, Texas by the time this live album was recorded. His impersonations include Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Merle Haggard, Hank Snow and Ernest Tubb, as well as a more "pop" personalities such as Dean Martin and Elvis Presley. Dryman is backed here by roots music sideman Danny Epps on harmonica, producer Lonnie Wright on guitar and backing vocals by "Linda and Judy (The Scorpios)." Groovy, man.

Edwards, Clark, Flynn & Jenkins "Smokey Mountain Feeling" (Hubbard Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Fred Hubbard)
This was an early incarnation of the North Carolina band, Cullowhee, a group that started as a trio in 1974, and released a second album a few years later, in 1980. At this point the lineup was more or less complete, with Mike Clark, Terry Edwards, Sandy Flynn, Thom Jenkins all on board; later on, producer Fred Hubbard would be counted as an official member, as would Woody Jenkins, who I assume was related to Thom.

Ray Edwards "Pickin' Bluegrass And Singin' Country" (JRE Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Ray Edwards & Chuck Haines)
A bluegrass picker from North Carolina, multi-instrumentalist Ray Edwards started out in a group called the High Country Boys, and went on to form his own band, Southbound, and to win several regional and national awards in the early '70s. From Winston-Salem he made his way to Nashville, where he worked as a sideman for Jeannie C. Riley, and most notably for Tom T. Hall, who hired Edwards to work in his tour band, The Storytellers, as well as a regular gig on Hall's weekly "Pop Goes The Country" program. This album was recorded at Hall's Toy Box studios in Nashville with a whole slew of folks playing on various tracks -- in addition to country session players such as Ray Edenton, Buddy Emmons and Dale Sellars, there are a bunch of bluegrassers, most notably Blaine Sprouse, who plays fiddle on several tracks. Edwards himself plays banjo, mandolin, pedal steel, dobro, bass and guitar -- one imagines there were a lot of long nights and multi-tracking involved. About half the tracks are actually instrumentals, but not everything here is bluegrass, per se, and on the straight-up country tunes, Edwards proves to be a durable, robust '70s-style countrypolitan crooner, sounding quite a bit like John Conlee on a tune or two. Four songs are credited to his boss, Tom T. Hall, including the album highlight, "I Flew Over Our House Last Night." Four tracks are credited to Ray Edwards, all instrumentals, and another Tom T. crony, Gary Edwards (of Mercury Records) slips in a tune called "Just Too Hard To Find." The bluegrass stuff is okay; the country songs are pretty groovy.

Tommy Faile "...Sings Brown Mountain Light" (CMC Records/Clay Music Corporation, 1974-?) (LP)
(Produced by Arthur Smith & Charles Andrews)
Although his name might not be immediately recognizable, his music is... Born in South Carolina, songwriter Tommy Faile was an old-school Southern country'n'bluegrass musician who crosed the state line and made his home in Charlotte, NC, working in the bands of Snuffy Jenkins and Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith. He's best known for writing the mega-classic, trucker recitation song, "Phantom 309," which became a huge hit for Red Sovine. Faile plays his own version of the song on here, along with several other originals and a few covers, including his version of "The Legend Of The Brown Mountain Lights," a novelty number about a will-o-wisp phenomenon sometimes seen in rural North Carolina. Not sure who backed Faile on this album, but it's a pretty good bet that at least one of the pickers was Arthur Smith himself... Faile also released a slew of indie-label singles in the 1950s and '60s, though as far as I know they haven't been collected anywhere... yet.

Tommy Faile "Full Moon Spell" (Sapphire Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by David Floyd)

Tommy Faile "No Fool Like An Old Fool" (Sapphire Records) (LP)
(Produced by Tommy Faile & David Floyd)

Donna Fargo -- see artist profile

Lee Ferrell "Hard Times" (TMS, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Art Munson)
Well, yes, this is actor Will Ferrell's dad, aka Roy Lee Ferrell, Jr., a saxophonist and piano player who blew sax with Dick Dale and later signed up with the Righteous Brothers, at the peak of their late-'60s fame. Originally from North Carolina, Lee Ferrell moved to California in 1964, and became firmly embedded in the SoCal music business. He took some time away from standards and blues on this disc to croon some commercial-sounding country, and pretty good stuff at that. Producer Art Munson was also an alumnus of the Dick Dale band, the Del-Tones.

The Foundations "Don't Weep For Me & Diesel Smoke" (Trail Records, 1976-?) (LP)
A treat for those of us looking for southern gospel that really sounds country. This album lives up to the promise of its album title (the diesel part) with an opening track filled with pedal steel and straight-up early-'Seventies commercial country arrangements which are echoed in later tracks. There are also songs that have a more conservative gospel sound, but the country is strong in this one. The Foundations were a solid harmony-vocal group from Pikeville, North Carolina, and like many southern gospel groups its membership was fluid and crossed over into several other groups, notably The Glorymen Quartet and the Harvesters Quartet. Alas, the liner notes don't tell us who was in this edition of group, or the Tennessee studio musicians who backed them. I'll go out on a limb and guess that this lineup including tenor Tommy Young (later of the Harvestmen) along with brothers Danny and Ivan Parker, who were all said to have been in an earlier version of the band. At any rate, this is definitely a more-country-than-usual gospel ensemble, and definitely worth a spin if that's what you seek. Fans of the Statler Brothers would probably dig this disc.

Garland Frady "Pure Country" (Countryside/Elektra, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Michael Nesmith)
A nice one! And well named. With his soulful, understated baritone, North Carolina-born Garland Frady (1941-2004) had a minor hit with "The Barrooms Have Found You," and his barely cracking into the Top 100 on an indie label led, inexorably, to cherished cult status. He was just that good. The rugged-voiced Frady had cut a string of singles dating back to the mid-1960s, but I guess nothing ever quite clicked, and this was his first LP, made while he was living in Los Angeles. An early-'Seventies regular in the Palomino Club's house band, Frady was pretty well-connected and is backed here by label owner Michael Nesmith and The Countryside Band, a group assembled to be the studio crew for the short-lived Countryside label. This was one of only two records released on Countryside, the other being a solo set by steel guitarist Red Rhodes. Speaking of pedal steel, this album is packed with lots of fancy riffs, prominently mixed into a remarkably rootsy, honkytonk-oriented album. On almost all the tracks, J. G. O'Rafferty plays steel, though Red Rhodes and J. D. Maness also play on one track apiece, with Rhodes providing some tasty licks on a more-countrified cover of "Teach Your Children," one of several tracks that give a nod towards the early '70s country-rock scene. Thematically, the song dovetails nicely with the lone song written by Grady himself, "The Barrooms Have Found You," in which a father laments his kid going nuts and partying a little too hardy after turning 21. The rest of the songs reflect a diverse repertoire, with tracks by Johnny Cash, Casey Kelly, a Dave Loggins oldie, Buzz Rabin and Jesse Winchester, as well a countryfied cover of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now." All in all, a pretty strong album, sounding sort of like Dave Dudley doing a semi-hippie session, with some funny-smelling smoke in the air. Also on board were fiddler Byron Berline and Linda Hargrove working in the background as a rhythm guitarist... If you see this one, snap it up. It's nice and twangy... Apparently Frady hit on hard times in the music business (see below) but he re-emerged and released at least two more albums in the 1990s, before passing away in 2004. This first album sure is a great legacy.

Garland Frady "A Tribute To Charlie Rich" (Sound Alike Music, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Dick Michaels)
Apparently this "soundalike" album was only released on 8-track tape, so I'm not gonna get a chance to hear it any time soon. Thanks to our cohorts at Discogs for uncovering these records, which were produced by some fly-by-night label in Los Angeles. A little embarrassing, perhaps, but a paycheck's a paycheck, right? Oddly enough, the front label lists "Van Pfister" as the performer, though "Garland Trady" is listed on the back: at least they spelled his name correctly on the Johnny Rodriguez tape that followed.

Garland Frady "A Tribute To Johnny Rodriguez" (Sound Alike Music, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Dick Michaels)

Don Gibson -- see artist profile

The Greenscreek Band "Down Home Weekend" (Pisgah Records, 1978-?) (LP)
A North Carolina country-rock band with a largely original repertoire, The Greenscreek Band are a genuine enigma -- they played a few shows locally in their hometown of Sylva, NC, in the state's rural Green's Creek region near Asheville, and they recorded this lone album, then vanished from sight. The record seems to be split between original material on Side One, and covers of southern rock and '70s pop hits on Side Two, including tunes like "Sweet Home Alabama" and James Taylor's "Carolina On My Mind." Unfortunately, the LP has minimal liner notes -- the musicians aren't listed and there are no songwriter credits either. Other than a couple of show notices in the local Sylva Herald newspaper from early 1978, I could find little mention of this band online. Anyone out there have insights or info?

Jim Gregory & Brenda Davis "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" (Country Showcase Records, 1978) (LP)
Guitarist Jim Gregory was born in Oklahoma, grew up in California, and moved to North Carolina as an adult; singer Brenda Davis was his niece and joins him here on this mixed set of pop vocals/standards (on Side One) and country-oriented material, such as "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain," "Cattle Call" and "Tennessee Waltz" (on Side Two.) Not a lot of info about this one: Mr. Gregory apparently recorded a few singles as well, including one distributed by the NSD consortium in Nashville, though the Country Showcase label (and presumably Mr. Gregory) was from Bailey, NC.

Billy Guitar "A Legend In His Time: A Tribute To Jim Reeves" (Mizon Records, 1964) (LP)
(Produced by Mike Larsen)
A straightforward homage to the recently-departed Jim Reeves, with solid and pleasantly twangy backing by an anonymous West Coast band. Presumably no relation to Bonnie Guitar, William Hank Noble (1930-1988) -- aka Billy Guitar -- was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, but moved to Canada in 1949, where he pursued a career in country music, apparently working with Hank Snow for a while. Sometime in the 'Fifties, he moved back to the States, and recorded a string of singles on various indie and major label, mostly working as Hank Noble, and even dabbled in uptempo rockabilly, recording some rock tunes for Decca as "Billy Guitar and His Nighthawks." This disc was recorded in San Diego, California, and according to the liner notes, Mr. Noble had been working in Las Vegas for several years before cutting this album. As far as I know, this was his only full LP, though some of his older tracks may have been anthologized elsewhere.

Dickson Hall "Outlaws Of The Old West" (MGM Records, 1956) (LP)
(Produced by Frank Walker)
Might not be all that "country," but it sure is outlaw. Literally. North Carolina troubadour Richard Riley Shepard (1918-2009) was apparently quite a character... Coming of age during the Great Depression, he dropped out of school to become an itinerant hillbilly musician, following a familiar path to that of countless other performers, moving from one gig to the next, hustling to become famous, or at least to get on the radio. While never became a household name, he did have a knack for selling himself -- or rather, various versions of himself. He was one of those guys who recorded under multiple stage names as a way to drum up more work and make more dough -- he signed with any label that would have him, largely as a way to avoid being constrained by any one business contract. He hit on his most popular persona, the cowboy folklorist "Dickson Hall" in the 1950s, after decades of working in different bands and recording and composing as prolifically as Riley Shepard, Riley Cooper, Dick Scott, Zachary Quill, etc. These recordings, as the Rex Allan-ish Dickson Hall, were probably his most successful work, presenting him as a wild west scholar right during the peak of the 1950s western craze which encompassed films, television shows, comic books, dime novels and of course the record industry. This album is packed with tall-tale folk ballads about frontier bad men (and women) such as Billy The Kid, Black Bart, Sam Bass, John Wesley Hardin, Joaquin Murieta, Belle Starr and others -- all the big names that kids during the 'Fifties western craze would be well acquainted with. (Not sure how Sitting Bull got lumped in with all them owlhoots and gunslingers, but whatever...) Perhaps because of the dodgy nature of his recording contracts, the Dickson Hall recordings were swept up in all kinds of music business shenanigans, getting repackaged and reissued in various countries and on odd budget-line imprints, notably in British and Canadian variants. I won't even attempt to sort out with any sense of finality, but these seem to be the original editions of his main albums... It's worth noting that on several of the Dickson Hall LPs he shares billing with The Wayfarers, a perhaps-fictional group that included singer Dolly Long, who he worked with on the WFIL, Chicago's Hayloft Hoedown, and other musicians such as Jimmy Arnold, Freddy King and the Laurie Sisters, as well as guitarist George Barnes. Finally settling down in California, Shepard also worked on some TV soundtracks, though eventually he dropped out of show business, probably after all his contract frauds caught up with him. Mr. Shepard was a petty con-man in real life as well, and one of his scams was lining up investors to help fund what became his life work, a proposed encyclopedia encompassing all the folk and vernacular music ever made in America. The business propositions were phony, but the work was real: even though he never found a publisher in his lifetime, the encyclopedia was revived by his daughter Stacya and is available as an online resource, as well as part of the Library Of Congress. (As an adult, Stacya Shepard Silverman dug into her estranged dad's odd history, and was the focus of an NPR podcast about Riley Shepard's life... Thanks to Ms. Silverman for throwing out the breadcrumbs that helped unravel the cool story behind these otherwise anodyne-looking cowboy collections!)

Dickson Hall & The Wayfarers "Country And Western Million Sellers" (Perfect Records, 195--?) (LP)

Dickson Hall & The Wayfarers "Fabulous Country Hits" (Kapp Records, 1958-?) (LP)
This album was also chopped up into a series of EPs, which were simultaneously issued in Canada on the London Records label, probably in the UK as well.

Dickson Hall & The Wayfarers "25 All-Time Country And Western Hits" (Epic Records, 1958) (LP)
A quick side note: this album was reissued in the UK as 24 All-Time Country And Western Hits, on the Fontana label... So the real question is: which edition is the rare collector's item??

George Hamilton IV -- see artist profile

Delores Hancock "Steels Into Your Heart" (1974) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Watkins)
Wow... a girl pedal steel player? What will they think of next?? This gal from Burlington, North Carolina was the daughter of George Hancock, a singer-guitarist who taught her how to pick and bought her a pedal steel when she decided the instrument was for her. Veteran Nashville session player Jack Watkins -- a longtime member of the Tex Ritter band -- was her inspiration and became her pedal steel mentor, and also helped produce her first album. Hancock led her own band in the early 1970s and opened shows for or backed visiting artists on tour, such as Carl Smith when he came to town. She self-released this album in '75, though gradually she and her husband, Randy Simmons, gravitated more exclusively towards gospel material and became part of the regional Southern Gospel scene.

Delores Hancock "Gospel Style" (Tri-State Recording Company, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by John Wheeler)

Kirk Hansard "Kirk's Best" (Chart Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Slim WIlliamson, Joe Gibson & Bill Walker)
North Carolina's Kirk Hansard was a member of the WWVA "Wheeling Jamboree" show, and recorded a number of isolated singles, mainly on the Chart label, but also for Columbia in the early 1960s, and on some obscure indies as well. This album gathers some of his Chart recordings, including novelty numbers such as "Serious Drinking" and the tepid "Nudist Colony," as well as "Adults Only," a somewhat barbed attempt to bridge the '70s generation gap -- mainly by telling all those hippie kids to sit down and shut up. Hansard only wrote one of the songs on here, a first-rate weeper called "If This Ain't Heaven," though a couple of the other songs come from the same publishing company (Sue-Mirl Music) and producer Joe Gibson provides a couple of others, including the superior "A Thousand Honky Tonks Ago," one of the album's highlights. This is not a first-rate record, largely because Hansard was really only a so-so baritone singer, kind of a cross between Dave Dudley and Conway Twitty, though not as expressive as the more famous pros, and he benefited from strong production, as heard on his earlier work with producer Don Law. This album ain't bad, really... it's not awesome, either, but certainly worth checking out.

Dalton Harmon "No. 1 Loving Man" (Nashville Cats Productions, 19--?) (LP)
Apparently this fella was from High Point, North Carolina, where he played some mid-'Seventies shows at a place called the Cavern Lounge. This album was definitely secular country, though I think later on he started singing Southern Gospel. Other than that, not a lot of info to be found -- partly because "Dalton Harmon" is a surprisingly common name -- though it may be that he later moved to Virginia, and may have passed away in 2018. Anyone know for sure?

The Harvesters "The Family Bible" (Festival Recordings, 1964-?) (LP)
(Produced by Hal Harrill)
Old-school southern gospel with country backing from Ray Adkins of the Crackerjacks, Tommy Faile and Arthur Smith, whose studio hosted the sessions. The bandmembers aren't listed by name, though they seem to have made several albums, including this one on a label from Charlotte, North Carolina, where the Harvesters were from.

Heartwood "Heartwood" (General Recording Corporation, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Lew Childre & Mike Collins)
A groovy, sometimes galloping mix of boogie rock and uptempo hippie twang, ala New Riders Of The Purple Sage, from a rootsy, rockin' band out of Greenville, North Carolina. Lead singer Tim Hildebrandt was the band's primary songwriter, giving his songs lofty titles like "Walter Mitty" and "Wants And Needs," while drifting into cosmic-spacey territory on a tune or two, notably on the Byrds-y "Show And Tell," which features some nice harmony vocals. (Drummer Robert Hudson contributes one song, the twangy "Coal Black Highway" -- otherwise, it's all Hildebrandt material...) Paul Hornsby's influence comes out on "Mr. Simpson," which sports classic Allman-esque Southern-rock twin guitars... This album takes a couple of listens to really get into, but it holds up pretty well.

Heartwood "Nothin' Fancy" (GRC Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Paul Hornsby)
What promise they showed on their eclectic debut, Heartwood pretty much blows on this smoothly-produced but aesthetically uneven mix of country, white funk and '70s-style soft-pop... The pedal steel that slinks throughout the album is pretty sweet, but a lot of these tracks are pretty goddawful cheesy. Like, really embarrassingly bad 'Seventies stuff, in a Seals & Crofts-meets-Mac Davis kinda way. At their best, they sound a little bit Eagles-y, and I don't mean that as praise. The better stuff comes from Tim Hildebrandt, who still wrote a few country-flavored tracks, but mostly this album seems like a misfire, aiming for slick pop hits which just weren't going to materialize. Nice pedal steel work on "Sound Advice," even though the song itself is another dud... This one's pretty skippable, though if you're super-devoted to soft Southern rock and '70s country-rock, I guess it's worth checking into. I tried it out, but didn't think it was a keeper.

Sue Hiatt "Pure Country" (MSR Records, 1986-?) (LP)
(Produced by Sue Hiatt & Harold Saunders)
Covers of classic country ballads by singer Sue Hiatt of Greensboro, North Carolina, with backing by Joe Carroll (fiddle), Mike Oakley (strings), and Harold Saunders on guitar. Ms. Hiatt was a protege of the Wilburn Brothers, with Doyle Wilburn producing some of her earlier recordings. She was also active in promoting the industry, helping co-found the North Carolina Country Music Awards Association. She also cut a number of singles, including a few duets, dating back to the early 1970s.

J. D. Higgins "On My Way Up" (Nashtown Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Billy Grammer)
Born in Sparta, North Carolina, singer John David Higgins Jr. was a regionally popular performer who had cut a few singles before recording this album under the guidance of Billy Grammer. Nothing charted, but Higgins found a pretty solid footing in the country business, including stints as a show promoter and radio host. In the 1990s he worked with Del Reeves on the locally-produced "Del Reeves Homecoming" show, and recorded a couple of CDs, including some country gospel.

Wade Holmes "Hits Made Famous By Hawkshaw Hawkins" (Spin-O-Rama Records, 1963-?) (LP)
This is one of those cheapo-label knockoffs that was shuffled around from one fly-by-night imprint to another... These tracks were featured on several "different" LPs on the Crown, Sutton and Spin-O-Rama labels. Multi-instrumentalist Wade Holmes (1925-1999) was originally from Benson, North Carolina, though like a lot of old-school country artists, he moved round a lot, looking for work wherever he could find it, though mostly on the East Coast. The dates on these albums are obscured in the fog of time, as are the original recording dates -- one would assume they are from not long after the March, 1963 plane crash that killed Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas and Patsy Cline.

Wade Holmes "Volume One: Mr. Lean Sings Country Favorites" (Mount Vernon Records, 1963) (LP)

Hot Shandy "Paradise Ain't Cheap!" (Hot Shandy Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Hot Shandy & Steve Gronback)
This was a humorous, eclectic acoustic duo from Charlotte, North Carolina who had a folkie-bluegrass feel. Singers Jim Magill and Rick Bouley are joined by a high-power cast of guests that included Mike Cross, and Celtic musician Triona Ni Dhomhnaill. The album is full of original material, including the original song, "God Is A Good Guy."

Brian Huskey "Road Fever Rag" (Turkey Trot Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Brian Huskey & Oren Moore)
A longhaired fella from Charlotte, North Carolina backed by a small band with Carlton Moody playing banjo. The songs are mostly covers, including versions of Guy Clark's "Let Him Roll," Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried" and "Fox On The Run." There are also a couple of original songs written by Huskey: "Road Fever Rag" and "Roses Every Wednesday." Not sure of the release date... it might have been 1975, based on the matrix number...

Ray Hutchinson "I Like Mountain Music" (Rich-R-Tone Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Stanton)
Although the Rich-R-Tone label is known as a pioneering bluegrass label (even in its latter-day incarnation) they are pretty consistent in these liner notes describing Ray Hutchinson's music as "country." And what they mean by that is indeed old-school country, more Jimmie Rodgers or the Blue Sky Boys than Bill Monroe or Lester Flatt. He sings twangy chestnuts such as "Hobo Bill," "Don't Let Your Sweet Love Die," and "Women Make A Fool Out Of Me," as well as "Sweet Bunch Of Daisies" and "Pictures From Life's Other Side." Hutchinson hailed from Fletcher, North Carolina; not sure what the rest of his career was like, though I believe he made some singles as well as this LP.

Stonewall Jackson -- see artist profile

Decatur Jones "Downtown Decatur" (Gopher Creek Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Decatur Jones, Dalles Heyser & Gary Schmitt)
Originally from North Carolina, Thomas Decatur Jones (1953-1999) performed in Chapel Hill for several years before pursuing a music degree at the University of Miami, and was living in Florida when he cut this self-released album. It's filled with all-original material, with Jones playing several different instruments, backed by additional musicians and backup singers. Jones moved around a lot, and had been living in Durango, Colorado for several years before passing away in 1999.

Buster Kendrick "Plays Favorites" (Gold Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Owen)
A native of Shelby, North Carolina, Charles Franklin ("Buster") Kendrick claimed hillbilly-era guitar hero Hank Garland as his inspiration and he followed in Garland's footsteps backing many of country music's brightest stars. He backed old-school artists such Clyde Moody and the duo of Lulu Belle & Scotty, as well as more modern musicians such as Jim Owen, who produced this album. At some point Kendrick found work as a tour bus driver, a job that often led to him also landing gigs as a guitar player for the same artists whose buses he drove. He worked as a driver-picker for Nashville diva Dottie West, for West's daughter Shelley, and for the southern gospel group known as the Chuck Wagon Gang. On this album he zips through some tasty tunes in homage to his childhood hero Sugarfoot Garland, while Garland himself contributes a laudatory quote for the liner notes... The studio crew includes like Jim Baker on dobro and steel, Bunky Keels playing piano and D. J. Fontana on drums. Kendrick retired to his North Carolina hometown, and in 2013 was recognized for his contributions to the state's musical heritage. Not sure when this was recorded, but it may have been a 1980's release...

Arlene Kesterson "...Sings" (Mark Five Studios, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Otis Forrest)
A set of bluegrass, ballads and old-timey tunes sung by Arlene Kesterson, co-director of the Mountain Folkways Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina. I'm not sure how long the Center was around, but among other things it was the place where songwriter Jim Lauderdale took banjo lessons as a teen. Backing Kesterson on several tracks are fiddler Bill Phillips, Ralph Lewis on mandolin, and banjo picker Marc Pruett, who was a member of Ricky Skaggs' band at the time.

Joy King & Eddie Nash "Live At Ghost Town, Maggie Valley NC" (Hill Country Records, 1973-?) (LP)
This souvenir album showcases the partnership of multi-instrumentalists Joy King and Eddie Nash, who were both performers at the Ghost Mountain Park, in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. There's no date on the disc, but the liner notes mention Mr. Nash's appearance in the April 20, 1973 edition of the Ripley's Believe It Or Not syndicated strip, so it's probably from right around then. The repertoire was a mix of old-timey standards and relatively contemporary country-pop hits like "Snowbird," "Never Ending Love" and Lynn Anderson's "Ride Ride Ride." Both artists also released at least one solo album, listed here as well.

Joy King & Eddie Nash "By Request" (Galaxie III Studios, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Harry Deal)
According to the liner notes, this was their second album... It's a split LP, with Joy King showcased on Side One, Eddie King on Side Two. On several tracks he does his "one man band" bit, and focusses on specific instruments on others. The lineup is the same as on her previous album: Ms. King playing fiddle and 12-string guitar, with a backing band that included Jim Deal on bass, David Johnson (steel guitar), Danny McCoy (piano) and Gerald Taylor on drums.

Joy King "...Sings Country" (Galaxie III Studios, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Harry Deal)
In addition to her North Carolina gigs with Eddie Nash, fiddler-guitarist Joy King also seems to have worked with Archie Campbell -- he contributed liner notes to this disc, praising her talent and mentioning they'd performed together for several years. There are two different bands backing her on this album: Side One features Smokey White on fiddle, David Don Berg on bass, while Eddie Nash plays on Side Two, with Denny McCoy on piano, and Jim Deal on bass. with David Johnson playing steel guitar on both sessions. King also recorded several singles on a couple of different indie labels.

Bob Kornegay's Opry House Band " A Night At The Opry House" (Mega Sound Studios, 19--?) (LP)
Not to be confused with the old-school R&B/doo-wop artist, "Big Bob" Kornegay, North Carolina country bandleader Bob Kornegay headlined at a local dive called the Pork Palace Opry House, near Fuquay-Varina, NC. The place was apparently a real-deal, push-back-the-tables honkytonk, with a house band that featured several musicians -- steel player Clyde Mattocks, lead guitar Tommy Mercer, fiddler Dave Cavenaugh, and drummer Danny Vinson -- who were stalwarts of the regional country bar-band scene. After Bob Kornegay died in an auto accident in the early '70s, the band broke up, with Mattocks and Vinson going on to co-found the Super Grit Cowboy Band, which recorded several albums in the late '70s and early '80s. I couldn't find a date for this album, but with the inclusion of the Marty Robbins hit, "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife" and Waylon Jennings' "Good Hearted Woman" it's certainly sometime in the early '70s, possibly around 1972-73.

Charles Kuralt & Loonis McGlohin "North Carolina Is My Home" (Piedmont Airlines, 1985) (LP)
Why, yes, it is that Charles Kuralt, the CBS News reporter and essayist, known for his interest in historical topics. Kuralt (1934-1997) was born in Wilmington, North Carolina and provided the text for this celebration of his home state's 400th anniversary, as part of a book with the same name. The arrangements were provided by jazz pianist Loonis McGlohin (1921-2002) who was born in Ayden, NC, with mostly orchestral backing to Kuralt's spoken bits. This isn't a country record, per se, though Eric Weissberg does provide some twang on banjo and guitar.

The Lincoln County Partners "It's Just The Chance You've Waited For" (Pine Tree Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by William M. Jones)
A long-lived bluegrass band from around Winston-Salem, the Lincoln County Partners had roots that ran back at least to the early 1960s, and they kept chugging away for decades to come. This fascinating album catches them at the full height of the genre-busting "progressive grass" era, and adds a lively pedal steel guitar to what's otherwise fairly traditional-sounding Country Gentlemen-style arrangements. Steel player David Ray Johnson also played in local country bands such as the Country Cousins, with Michael Craven; Johnson later formed his own band, Dixie Dawn, and recorded under that band's name. Also somewhere in the mix are drums, played by local clogging champion J. C. Wagoner, who recorded some country stuff as well. This disc is bluegrass, but with some very unusual touches. Good stuff!

The Lincoln County Partners "Water So Cold" (Lamon Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by David Floyd & Dwight Moody)

John D. Loudermilk -- see artist profile

Charlie Love "Meet Charlie Love" (Agency Recording Studio, 1974) (LP)
A one-sided 10" EP with four songs -- "Country Style," "Faded Rose," "Sunshine Lady" and "Walk On Me" -- penned by pop-country hopeful Charlie Love, who seems to have been an African-American artist born in Goldsboro, North Carolina. This was basically a PR demo, '70s style, and it seems to have been relatively successful as a songwriter's calling card. Two of these tracks, "Country Style" and "Sunshine Lady," were also released as a single under Charlie Love's name, on an Ohio-based label with Vic Clay credited as producer, although I'm not sure it they were the same versions heard on this disc. The song "Faded Rose" was recorded at least a couple of different times by fairly obscure singers (Dana Deckard and Virginia Kirby) and assuming it was the same guy, Charlie Love scored some major country cred when Wayne Kemp recorded his song, "Kentucky Sunshine" in 1974. He seems to have dropped off the radar before the decade's end, one of countless mystery musicians from a very eclectic decade.

Ray Lunsford & Nell Lunsford "Memories Gone By" (1985-?) (LP)
(Produced by Marshall Craven)
Super-duper old-time music, played by some fairly old-time musicians. This was a Lunsford family affair, led by Nellie Ray Lunsford (1908-1993) on autoharp, and Ray Lee Lunsford (1908-1989) picking banjo. They were both natives of Iredell County, North Carolina, and are joined by several family members on this intimate recording, including their son Clay Lunsford (banjo, guitar and mandolin), Dwayne Lunsford (rhythm guitar), along with Rhyne Dowell and Kim Felts playing bass, and fiddler David Johnson. The album is a mix of gospel songs and sentimental oldies, from "White Dove" and "Old Country Church" to "The Weeks Are So Long," "Old Folks At Home" and "Wildwood Flower." The Depression-era repertoire doubtless reflects the music of their youth, and those of who dig the real-deal old stuff might get a kick out of this album.

Guerry Matthews "Guerry Matthews" (Tayma Records, 19--?) (LP)

Guerry Matthews "Phase Two - Closer" (19--?) (LP)

Don McHan "...Sings Songs Of Home" (Laurel Records, 1969) (LP)

Don McHan "The Country, Bluegrass And Gospel Of Don McHan" (Laurel Records, 1970) (LP)
The title of this album says a lot about singer and guitarist Don McHan, whose early days were spent picking bluegrass, notably with the Jim & Jesse band during the early '60s. He wrote and played country music as well, most notably co-composing Loretta Lynn's topical hit "The Pill" (a controversial single which hit the Top 5 in 1975 but was originally recorded in 1972) as well as a string of gospel songs recorded by Jimmie Davis. Like a lot of country artists, McHan felt the pull of religion more strongly in later years and became more exclusively a gospel artist.

Don McHan "New Songs I Love" (Laurel Records, 1971) (LP)
The title says it all... As with many of his albums, this record showcases a ton of new, original material; Don McHan really seems to have been into championing new songwriters. And who knows? Maybe there was a little bit of a song-poem thing going on as well, with him getting the composers to pitch in to get the records made... although that's really one-hundred percent conjecture on my part. Still, the Laurel label was McHan's own venture, and it does seem like he was really into song publishing and trying to establish a sizable catalog of original material -- with great success, I might add. Love to hear more about him, if anyone's in the know.

Don McHan "Country Boy Don McHan Sings The Gospel" (Laurel Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Warren C. Evitt)
You'd be forgiven for assuming this was an album of gospel chestnuts, but in fact it's packed with original material by several songwriters in Don McHan's orbit: Mel Anderson, T.D. Bayless, John Bolan, Floyd Douglas, Lucille Gloyne, and Ernie Goff. Also noteworthy is that McHan played all the instrumental parts on these sessions, through the modern magic of multitracking... Quite the auteur!

Don McHan "New Country" (Transworld Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Deaton)
From the looks of things, this was a mid-1970s record, though there's no date on the album... McHan recorded these sessions in Bristol, West Virginia with a local studio crew from "Tandem Studios." He wrote or co-wrote half the songs, with most tracks credited to Tom Keane... The liner notes mention that at the time he had a regular gig playing guitar in the Bonnie Lou & Buster Show, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Don McHan "The Wondrous Works Of God" (Songtime Records, 19--?) (LP)

Harold McLeod "Loving You" (Country Road Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Manford Harper)
A (very) private album from North Carolina, with covers of country hits by Johnny Cash, Jim Reeves, Faron Young, et. al. I'm not sure if there are any originals on here, though... This fella may have been the same Edwin Harold McLeod (1930-2005) who was born in Erwin, NC, and served in the Korean War If so, his obituary didn't mention a career in music, so this album might have been a pretty strictly amateur, just-for-fun kinda project. The backing band included his wife, Donnie McLeod, as well as Judy Byrd, Leon Davis, Steve Honeycutt, Clyde Mattocks, Nickey Skatell and Carolyn Tart. Couldn't find much information about any of them, other than Carolyn Teresa Tart, who recorded an album of her own (below) which also featured Mr. Mattocks on steel guitar.

Clyde Meyers "Clyde Meyers" (Justice Recording Company, 1966--?) (LP)
An ultra-obscuro disc, pressed in the mid-1960s by a short-lived custom label from Winston, Salem, North Carolina. As far as I can tell, Clyde Meyers (1938-2018) was an amateur musician, a Winston-Salem native and Navy veteran who became a furniture salesman and liked to jam with his friends... The Justice company mostly recorded local garage rockers, but in this case the music was definitely country, including tracks such as Terry Fell's trucker classic, "Truck Driving Man," "I Just Came To Smell The Flowers" (which was a hit for Porter Wagoner in 1966), Bill Anderson's "Bright Lights And Country Music," and "Under Your Spell Again," from the Buck Owens songbook. This one's a real mystery disc, brought to light by an eBay auction of a copy that was offered without any LP jacket... No record online of Mr. Meyers leading a band, or anything like that. Additional info is always welcome!

Ronnie Milsap -- see artist profile

Carlton Moody "No Hard Feelings" (Lamon Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Mark Williams)
The Moody Brothers -- Carlton, Dave and Trent Moody -- originally hailed from Charlotte, North Carolina. They broke through in the 1980s bluegrass/Americana scene, in part because of their success touring with George Hamilton IV, who was looking for a bluegrass sound at the time. The Moody Brothers had no trouble delivering: their father, old-time fiddler Dwight Moody, was in Bill Monroe's band years before, and their country roots ran deep, with the boys playing gospel music on a local TV show when they were kids. Before establishing themselves as "Americana" artists, however, the Moodys had tried their hands at more mainstream-sounding, secular country music, recording several albums on their father's independently-owned label, Lamon Records, while also producing countless "private press" records for numerous off-the-radar musicians. Carlton Moody went on to become a latter-day member of Burrito Deluxe, the re-re-reincarnation of the Flying Burrito Brothers band, while Dave Moody managed the Lamon label and concentrated on a career as a contemporary Christian singer.

Carlton Moody & The Moody Brothers "Carlton Moody And The Moody Brothers" (Sundown Records, 19--?) (LP)

Carlton Moody "Gimme A Smile" (Lamon Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Carlton Moody & David Moody)

Eddie Nash "One Man Band" (19--?) (LP)
Multi-instrumentalist Eddie Nash was a music park performer best known for his country music impersonations, as well as his one-man-band routine, where he could play up to ten instruments at one time. (The liner notes on a later album mention that he was featured in an installment of Ripley's Believe It Or Not sometime in 1973; I suspect this album was released before that milestone...) His father was a hillbilly variety-show artist known as "Panhandle Pete" who taught Eddie Nash how to play his first instruments. They both performed at a regional venue called Ghost Mountain Park, located in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. This album showcases Nash's versatility, with some tracks highlighting his skill on specific instruments such as banjo, fiddle or guitar, while others are billed as "one man band" performances, including a delightfully typo-ed rendition of "Me And Booby McGee." No date on the disc, but I'd imagine it was from around 1970-71 or thereabouts.

Eddie Nash & Joy King "Live At Ghost Town, Maggie Valley NC" (Hill Country Records, 19--?) (LP)
This souvenir album showcases the partnership of multi-instrumentalists Eddie Nash and Joy King, who were both performers at the Ghost Mountain Park, in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. There's no date on the disc, but the liner notes mention Mr. Nash's appearance in the April 20, 1973 edition of the Ripley's Believe It Or Not syndicated strip, so it's probably from right around then. The repertoire was a mix of old-timey standards and relatively contemporary country-pop hits like "Snowbird," "Never Ending Love" and Lynn Anderson's "Ride Ride Ride." Both artists also released at least one solo album, listed here as well.

Eddie Nash & Joy King "By Request" (Galaxie III Recording Studio, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Harry Deal)
According to the liner notes, this was their second album... It's a split LP, with Joy King showcased on Side One, Eddie King on Side Two. On several tracks he does his "one man band" bit, and focusses on specific instruments on others. The lineup is the same as on her previous album: Ms. King playing fiddle and 12-string guitar, with a backing band that included Jim Deal on bass, David Johnson (steel guitar), Danny McCoy (piano) and Gerald Taylor on drums.

The New Day Country Band "The New Day Country Band" (CEC Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Richard Carpenter, Earl Cowart & Marc Pruett)
A progressive bluegrass band from Asheville, North Carolina, this group featured banjo picker Marc Pruett, who later became a solo artist and nationally-known performer. The full band was Richard Carpenter on drums, Wayne Carter (rhythm guitar), Earl Cowart (guitar), Boyd Dills (guitar), Mike Hunter (mandolin), J. B. Passmore (bass), and Marc Pruett on banjo and dobro. At the time Pruett ran a music shop in Ashville, while Cowart lived in nearby Franklin. Pruett cut his teeth as a performer playing bluegrass music in western-themed amusement parks such as Ghost Town (in Maggie Valley) and Franklin's Gold City; later he landed a gig with the Jimmy Martin band, which placed him on ahe national stage. I'm not 100% sure, but I think this was Pruett's first album.

The New Day Country Band "The New Day Country Band" (Wes Sound Shop, 19--?) (LP)

New Deal String Band "Blue Grass" (London-Sire Records, 1970) (LP)
This was apparently a different crew than Tom Paley's '60s band of the same name... These guys, who hailed from North Carolina, are credited as the "first" hippie-longhair bluegrass band -- which I seriously doubt, but I suppose it's all about how you define things. Anyway, they made a big impression on the early 1970s festival scene, reportedly inspiring Sam Bush to create a style called newgrass that fused mountain music with countercultural sensibilities, while folks in the old guard, like Bill Monroe, are said to have hated them. I have to say, Monroe may have had it right on this one. Although I can see what they were aiming for, the musical end of this particular album doesn't do much for me: there's plenty of energetic, enthusiastic playing, but it's undisciplined and a little scattershot, and I really don't care for lead singer Leroy Savage's vocals. There's also a vague sense of them not really taking the music seriously, or at least being a little too loosey-goosey with it... This is borne out by the half-praise/half-mockery of the liner notes which proclaim that "underneath their long haired, unwashed exteriors there beats the hearts of six redneck farmers." (Admittedly, they might not have had much to do with the writing of the liners, but the comments do underscore an undercurrent of condescension that creeps into the recordings...) Historically, though, this is noteworthy for several grassed-up covers of classic rock songs, including the Rolling Stones' "No Expectations," a Dylan song, and the country-ish "Don't Pass Me By," by the Beatles, which was kind of novel at the time.

The New Playboy Band "Back On The Road" (Mark Five Studios, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Nick Bruno & Eddie Howard)
Songwriter Mitch Snow was a North Carolina native who grew up in a musical family and headed out to Las Vegas when he was young, notably working in Toni Ingraham's band before returning home to start his own band. He first joined a group called the Country Playboys, who were working as Freddy Fender's backing band, eventually changing the name and recording this "solo" set with Fender's blessing. This seems to be the group's only album, and it sports an impressive wealth of original material penned by Snow, who sings and lead guitar, joined by Bucky Edwards on drums, Doug Reeves (bass), Tom Reeves (steel guitar) and Craig Southern on rhythm guitar and vocals. In addition to Snow's brace of new tunes, two cover songs round out the album, a version of the hillbilly oldie, "Chew Tobacco Rag," and Randy Howard's "All American Redneck." The group was short-lived, though, and Snow worked his way through a variety of bands, including a stint with the Easter Brothers gospel group and his own Mitch Snow Band during the 'Eighties. He quit working on the road in 1994, opening a production studio in Thomasville, North Carolina, where he helped local independent artists self-produce their own private records. Keeping the torch burning!

Norfolk Southern Lawmen "Ride The Train" (Forest Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Otis Forest)
A North Carolina bluegrass/old-timey band with an all-cop membership, playing a mix of bluegrass standards ("Rocky Top," "Foggy Mountain Breakdown") and older, pre-bluegrass stuff such as "Wreck Of The Old 97" and "Life Is Like A Mountain Railway." The train-related songs are appropriate since all the bandmembers (except the bass player) worked for the Southern Railway Police Department, either in Ashville, North Carolina, or nearby Hickory and Piedmont, NC. Apparently they they made quite a few albums, and went through a few permutations on the band name, eventually settling on calling themselves "The Lawmen," although they shouldn't be confused with the Denver, Colorado band of the same name. A couple of these guys were older, having already retired from railroad work by the time they made this album.

The North Brook Gang "Saddle Sore And Busted" (NBG Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Glen Heffner, Tim Berry & The North Brook Gang)
Kind of a mystery disc here from North Carolina... This album is packed with original material, mostly written by lead singer Ronnie Gantt or lead guitarist Randy Johnson, along with three songs composed by female lead singer Pam Gantt. I couldn't find any mention of this group outside of the record itself, though the Gantts seem to have settled down in Vale, NC; the album was recorded at the Fantasy Sound studios in nearby Granite Falls, not too far away from Charlotte, NC.

Nuthin' Fancy "Nuthin' Fancy" (Project One Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Buddy Strong)
Slick, bland, would-be Top Forty country music, early '80s style -- late-vintage indie twang with antiseptic. poppy production anchored by tinkly keyboards rather than twangy guitars or pedal steel. These guys hailed from Brevard, North Carolina and distinguish themselves with a full slate of all-original material, most of it penned by lead singer John Zachary Hamilton. Other band members included Jeff Delk on bass, drummer Chris Pangle and Stan Stone on keyboards, with some assistance from unknown players in the Mark V studios. If anything really redeems this album, it's Hamilton's improbably rough vocals -- he's not singing off-key or anything, it's just that he has an unconventional, throaty vocal tone and a hyper-rural accent, not the kind of polished, cookie-cutter pretty-boy sound that had taken over country music by this time. I'm not a fan of their style of modernized twang, but the Hamilton's earnestness and sincerity emanate out of every note he sings, and equally appealing is the album's weird balance between mighta-coulda and never-gonna-happen. A few tracks might sneak up on you, like "You And Tennessee," where some legit twang finally comes out and takes over the rest of the record, though overall this disc is just a little too 'mersh for me.

Earl Owensby/Various Artists "Death Driver" (Soundtrack) (CMC Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Arthur Smith, Chuck Owens & Hank Poole)
Apparently this was the soundtrack album to a mid-'70s country hicksploitation film -- the fictional "true" story of an aging stunt car driver trying to make a comeback. It was produced by and starred auteur-entrepreneur Earl Owensby -- redneck culture's answer to Ed Wood -- who also sings on one track. The music was provided by Arthur Smith and Clay Smith (aka Smith & Son) with Side One featuring vocals by a variety artists, including the Smiths, the Schuylers and a gal named Maggie Griffin, while Side Two seems to be all incidental music. An oddity from the heyday of redneck cinema.

Earl Owensby "Earl's Classic Rock 'N' Country" (CMC Records, 1976-?) (LP)
(Produced by Arthur Smith, Chuck Owens & Hank Poole)
An odd, eclectic set by Earl Owensby, a B-movie producer and actor nicknamed "the redneck Roger Corman," whose production studio was located in North Carolina. He starts this album out with some straight-ahead country, stuff by Eddie Miller and Conway Twitty, then dips into gospel for a tune or two... Side Two kicks off with a song he co-wrote with producer Arthur Smith, "Rock N' Country," and then dives into a flurry of Fats Domino songs. Go figure. As far as I know, this was his only album. Among the locals backing him were Arthur Smith and his son, Clay Smith, as well as songwriter Tommy Faile, sitting in on bass.

Brenda Kaye Perry "Deeper Water" (MRC/Major Recording Company, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Ray Pennington)

Pete Peterson "A Thing Called Love" (Paw Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Harvey Dalton Arnold & Pete Peterson)
Lots of original material recorded by a local lad from Charlotte, North Carolina... The title track, "A Thing Called Love," was penned by Harvey Dalton Arnold, former bass player for the southern rock band The Outlaws. The song was first released as a single, spurring Peterson to record a whole album, with backing by an all-local crew. The musicians include both members of his road band and folks in the studio -- there's some overlap, but the sessions featured Jim Brock on drums, Jim Catterton (bass), David Earl (dobro), David Floyd (keyboards), Jeff Grimsman (fiddle), Doug Hawthorne (bass), David Johnson (banjo and fiddle), Kerry Johnson (steel guitar), and Ron Radford playing both rhythm and lead guitar. Not sure if Peterson has other recordings, but this disc's a doozy!

Pete Peterson "Country To The Core" (Sapphire Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Harvey Dalton Arnold & Hank Poole)
I think this is the same album as above, repackaged for a "different" label... possibly so they could write it off on their taxes twice? Or something like that?

Joe Pitts "Remembering" (Rich-R-Tone Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Stanton)
This band from Black Mountain, North Carolina included singer Joe Pitts, Ralph Crigger on piano, Roger Kelley playing steel guitar, lead guitarist Red Peterson, bassist Laurence Nave, and drummer Danny Thomas. Pitts wrote three songs on here -- "Don't Lean On Love," Hearts Can Be Broken," and "Five Foot Two And 98 Pounds Of Love" -- all for the House Of David publishing company. There are a couple of other House Of David tracks on here -- "You Took The Most Of Me," written by Ronald Parker, and "I Die A Little Every Day," by Earl Peterson. Also includes are covers of stuff by Hank and Merle, Don Gibson, Johnny Horton, Waylon Jennings, and even an obscure John Hartford tune, "There's Gotta Be More To Life Than You."

The Plum Hollow Band "Plum Hollow Band" (Plum Hollow Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Ron Reno & Bill Compton)
This longhaired North Carolina twang band featured brothers Larry Baucom (on banjo) and Nelson Baucom (mandolin and bass) as well as Barney Barnwell on fiddle and J. C. Metlak playing lead guitar. Most of the songs are originals, with the Baucom brothers contributing one called "Amarillys" and Barnwell penning five others, including the band's best-known tune, "Hippie Song." They covered Merle Haggard's "Working Man Blues" and by Ronnie Reno (son of bluegrass legend Don Reno) who also helped produce this album. Barnwell, who went on to organize several local music festivals, called his music "electrified bluegrass," or "psychedelic hillbilly music." He died in 2011, followed by Larry Baucom in 2014, though the Plum Hollow music festival continued on after they passed away. Although this is their classic album, in later years Plum Hollow and Barnwell (as a "solo" act) released albums, during the CD era, including Barnwell's Y2K record, Psychedelic Hillbilly.

Polly And The Playmates "Southern Comfort" (Millwood Records, 19--?) (LP)
A lively lounge act from Lenoir, North Carolina led by singers Polly Millwood and Ernie Penley... They cover Clapton's "Lay Down Sally," Dolly Parton, Creedence, the Everly Brothers, Mickey Newbury's "American Trilogy," even a little Skynyrd. Depending on your frame of reference, their energetic, electrified performances could seem either hopelessly kitschy or improbably funky... The fortunate, flexible-minded few among us can encompass both ideas at once. I guess I'd call this one a fun record, though if the neighbors caught me listening to it, I might be a little embarrassed.

Donna Pope "Fair Game" (Lamon Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Carlton Moody & David Moody)
An obscure singer who was featured on the Raleigh, North Carolina "Homer Briarhopper" television show during the 1970s, Donna Pope didn't have what I would consider the greatest voice, although I can hear echoes of the '60s teenpop/girl group style in her work, so maybe she just wasn't that well suited for country stuff. Anyway, even though she doesn't quite resonate for me, there's some nice stuff on here, with rich musical accompaniment by the Moody Brothers band, particularly Jeff Surratt's complex, silky pedal steel. Also notable are several original songs credited to the Laymond Publishing company, which I assume was run by the Moodys. There's one song by Carlton Moody, two by William R. Murray (including the title track) and a pair of standout numbers by Helen Moore, "Left Over Kisses" and "I'll Be Your Woman," with a funny chorus that inadvertently(?) lends itself to interpretation as a lesbian country anthem: ("I'll be your woman/woman loving woman...") Wilma Burgess would be proud!

Fifi Queen "Coming Home" (Sonoma Records, 1979) (LP)
Man, what a great name. North Carolina native Fifi Queen set up shop -- literally -- in Florida, singing and playing keyboards as part of a '70s lounge act with her partner Linda Powers, while also modeling and playing semi-pro golf. She eventually moved into retail business, opening a used clothing store that later became a chain of related businesses in the Florida area. Ms. Queen seems to have been working in Jacksonville when she cut this album, with a band that included her on keyboards, along with Bud Conrad (guitar), Kevin Justice (bass), Linda Powers (drums) and perhaps most improbably, hillbilly old-timer Smiley Burnette on banjo. The songs are all originals, credited either to Fifi Queen or to her mother, gospel songwriter Hilda Ruth Hill, who is also credited on the back cover as a backup singer. Not sure of the exact year this came out, but it was either 1979 or '80, since it's mentioned in a 1980 profile in a local Ocala newspaper, an article which also notes that Queen and Powers quit working together in 1980. She recorded a second album in 1984, though I'm not sure if it was ever released.

Leda Ray "Hits The Road" (Allied Artists, 1974-?) (LP)
Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, singer Leda Ray made he way to Nashville, and cut a string of singles on the Allied Artists label starting in the early 1970s... There's no date on this album, but several of the songs on here were copyrighted to Ms. Ray in late 1973, so I'm gonna guess it's a 1974 album. The cover songs include Wanda Jackson's "Two Separate Barstools," "Rose Garden" and "Sunday Morning Coming Down," which were all hits in 1970, so it could have been even earlier. Anyway, I'm not sure what happened with Ms. Ray's career -- she cut a bunch of discs, got some mentions in the press playing telethons and whatnot, but at some point she packed up and moved to Sanford, North Carolina, where she opened a coffeehouse called Moka Joe's Cafe. This album seems to have been a songwriter's demo set, packed with original songs -- most (including two credited to Leda Ray) were copyrighted by Kilrey Publishing, which seems to be a concatenation of her name and Bill Killian's. Other composers include Carol Jones and Clay Price, though oddly enough one song, "Crying In Color" is credited to Clay Price on the album, but copyrighted by Leda Ray in '73. Who knows. Ray seems to have quit her Nashville career rather abruptly, though she did record a couple of singles for the Illinois-based Nashville North label, including one with neo-trad honkytonker Dallas Wayne(!). I'm not sure if she was attached to any local "opry" type shows, but it seems likely that at least for a while she was affiliated with the Nashville North club, in Chicago. Later, in the 2000s, back in Sanford, Ray started up a new band, and was available to play regional gigs as recently as 2019.

Del Reeves -- see artist profile

Wes Reo & The Countrymen "Live At Sandpiper's Trace, Ltd." (Reo Records, 1972-?) (LP)
(Produced by Ernie Bivens, Jesse Bivens & Vince Chory)
Country covers from a little-known but lively band, performing live at an odd venue in North Carolina... Singer-guitarist Wes Reo was apparently really named Wes Crawford, and a decade later was playing gigs in San Diego County, out on the West Coast. I'm not sure which state he was originally from, North Carolina or California, since biographical info proved hard to come by online. Either way, he seems to be fairly well remembered by his SoCal country fans. Anyway, this is a pretty straightforward set of cover tunes, heavy on more contemporary hits from around 1970-71, including gems like Merle Haggard's "Working Man Blues" and "Carolyn," as well as standards like "For The Good Times," "Funny How Time Slips Away," "Good Hearted Woman" and "Country Roads." The compact quartet had a sharp sound worthy of their Merle Haggard cover, with a lineup including Wes Reo on rhythm guitar, along with R. W. Byrum (drums), Bryant Morgan (bass) and Anthony Wynn on lead guitar; it's not clear if any of these sidemen played in later incarnations of the band. Perhaps of equal interest is the venue itself: Sandpiper's Trace was a recreational campground that opened on Roanoke Island in 1970, set up on the site of a dimly remembered "freedmen's colony" of Confederate slaves liberated by the Union Army in 1863. The colony was disbursed after the war, but when Sandpiper's Trace was sold and slated to be commercially developed, archeologists found extensive evidence of the old colony... Though by then the music shows were long gone!

The Rize-N-Fast Band "Recorded At The Stompin' Ground" (Nashville Remote Recordings, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Conrad Jones)
This was a live set recorded at a country venue in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, a place called the Stompin' Ground which was literally housed in a big, old barn. It seems to have had some connection to the Opry, like sort of a farm-team concert hall(?). Anyway, this band included Arthur L. Fisher, Angoe M. Derrick, Travis Fisher, Ralph A. Tonney, E. T. Jackson... not much info about them that I could find, though.

Earl Scruggs -- see artist profile

Martha Sharp "Anywoman" (Monument Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Fred Foster & Bill Justis)
Songwriter Martha Sharp was a North Carolina native who grew up in Virginia, then moved to Nashville in the 1960s, where she was landlady before getting into the music business. In 1966, two of her songs transformed Sandy Posey into an instant pop star, with "Born A Woman" and "Single Girl" each selling a million copies worldwide; the following year another Sharp song, "Come Back When You Grow Up," was a #3 hit for Bobby Vee. Eventually Sharp got tired of writing and plugging her own songs, and gravitated towards the business side of the music. She became a protege of producer Jimmy Bowen, and worked as his A&R executive at Elektra Records' Nashville office in the late '70s and early '80s. When Elektra got absorbed into Warner Brothers, Sharp stayed on and became Nashville's first female vice president of A&R, a position she cemented by signing stars such as Faith Hill and Randy Travis, while also helping develop the artists' song repertoires. She stayed at Warner for over a decade, retiring in 1995, having helped shape the late '80s neo-trad sound as well as the country-pop resurgence that followed. I believe this was her only album, with celebratory liner notes by fellow tunesmith Kris Kristofferson. All the songs are her own songs, including latter-day renditions of "Born A Woman" and "Single Girl"; I'm not sure if she also released any singles.

Sgt. Johnny Short & His Country Travelers "America #1" (1973) (LP)
In the waning days of the still-contentious Vietnam War, North Carolina honkytonker recorded a patriotic single with two original songs, "America Number One" and "Oath Of Enlistment," which extolled the ideals of military service. Both songs are included on this album, along with a brace of non-political country tunes, most of them written by Mr. Short and his band, including two by drummer Johnny Butcher and a couple more by lead guitarist Bobby England. They are also helped out by some studio pros from the Arthur Smith studio, notably Tommy Faile on guitar, Smith on violin, and pedal steel from Bill Griffin. The Country Travelers seem to have been made up of active duty service members, with Johnny Short listed as a sergeant and the band pictured on the front cover in full military dress, up on a bandstand or float emblazoned with the old Red, White & Blue. The liner notes are on official Army stationary by a fellow sergeant from Fort Bragg, and make mention of the impending end of the military draft -- in June, 1973 the United States switched to an all-volunteer military and this album seems to have been sponsored in part as a recruitment tool, or maybe just a souvenir for Short's fellow servicemen in the South.

Johnny Short & His Country Travelers "Live" (Tri-County Country, 1978-?) (LP)
(Produced by Johnny Short)
Presumably Mr. Short had left the military by the time this album came out, although he never went AWOL from the honkytonks. This live album was a souvenir of a gig at the Tri-County Country Music Bar, where Short and his band seem to have been working out a lot of original material -- most of the songs were written by various members of the band. The Travelers included Johnny Short on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, drummer Danny Davis, Bobby England (lead and steel guitar), Buddy Rhodes (bass) and backing vocalists Nita Harris and Nancy Short. Mr. Rhodes contributes four original songs -- "Baby I Love," "Enjoying The Mess I'm In," "I Wish Hank Could See Me Now" and "The Only Thing That Matters" -- while England adds a couple more, "For The Last Time" and "Hang My Head In Shame." The remaining tracks include "Pure Love" (an early Eddie Rabbit hit), "This Time You Gave Me A Mountain," and Bobby Bare's patriotic "God Bless America Again."

Garland Shuping "...And Wild Country" (Old Homestead Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by John Morris & Garland Shuping)
A banjo player with strong country influences, Garland Shuping was once a sideman for Jim & Jesse and an erstwhile member of the Kentucky-based band Bluegrass Alliance who went on to record several solo LPs on Old Homestead and other labels. This is pretty solid early-'Seventies style progressive bluegrass, but the repertoire includes a whole slew of country material, stuff by Skeeter Davis, Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, The Louvin Brothers and Hank Williams, as well as an obscure Jim Croce tune. Plenty of fancy picking from Mr. Shuping and the assorted locals, as well as some plucky and persistent pedal steel, courtesy of Roger Edgington and even (gasp!) drums by Terry Van Auker. Fans of Gram Parsons might dig the vocals and the overall vibe, though his is definitely bluegrass all the way -- more Hillmen than Fallen Angels. I'm not sure where Shuping was from originally, though he was living in Rockwell, North Carolina when he cut this disc. Nice stuff.

Garland Shuping "From Banjo Man's To Opryland" (Banjo Man's Old Tyme Pickin' Parlour, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Underwood)
Another of Shuping's more country-flavored albums... In between, he recorded several tasty bluegrass and gospel albums, but for country twang, this is worth notice as well. Included are four originals by Garland Shuping: "Back Home In Tennessee," "Sing A Train Song," "Old John, The Fiddler," and an instrumental, "Tomahawk." He also covers John Denver, The Dillards, The Louvin Brothers and bookends each side with instrumentals like "Billy In The Low Ground" and "Are You From Dixie," while harmonist Ruth Shuping sings lead on a version of the Crystal Gayle hit, "Ready For The Times To Get Better." Shuping led the Wild Country band for years, with a wealth of talented musicians passing through its ranks; apparently he passed away in the year 2000 from complications of pneumonia.

Simpson "Simpson" (CBS-Columbia Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Noel Frankel & Mike Kropp)
Homer's distant cousin Bland Simpson is now best known as an author and actor; he also led this uniquely eclectic, brainy early '70s cosmic folk/rock/twang band, and also played piano with the Red Clay Ramblers. For folkies, this disc is notable as the first album to feature singer-songwriter David Olney, who played guitar and sang with Simpson for several years before moving to Nashville in '73. Also on board, though not officially part of the band, are steel guitarist Bill Keith, Eric Weissberg on fiddle and dobro, and power-popster Rick Derringer, who plays lead guitar on one track (the somewhat overwrought "Swordswoman Provocation.") Olney gets in a few fancy acoustic licks on the guitar solo, "Detroit Gregorian" and sings the lead on a version of the old folk tune, "Black Betty." This is an odd and idiosyncratic album, not necessarily that accessible on the first couple of listenings, but substantive and definitely rooted in real twang influences.

Skatin' "Takin' Time To Listen" (Coyote Publishing Co., 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Verne Critz & Dave Kaplan)
Pretty slick stuff from this longhaired band out of Raleigh, North Carolina... They're marginally in the "country-rock" terrain, but in the same way as bigger bands such as America or Poco, with larger proportions of top-forty AOR rock in the mix. The group included Steve Lamb on guitar and mandolin, Philip K. Mitchell (bass), Don Pierce (guitar), Ray Tims (percussion) and a few other local musicians chipping in. The album is packed with all-original material written by various bandmembers, and they guys all sang as well, including plenty of classic, Seventies-style harmonies. A very good example of Me Decade soft-pop, though perhaps of slightly less interest to devoted twangfans. (Note: producer Dave Kaplan later became very involved in the "Americana" scene of the '80s and '90s, and released a number of groovy albums on his Surfdog record label, including several later-vintage Dan Hicks records)

Sligo Studio Band "Introducing The Sligo Studio Band" (GBS Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Ernie Bivens)
Well, yeah, I woulda thought given the band name that these guys were from Ireland, but actually it seems they were from North Carolina, and seem to have been the late-1970s house band for the Nashville American record label. The group included Charlie Austin on fiddle, Ernie Bivens III (drums), Wayne Casper (bass), Darry Fulford (pedal steel), Stan Morson (keyboards) and Beverly Taylor on vocals. This same basic lineup cut another album in 1979, Wayne Casper's solo LP, and in 1980 recorded a live LP while calling themselves the Country Allstars. Those previous albums were mostly cover songs, though this disc was a showcase for original material with most of the songs credited to either Bivens or Morson. Bivens seems to have been the group's most ambitious member, producing this album before stepping into the spotlight himself to cut a string of singles and a full album around 1986-87. His dad, Col. Ernie Bivens, seems to have been the owner of General Broadcasting Service, aka GBS Records. Ms. Taylor had perhaps the longest career in the band, recording for Dot Records in the 1960s, and as part of the Barbara & Beverly duo with Barbara Allen... I'm not sure what became of her after these early '80s sessions.

Sligo Studio Band "Sings Super Hits" (GBS Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Ernie Bivens & Vince Chory)

Sligo Studio Band "Sings Super Hits Old & New" (General Broadcasting Service/GBS Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Ernie Bivens & Vince Chory)

Luke Smathers String Band "Mountain Swing" (June Appal Records, 1977) (LP)
A delightful all-acoustic album of lively, uptempo bluegrass and old-timey music, mixed with Depression-era swing and jazz. The Luke Smathers band originally formed in 1930 and played professionally in and around North Carolina up until the early '40s... This later edition of the group featured one new feller along with the lanky old-timers, a young David Holt plunking banjo and paying his dues as an earnest folkie... Anyway, it's great stuff: if you want to hear the real deal, track this album down. It's pretty cool.

The Southern Lawmen "In Concert" (The Sounding Board, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Otis Forrest & The Southern Lawmen)
These guys were a North Carolina bluegrass band who also recorded under the name The Norfolk Southern Lawmen. They included Bobby Boggs on steel guitar, Otis Forrest (piano), Alan Kerr (drums), Karl Lesta (bass), Don Perkins (mandolin), Charlie Ray (guitar), Joe Wilson (12-string guitar), and Larry Wilson playing banjo and guitar. Pianist/producer Otis Forrest produced a number of regional country and southern gospel artists; he plays on this album but apparently not on their later LP, Ride The Train.

The Southern Sound "Introducing The Southern Sound" (Southern Sound, 1981) (LP)
Following in the footsteps of the Oak Ridge Boys, this harmony vocal band from Johnston County, North Carolina originally worked as a southern gospel quartet but switched to a secular format as "the southern sound" of quartet singing swept into the charts. The core group of singers included Glenn Barefoot (tenor), Fred Honeycutt (baritone), Randy Parker (bass), Bruce Peacock (lead), with instrumental backing by Hugh Jackson (lead guitar and steel), Ricky Langdon (lead and rhythm guitar), Junior Morgan (bass) and Mike Wood on drums. There may have been two or three originals on here (hard to tell without composer credits) but mostly the repertoire is made up of fairly standard country covers -- "Elvira," appropriately enough, "Kawliga," "Rocky Top," "Walk Across Texas," etc.

Sally Spring "Country Blue" (Aeolian Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Sally Spring)
Though her career predates the "Americana" branding of the late '80s, North Carolina's Sally Spring fits right in with the eclectic country-friendly folkie vibe of the category-breaking label. I think this was her first album, perhaps more on the poppy end of the folk spectrum, but still with a strong enough rural vibe to bring it to you attention...

Louis & Audrey Stamey "Favorite Tunes" (197-?) (LP)
A husband-wife duo from Drexel, North Carolina who billed themselves as "The Cherokee Sweethearts" and performed in full Native American costume -- buckskin vests, feathers, beads -- at a local tourist attraction that was part of the Cherokee reservation in nearby Cherokee, North Carolina. They specialized in guitar instrumentals, semi-surfish updates of old traditional tunes. I tried to find more about them, but the pickins' are thin. I believe Mrs. Stamey passed away in 1998, while Mr. Stamey is a bit harder to pin down -- it seems there's more than one Louis Stamey in that neck of the woods, and there seem to have been a lot of Stameys in general, throughout the state. Anyway, there's surprisingly little online information about their career, mostly just posts from other record collectors, spotlighting either their various singles, or tracks from the two LPs the Stameys recorded at some undetermined dates, but there doesn't seem to be any journalism online, either contemporary or modern, and no mention of music in recent obituaries...

Louis & Audrey Stamey "Themes Of The Smokies" (Mark Five/Rite Records, 197-?) (LP)
The front cover is a photo of the Smoky Mountains, around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where the Stameys lived and performed. By the time the Stameys were there, the Eastern Cherokee had built up a chugging outdoorsy tourism industry on their tribal land, and had a sweeping view was of the mountains. The Stameys seem to have lived about forty miles away from Cherokee, though, in Drexel, on the other side of Asheville. This was their second album, according to the liner notes.

The Stillman-Davis Band "Carolina Fever" (Collegetown Records, 1981) (LP)
One of the odder, though presumably lucrative, country music offshoots of the late 1970s and early '80s was the college sports souvenir album, where moonlighting Nashville studio pros and aspiring session players ground out regionally themed albums packed with newly-minted athletic anthems and fight songs. This one, pressed for the Carolina Tarheels, features a "band" that later coalesced around the pop-country vocals trio, The Coulters, who cut an album in 1983 using many of the same musicians. Fiddler Buddy Spicher was the marquee artist, along with Winslow Stillman on guitar, Quitman Dennis on bass and horns, Shane Keister (keyboards), Farrell Morris (percussion), and Tommy Wells on drums. Most of the songs are credited as Stillman-Davis originals, although by the end of Side Two they seem to have run out of juice, and randomly tossed in a version of "Stars And Stripes Forever" and a rehash of Andy Griffith's comedy tall-tale, "What It Was Was Football," to round things out. Much of this material was recycled on (or from) other Collegetown albums such as Orange Breakout (pressed for Clemson University) and Hoosier High, which was made for Indiana University's NCAA team.

Stoney Brook "Friday Night At Leon's" (Thunderhead, 1979) (LP)
Bluegrass-y stuff from a shaggy, longhaired band out of Asheville, North Carolina... Side One spotlights original material by bandmembers Gary Wiley and Don Mills, while Side Two features a bunch of golden age classics by the Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs and Roy Acuff.

Super Grit Cowboy Band "Super Grit Cowboy Band" (Sound Hut, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Clyde Mattocks & Bill Lyerly)
This local group from North Carolina had some modest success on the Country charts, despite being an indie-label band with a propensity for true twang and a little bit of profanity (see the title of their second album, below...) They are also notable for starting the career of sideman and songwriter Curtis Wright, who went from here into Vern Gosdin's band, and then into a partnership with Nashville songwriter Robert Ellis Orrall, and later still became the lead singer for the post-Marty Raybon lineup of Shenandoah. Often, the guys in funky little bands like this will give up on music careers and a seldom heard from again -- but not this time!

Super Grit Cowboy Band "If You Can't Hang... Drag Your Country Ass Home" (Hoodswamp Records, 1981) (LP)

Super Grit Cowboy Band "Showing Our Class" (Hoodswamp Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Clyde Mattocks)
There's a wide variety of influences on this album, with a couple of unabashed Waylon soundalike songs, nods to Merle, more contemporary-sounding '80s country and a dash of bluegrass, with fancy mandolin pickin' by Dale Reno, son of truegrass legend Don Reno. The guys in the band trade off on lead vocals, with Alan Hicks, Danny Vinson and Curtis Wright taking turns on most tracks, and steel player Clyde Mattocks bopping his way through the novelty number "Pretty Girls Never Travel In Pairs" and pianist Mike Kinzie yukking it up on "Heal," a faux-gospel revival number that closes the album out. There's a slight disconnect between the high level of musicianship (particularly the crisp pedal steel) and the DIY-sounding production (most notably the flat thumping of the rhythm section...) Overall, though, this is a noteworthy indie album from a band that had commercial leanings, but wasn't trying too hard to play the fame game. Worth a spin!

Super Grit Cowboy Band "This Way To The Stage" (Hoodswamp Records, 1986) (LP)

Carolyn Teresa Tart "Southern Girl - Northern Boy" (Country Road Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Manford Harper)
Indie twang from North Carolina... Ms. Tart's father, Steve Stephenson, once led a group called the Gold Star Band, which was later renamed the Stephenson Family Band, and included Carolyn on vocals. She also performed in a duo with her sister Brenda, and eventually recorded on her own as a solo artist. I couldn't quite decide if she was actually the same person as Francesca Contessa Carbone, who is credited as songwriter on some of her songs, though I think not, since one composition "Only A Song (Can Save Us Now)" was copyrighted as being written by both Francesca Carbone and Carolyn Tart. That song is not included on this album, though another that is, "We Must Say Good By," was credited to Carbone alone. The lineup on this album included Teresa Tart on lead and rhythm guitar, Bob Jenkins (lead guitar), Clyde Mattocks (steel guitar), Gary Moore (bass) and Lee Sandlin on drums. I'm not sure, but she seems to have been one of the gals playing on Harold McLeod's album (above), along with Mr. Mattocks.

Kate Taylor "Sister Kate" (Atlantic-Cotillion Records, 1971)
(Produced by Peter Asher)
I'm adding this one mostly as a buyer-beware, cautionary listing. This album by singer Kate Taylor, sister of singer-songwriting superstar James Taylor, often makes its way into country and folk bins, but I think that's largely because she's wearing a big blue denim jacket that reads "rural," but is really just an early '70s fashion thing. Oh, sure, there are traces of twang: some LA country-rock heavyweights pitch in -- Bernie Leadon, Linda Ronstadt, J.D. Souther -- but they're mostly way in the background, although bluegrasser John Hartford does add more overt twang with a banjo riff on a version of Elton John's "Country Comfort." Also, she does a weirdly lethargic boogie-rock version of the old George Jones hit, "White Lightning." Mostly, though, this is just a big LA singer-songwriter popfest, with her singing stuff by Carole King, her brothers James and Livingston Taylor, and of course all these elite popstars pitch in on the recordings. Perhaps most surprisingly, a song by British folkie Beverly Martyn. Can't say as I'm a big fan of Taylor as a vocalist, nor of the music itself... It's inoffensive, but kind of subpar '70s pop, with a few riffs that will feel familiar, but little to excite most twangfans.

Glenn Thompson "Country Songs I Love To Sing" (Big T Records, 196-?) (LP)
(Produced by Walt Copeland)
A farm kid from rural North Carolina, like many country musicians Glenn Thompson traveled around and had a lot of gigs in his youth... Before serving in WWII, Thompson was working down in Florida, and after he demobilized, he found a radio gig in his home state before founding a hillbilly radio show called the "Virginia Barn Dance," in 1949, leading a regional band through the 1950s. He retired from the music business for several years, but by the time he cut this (mid-'60s?) album, Thompson was back on the air, hosting a daily radio show on WBBB, in Burlington, NC. His backing band for these sessions included Don Causey (bass), Jackie Dee (rhythm guitar), Marvin Hudson (steel), Dicky Robertson (drums) and Jimmy Saunders (lead guitar). Thompson also released numerous singles on a bunch of mega-indie labels, and worked with old-school country stars such as the Louvin Brothers and Charlie Monroe. There's no date on the album but it's at least post-1963, as the liners were written by someone from the Emmons Guitar Company, which was established in 1963. It also says he "retired" at age 40, then got back into music, so I'm guessing this LP was from 1965-66-ish, since he served in WWII. There are no contemporary cover songs to judge the date by -- mostly oldies, possibly some originals.

Glenn Thompson "The Best Of Glenn Thompson" (Tornado Records, 196-?) (LP)
Not sure which of these albums came out first, though according to the trove of materials Thompson donated to UNC these appear to be the only full LPs he released, although he also cut a CD many years later. Mr. Thompson, whose career dates back to the 1940s, apparently retired in 1985.

Randy Travis -- see artist profile

Bill Tripp "Black Coal Mine And White Moonshine" (API-Atteiram Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Gordon Reid)
A set of all-original material from songwriter Bill Tripp, of Sanford, North Carolina. This was recorded for the bluegrass-oriented Atteiram label, with several notable truegrass artists on board, notably guitarist Carlos Brock, an early pioneer of the style who took Bill Tripp under his wing and helped him develop his material. The liner notes peg this as more of a country thing, though, albeit a stripped-down, acoustic set. Mr. Tripp is backed by fiddler Kenny Baker, along with Carlos Brock on guitar, Burt Hoffman (drums) and Joe Stuart (guitar). Ten out of twelve tracks are Bill Tripp compositions, while two others, "A Girl Like You" and "My Love For You Is Gone," are also originals, but written by another, uncredited artist -- it seems likely that they were by Mr. Brock, although there are no composer credits on the album itself. Bill Tripp also recorded a few singles for Atteiram a few years later, including one with singer Liz Howard. Although he doesn't seem to have made many other records, Mr. Tripp opened his own recording studio and worked both as a producer and promoter for local bluegrass and country artists.

LaVerne Tripp "Sings Country Soul" (QCA/Queen City Albums, 1970) (LP)
A mostly-secular set from Southern Gospel stalwart LaVerne Tripp, a North Carolina native who recorded innumerable gospel records, both under his name and as the leader of the Tripp Family band, not to mention his 1968-75 stint in the Blue Ridge Quartet, and in the Palmetto State Quartet and other bands. On this album he deploys sentimental country oldies such as "Mom And Dad Waltz," "Green Green Grass Of Home" and Merle Haggard's "Sing Me Back Home" and "Fightin' Side Of Me" to speak to the traditional, Christian values he wants to promote. There are also a couple of feelgood, think-positive sunshine pop tunes like Glen Campbell's "Try A Little Kindness" and "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" that also fit into this theme, as well as a trio of overt gospel songs to round things out. In some ways this less-obvious, country-oriented set has greater resonance than his usual southern gospel formula, though I suppose it's really a matter of personal preference. At any rate, it's a nice record, with a funky pop-soul sound that matches his Charlie Rich-ish vocals. The album doesn't have a date on it, but based on the material, I'd say 1970, maybe '71, is a pretty good guess.

Gene Tyndall "A Spark In The Country" (Twilight Records, 1973) (LP)
Nicknamed "the Twilight Drifter," Clinton, North Carolina's Gene Tyndall released a string of singles, circa 1969-72 before cutting this album in '73. A lot of the tracks on here come from those singles, including tunes like "Hello Mr. Heartache," "Only A Loser Could Know," "One More," "I Cry (Cry All Day Long)," "That No 'Count Infernal Revenue Man," and "Diesel Smoke And The Tennessee Trooper." It's a mix of straight-up weepers and novelty numbers, all originals, and all of them co-credited to Mr. Tyndall and his wife (identified only as "D. Tyndall"). As far as I know, this was Mr. Tyndall's only LP...

Francois Vola "Francois Vola" (Francois Vola Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Francois Vola)
A flat-picker from France, guitarist Francois Vola emigrated to the US around 1974 and made his way into the North Carolina bluegrass scene. Bill Keith contributes liner notes (as well as Dan Crary) and among the musicians backing him are fiddler Byron Berline and John Hickman on banjo... so he musta been doing something right! HNot sure how many records he's made or played on... he also self-released a CD in 1995 or thereabouts...

J. C. Wagoner "Picking And Singing With Down Home Country Music" (Three Star Records, 19--?) (LP)
This one's a little unusual in that the artist, North Carolina's J. C. Wagoner was less known as a singer than as a dancer -- a world-champion clogger, to be precise. Nonetheless, he recorded a single or two, as well as this album. Wagoner was a fixture on the Winston-Salem bluegrass and old-timey scene, where he would dance during or between bands, and held clogging workshops. (He also wrote a book about it...!) This album features a bunch of original material, written by either Mr. Wagoner or Herb Shively and Ralph Shiveley. It's possible he was also the same J. C. Wagoner who played drums for a well-known local bluegrass band, The Lincoln County Partners, on their country-friendly 1974 LP, It's Just The Chance You've Waited For, but I'm not 100% super-sure about that.

Wahoo Revue "Band Xing" (Avanti Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Rod Abernathy & Don Dixon)
This North Carolina bluegrass band formed around 1973 with core members Louis Allen (mandolin), Gary Bailey (bass), Stan Brown (banjo and mandolin) and Bill Willis on guitar, along with "guest" performers pianist-producer Rod Abernathy and Gene Wooten. Most members were students at North Carolina State University and after steadily playing campus shows they landed a plum gig at the Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia, which became their full-time job over the summer. They cut two LPs, each with a diverse "progressive" repertoire -- this album includes covers of "Friend Of The Devil" as well as Cat Stevens' "Father And Son," earning them mention in the annals of the late 'Seventies "country-rock" indiebilly scene. Wahoo Review broke up around 1979, with some band members pursuing music afterwards, notably Gene Wooten who moved to Nashville in 1977 and became an elite session player, and Gary Mitchell who played in numerous local bands and founded his own Ocrafolk record label. The group notably had connections to future top forty songwriter and Americana auteur Jim Lauderdale who met them at Busch Gardens and moved to Nashville with Gene Wooten; Brown and Wooten helped Lauderdale record one of his earliest demo tapes and offered him a slot in the band, which he declined, as fate pulled him elsewhere.

Wahoo Revue "Campus Bluegrass" (Leather Records, 1978-?) (LP)

Les Waldroop "Follow Me To Tennessee: The 1982 World's Fair" (Appalachian Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Les Waldroop)
It seems like hillbilly auteur Les Waldroop (1930-1989) was a real character... He recorded and self-released singles as far back 1955, when he recorded "Centennial Boogie" to commemorate the founding of his hometown, Franklin, North Carolina. In the early 1960s he put out a couple of singles, followed by a string of releases in the 'Seventies, with many of those songs included on this album. The song "Loafer's Glory" was first recorded in 1966, while "Chunky Gal" and "Moonlight's A-Wasting" date back to 1974, and "Appalachian Trail" came out as a single in 1978, with Bobby Harden billed as his backup. Waldroop also specialized in topical novelty songs such as "Diesel Fuel," "Watergate Bugs" and "Peanut Farmer" (about Jimmy Carter's 1976 presidential campaign) although apparently those didn't age well, and were left off this album. The disc is made up of all original material, including "Knoxville '82 And The World's Fair," which was purported to be the fair's official song. There are no musician or producer credits, probably because the songs came out over the course of more than a decade, involving several different sessions. Mostly goofy tunes with an exaggerated hick vibe, reminiscent of Roger Miller... Waldroop was probably a better musician than he let on, though I guess that's half the fun.

Doc Watson -- see artist profile

Tiny Weeks "Heavy Equipment Man" (25th Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Phil Nelson)
An actual, real-deal heavy equipment operator, North Carolina's Tiny Weeks is pictured on the front cover standing by the cab of his bulldozer surrounded by several babes in bikinis, because as we all know, nothing says "sexy" like a good open-pit construction site. Mr. Weeks seems to have taken up music as a sideline in the late 1970s and played local gigs in the Burlington/Greensboro area at least up through the early '80s. I'm not 100% sure, but I think he was Mr. James Weeks, whose great claim to fame was singing the national anthem at Starrcade '83, a pro wrestling smackdown staged in Greensboro back in 1983, an event which for some reason is the focus of multiple online reviews, with many bloggers uniformly characterizing Weeks's performance as a bit odd. One suspects this may be because he had a sense of humor, as heard on this disc, which includes tunes like "Sittin' Back Sippin' Suds" and "Don't Come Knockin' When The Camper's Rockin'," which were also issued together as a single, and "I Really Dig My Music" (get it? "dig" my music?) a novelty number recorded in both country and disco versions for this album. Assuming it's the same guy, Tiny Weeks seems to have passed away in 1996 (age unknown) and had been playing and recording gospel music in his later years.

Wild Bill & The Buffalo Chips "Hit The Trail" (Bison Records, 1980) (LP)
A bluegrassy jugband from Charlotte, North Carolina, featuring singer Wild Bill Bradford, backed by a band that included Mr. Bradford on banjo and saxophone, Dave Earl (dobro, guitar and mandolin), Dave Freeman (guitar), Paul Herbert (harmonica and vocals), Hardin Minor (harmonica and kazoo), Tom Minor (washtub bass), Thomas Moore (saxophone), Dale Saville (guitar) and Tom Scott on banjo and guitar. The repertoire is a mix of mountain music standards, blues tunes, and rock'n'roll oldies. Hardin Minor is notable among this lively lineup -- a local performance artist and clown who had co-founded the OMIMEO Mime Theatre in 1978, he moved to New York right around the time this album came out, spending several years studying theater and dance with luminaries such as Jacques d'Amboise and Twyla Tharpe, returning to Charlotte in 1986 to take residency in the local arts scene as a college teacher and performer. His brother, Tommy Minor (1949-2017) played bass in the Buffalo Chips band for much of the 1980s, with other members of the group's pursuing various creative paths. As far as I know this was the band's only album.

Roy Lee Yelton & Upbound "I Love Country Music And You" (Lamon Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by David Floyd, Carlton Moody & David Moody)
Aw, shucks, Roy... you're making me blush! Well, I'm not totally sure what's going on with this album, but it seems to be sort of a song-poem set, with all the songs written by a middle-aged guy named Bobby R. Bush. The singer, Roy Lee Yelton, appears to have been a North Carolinian, though I'm not sure if he played many local shows, or if Upbound was really a working band or more of a made-in-the-studio group. On this album he's basically backed by Carlton Moody and his NC studio band, including pianist Don Ange, David Bostic (steel guitar), Steve Hicks (harmonica), Carlton Moody (dobro and guitar), David Moody (drums), Dwight Moody (fiddle), Trent Moody (bass), and Don Radford on lead guitar.

Various Artists "THE HAYWOOD COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL PRESENTS: OUR MOUNTAIN MUSICAL TRADITIONS" (1981) (LP)
It don't get much more local than this... Sponsored by the Haywood County Arts Council of Canton, North Carolina, this album spotlights old-timey chestnuts such as "Handsome Molly," "Whiskey Before Breakfast" and "Soldier's Joy," along with a little blues, as on "Goin Down the Road Feelin Bad." Not sure if any of the artists on here recorded elsewhere, or if this was really, truly, a locals-only affair.

Various Artists "OLD TIME MUSIC RECORDED AT THE STOMPIN' GROUND" (Nashville Remote Recording, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Conrad Jones)
Kind of a mystery disc; I'm not even sure if it's really a compilation album, or all by one band, but the record itself provides few clues. Producer Conrad Jones was an audio technician for the Grand Ole Opry and the Nashville Network, and seems to have been taping live remotes like this one as a pastime. Other projects including a similar-looking album by a group called the Rize-N-Fast Band, also playing at the Stompin' Ground, which was a venue located in a big old barn in Maggie Valley, North Carolina.

Various Artists "OUR MOUNTAIN MUSICAL TRADITIONS" (Haywood County Arts Council, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Lynn Shaw & Stephen Heller)
Hyper-local North Carolina acoustic stringband/old-timey/bluegrass music, featuring a slew of locals, including producer Lynn Shaw playing either fiddle or guitar on several tracks, and several members of the Smathers family, no doubt relatives of Luke Smathers, a local bandleader from Canton, North Carolina, where this was produced. There's even a bit of shape-note singing on the end of the album!

Hick Music Index