More music from the archives. This is an early 1940s recording of a cowboy string band doing a jazz standard. The band is Texas Jim Lewis and His Lone Star Cowboys, and the tune is the Bennie Moten song ‘South’. The catalog number is Decca 5905a. The personnel includes, if I remember correctly, future Spade Cooley band members Larry ‘Pedro’ DePaul on accordion and Cactus Soldi on fiddle.

South (MP3)

Here’s another one from the archives, the flip side from a previous post. Willis and his band take on another tune that has become a bluegrass standard, Down Yonder.

Down Yonder (MP3)

Here’s one from the archives, Guy Willis and his band playing a song that has become a bluegrass standard: “Back Up and Push”. It’s a nice performance. The prominent mandolin brings to mind the late Skillet Lickers recordings with Ted Hawkins.

The Willis Brothers held a place on the Grand Ole Opry for decades, and were Hank Williams’ backing band on some of his early recordings.

Back Up And Push (MP3)

Any resemblance between the North Albany Archive of Recorded Sound and the boxes of 78s sitting in my basement is purely coincidental.

These 78s were purchased in the mid-to-late 1990s as part of my research into the early history of country music. They encompass a variety of early country styles, from old-time fiddle music to Western Swing. Many have never been released on LP or compact disc. Virtually all the recordings are from the electrical recording era (ca. 1927) through to recording ban of 1942.⁽¹⁾

I transfered the discs to tape when I was a grad student at the University of Illinois. The transfer was done in a lab, using the best 78 player I had access along with a decent equalizer. They were converted to MP3 form on my Mac, using a MOTU PCI card and Audio Desk. Beyond some basic equalization during the tape transfer, there has been no additional manipulation of the files. Many of the recordings have significant audible surface wear, evident in the transfers. I’m not John R.T. Davies. Deal with it.⁽²⁾

There is approximately five hours of music that I’m presently sifting through. Some of the material represents some amazing performances that should be preserved for posterity. Some of it is little more than archaic pop culture ephemera. I will not post all of it, as some of it will be redundant with material already available on Archive.org and/ or commercially available reissues.

The recordings are made available here for research purposes. If you are the owner of a copyright that you believe has been violated, please send appropriate notice to the site administrator, and the offending file will be removed.

⁽¹⁾ There may also have been some other things happening in the world at this time.
⁽²⁾ If you understand this reference, the odds are quite good that you spend too much time reading liner notes.

Here’s another fine Beat Farmers clip, with the late Country Dick singing ‘Happy Boy’, complete with kazoos and a gargling chorus by Jerry Raney.

Our song “Hard Times” has made it onto Neil Young’s Songs of the Times list. His website lists the top 1,340 protest songs of our times, and there we are at #1270 this week. I guess he liked it so much that it’s also listed at #1278! Our good friend Christine Flores-Cozza also has her song “Miss Him” listed at a highly respectable #188. She designed our banjo burst logo and also helped with the design of our first album, Just a Spoonful. Check out the full list at http://www.neilyoung.com/lwwtoday/lwwsongspage.html.

Tom Martin Erickson is doind a tribute to Bill Jorgenson, the Father of Wisconsin Bluegrass, on his ‘Simply Folk’ program this weekend.

If you would like to hear this program here are the stations that will air it…..

Broadcast Statewide: Sunday 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm (Wisconsin Public Radio)

• WLFM 91.1 Appleton (Lawrence Univ.)
• WUEC 89.7 Eau Claire
• WPNE 89.3 Green Bay
• WGBW 91.5 Green Bay (UW-Green Bay)
• WHHI 91.3 Highland
• WHLA 90.3 La Crosse
• WERN 88.7 Madison
• WHWC 88.3 Menomonie
• WHAD 90.7 Milwaukee
• WVSS 90.7 Menomonie
• WHBM 90.3 Park Falls
• WHSA 89.9 Superior, Ashland, Brule
• KUWS 91.3 Superior (UW-Superior)
• WHRM 90.9 Wausau
• (AM) WHA 970 Madison
• (AM) WLBL 930 Stevens Point

There’s little I can add to the legend of the late Country Dick Montana, a man who could drink a beer with his feet and who died onstage. Except, perhaps, for this cautionary tale. Curb records, with whom the Beat Farmers had a seven record deal, wanted to remove Country Dick from the band. Just as the Rolling Stones ignored the advice to ditch the “vile singer with the tire-tread lips”, the Beat Farmers wisely kept their drummer and ditched their record label.