July 31, 2011

Playlist for 8/1/11 Black Diamond Show: Podunk Preview (WNHU, West Haven, CT, 88.7 FM & www.wnhu.net)

This week's show features artists who will be appearing at the Podunk Bluegrass Festival in East Hartford Th 8/4 - Su 8/7. Yours truly is planning to make the trek to the festival on Sunday Aug. 7. I'll be the grey-bearded fellow in a dirty AC Milan baseball hat trying not to spend $300 on CDs and other merchandise. It should be fun all four days!

The show will air on WNHU on Mon Aug 1, noon-2pm EDT (88.7 FM in West Haven, CT and on the WNHU stream on www.wnhu.net), and is scheduled to re-stream Thu Aug 4, 10pm-midnight on the WNHU2 stream at www.wnhu.net.

Thanks for your support of bluegrass & traditional country music -- and of WNHU!


Artist / Song / Album / Label / Date / Notes
• Don Stover / Black Diamond / Things in Life / Rounder / 1972 / Theme
• Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie / The Midnight Train / Southern / Rural Rhythm / 2010
• Border Radio / When I Get My Rewards / Americana Brand / Okie Pie / 2002
• Del McCoury Band / Goldbrickin’ / Del and the Boys / McCoury Music / 2001
• The Dixie Bee-Liners / Yellow-Haired Girl / The Dixie Bee-Liners at Merlefest / Festivalink / 2009
• The Double Decker String Band / Cotton-Eyed Joe / The Rest Is Yet to Come / 5-String Productions / 2006
• Mac McHale & The Radio Gang / Remember Me / Joe Val Bluegrass Festival / YouTube / 2011
• The Fitzmaurice Band / California / The Fitzmaurice Band (EP) / Infidel / 2009
• Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass / My Old Kentucky Home / Civil War Memories / Wango / 2005
• The Dixie Bee-Liners / Albion Road / Susanville / Pinecastle / 2009
• Steep Canyon Rangers / Waiting to Hear You Call My Name / One Dime at a Time / Rebel / 2005
• Mountain Heart / Little Sadie / That Just Happened / MH Music / 2010
• Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass / Backstep Sally Ann / The Room Over Mine / Rounder / 2008
• Katie Wilson / More than Love / Katie Wilson / self / 2010
• The Steep Canyon Rangers / Pickin’ on Josh / Lovin’ Pretty Women / Rebel / 2007
• Chris Jones & The Night Drivers / Cowboys Ain’t Supposed to Cry / Cloud of Dust / GSM / 2000, 2009
• Mountain Heart / Ramblin’ Heart / No Other Way / Skaggs Family / 2007
• Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper / Goin’ Up Dry Branch / Fired Up / Rounder / 2011
• Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys / My Dying Bed / The High Lonesome Sound of Bill Monroe / MCA / 1952, 1973
• Darin & Brooke Aldridge / Wayfaring Stranger / I’ll Go With You / Pinecastle / 2009
• The Kruger Brothers / Jack of the Wood / Merlefest 2010 / Festivalink / 2010
• Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / Gone at Last / Drive Time / Mountain Home / 2011
• Katie Wilson / Beacon / Katie Wilson / self / 2010
• Michael Cleveland & Jesse Brock / Jerusalem Ridge / Leavin’ Town / Rounder / 2008
• John Cowan & Jim Hurst / Starry Night / I’ll Take Love: Songs from the Pen of Louisa Branscomb / Compass / 2011
• Donna Ulisse / Let it Rain / An Easy Climb / Hadley Music Group / 2011
• Darin & Brooke Aldridge / Corn / Darin & Brooke Aldridge / Mountain Home / 2010
• Chris Jones & The Night Drivers / Draw for 5 / Cloud of Dust / GSM / 2009
• Donna Ulisse / Faith is a Journey / An Easy Climb / Hadley Music Group / 2011
• Louisa Branscomb & Joe Zauner / This Side of Heaven (excerpt) / The Bluegrass Blog / YouTube / 2011
• The Whites / This Side of Heaven / I’ll Take Love: Songs from the Pen of Louisa Branscomb / Compass / 2011
• Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / One of These Days / Help is on the Way / Horizon / 2008
• Darin & Brooke Aldridge / I Thought I’d Seen it All / Darin & Brooke Aldridge / Mountain Home / 2010
• Hank Williams / Why Don’t You Love Me? / 40 Greatest Hits / Polydor / 1950, 1978
• Jimmy Martin / You Don’t Know My Mind / Don’t Cry to Me / Thrill Jockey / 2000, 2004 / Recorded live at Bean Blossom in 2000.
• Don Stover / Black Diamond / Things in Life / Rounder / 1972 / Theme

July 25, 2011

Black Diamond Show: 7/25/11 Meet the Quebe Sisters

This week's show features the usual mix of bluegrass--old & new, old-time, western swing, and traditional country music--with a bit more emphasis on the cowboy/cowgirl side of the family than usual.

The second half hour kicks off with a Bob Wills number, then rolls on into an interview with the Quebe Sisters as they get ready to foray deep into New England. This coming weekend: they'll be at the Lowell Folk Festival, Fr 7/29, Sa 7/30, and Su 7/31 (http://www.lowellfolkfestival.org/ for more info)--one of the best free folk festivals in the USofA. If you can make a trip to Lowell, MA, to see them, I'd urge you to do so--and there will be a lot of other great musicians there as well!

Who are the Quebe Sisters? Hulda, Sophia, and Grace play trip fiddle harmonies the ol' Texas way, and sing sweet three-part harmonies as if they were the Andrews Sisters. If you're not familiar with them, tune in today at about 12:33pm EDT (or Thursday at about 10:33pm EDT during the 10pm-midnight replay on the WNHU2 stream on www.wnhu.net) to hear some of their music and to meet them on the air.

Here's this week's playlist. Thanks for your support of bluegrass and traditional country music--and of WNHU!


Artist / Song / Album / Label / Date / Notes
• Don Stover / Black Diamond / Things in Life / Rounder / 1972 / Theme
• The Bluegrass Album Band / I’d Rather Be Alone / The Bluegrass CD, col. 2 / Rounder / 1983, 1987
• Merle Travis / Start Even / Hot Pickin’ / Proper / 1949, 2003
• New Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters / The Belles of Lexington / Welcome to Galax / Heritage / 2011
• Audie Blaylock & Redline / Out in the Cold World / I’m Going Back to Old Kentucky / Rural Rhythm / 2011
• David Peterson / A Passion for Souls / Jesus Use Me / Zion Mountain Music / 1996
• Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant / Arkansas Traveler / Wizards of Country Guitar / JSP / 1953, 2011
• Charlie Sizemore / Alison’s Band / Good News / Rebel / 2007
• Alison Krauss & Union Station / Miles to Go / Paper Airplane / Rounder / 2011
• The Rice Brothers / Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right / Bluegrass Goes to Town / Rounder / 1992, 2002
• Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys / Stay a Little Longer / Legends of Country Music: Bob Wills / Sony BMG / 1945, 2006
• The Quebe Sisters Band / Shame on You / Timeless / FiddleTone / 2007
• Grace, Sophia, and Hulda Quebe / Interview / Black Diamond Show / WNHU / 2011
• The Quebe Sisters Band / Every Whichaway / QuebeSistersBand Channel / YouTube / 2009
• The Quebe Sisters Band / Red Wing / Texas Fiddlers / self / 2003
• The Quebe Sisters Band / Tumblin’ Tumbleweeds / Timeless / FiddleTone / 2007
• The Sons of the West / My Prairie Queen / Wizards of Country Guitar / JSP / 1941, 2011
• Perfect Strangers / Canned by the Best / Perfect Strangers / Rebel / 2003
• Kenny Baker / Make a Little Boat / Master Fiddler / County / 1977, 1993
• David Peterson & 1946 / Wall Around Your Heart / The Howling Blue Winds / Zion Mountain Music / 2003
• Hot Mud Family / Blue Night / The Complete Vetco Recordings / self / 1978, 2010
• Mark Tamsula & Richard Withers / Black-Eyed Susie / Up in the Batten House / Snappin’ Bug / 2011
• Dale Ann Bradley / 50 Miles of Elbow Room / Don’t Turn Your Back / Compass / 2009
• Riley Puckett & Clayton McMichen / Paddy, Won’t You Drink Some Cider? / Riley Puckett: Country Music Pioneer / JSP / 1928, 2011
• Seldom Scene / Please Be With Me / Scenechronized / Sugar Hill / 2007
• New Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters / Chapel Hill Serenade / Welcome to Galax / Heritage / 2011
• Doc Watson / The Cat Came Back / Doc Watson, David Holt, & Richard Watson at the Philadelphia Folk Festival / Festivalink / 2007
• Karl Shiflett & the Big Country Show / Another Day / In Full Color / Rebel / 2001
• Dailey & Vincent / Don’t You Call My Name / Dailey & Vincent / Rounder / 2008
• Boone Creek / Walkin’ In Jerusalem / Boone Creek / Rounder / 1977
• Rayna Gellert & Susie Goehring / Katie Bar the Door / Starch & Iron / Heard her Squeal / 2005
• Blue Moon Rising / Freight Train / One Lonely Shadow / Lonesome Day / 2008
• The Stanley Brothers / Rabbit in a Log / Long Journey Home / County / 1964, 1973
• Lonesome River Band / Red Bandana / Still Learning / Rural Rhythm / 2010
• Lonesome Pine Fiddlers / No Curb Service / Early Bluegrass / RCA / 1954, 1969
• Don Stover / Black Diamond / Things in Life / Rounder / 1972 / Theme

July 17, 2011

Playlist and Notes for July 18 Black Diamond Show on WNHU

Each half hour of the July 18 show has a distinct character. The first half hour is given over to a tribute to Kenny Baker, the bluegrass fiddler who passed away on July 8. For more information see his Wikipedia entry or the obituaries listed in last week’s post.

In the second half hour, we’re joined by John Reischman to talk about the new CD from his band, “John Reischman & the Jaybirds: Vintage & Unique.”

In the third half hour, David Peterson joins us to talk about his visit to Guitar Town up in Hamden, CT, on July 26.

Then in the last half hour, we return to our tribute to Kenny Baker.

When I briefly go over a few concert and festival listings, I mention the 25th annual Lowell Folk Festival. It’s FREE. July 29-31 in Lowell, MA. Of interest to Black Diamond Show fans are scheduled performances by Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper and by the Quebe Sisters Band.

The show is scheduled to re-stream on the WNHU2 stream at www.wnhu.net on Thursday, July 21, from 10pm-midnight EDT.
Hope you get a chance to hear this show! Reischman and Peterson both give fascinating interviews—and you can’t go wrong with Kenny Baker on the fiddle!


Thanks for your support of bluegrass and traditional country music and of WNHU.


Artist / Song / Album / Label / Date / Notes
• Don Stover / Black Diamond / Things in Life / Rounder / 1972 / Theme
• Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys / Uncle Pen / Bean Blossom / Geffen / 1973 / First song in our tribute to Kenny Baker, long-time fiddler with Monroe. Kenny Baker 1926-2011.
• Kenny Baker / Jerusalem Ridge / Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe / County / 1977
• Russell Moore, Dale Ann Bradley, John Miller, Dale Perry, Jesse Brock, Ron Stewart, & Michael Cleveland / Sailing On / Look to the Light: Songs of Faith / Rural Rhythm / 2010
• Kenny Baker & Joe Greene / High Country / High Country / County / 1967, 1968
• Josh Graves & Kenny Baker / Carroll County Blues / The Puritan Sessions / Rebel / 1973, 1989
• Becky Schlegel & Jim Hurst / Extra Blue / I’ll Take Love: Songs from the Pen of Louisa Branscomb / Compass / 2011
• Kenny Baker / Daley’s Reel / Master Fiddler / County / 1970, 1993
• The Nashville Bluegrass Band / When I Get Where I’m Going / Nashville Bluegrass Band: Best of the Sugar Hill Years / Sugar Hill / 1993, 2007
• Josh Graves & Kenny Baker / Snowbird / The Puritan Sessions / Rebel / 1973, 1989
• John Reischman / Interview / Black Diamond Show / WNHU / 2011
• John Reischman & The Jaybirds / The First Whippoorwill / Vintage & Unique / Corvus / 2011
• Butch Baldassari, Robin Bullock, & John Reischman / Little Jacky Wilson / Travellers / Sound Art / 1999
• John Reischman & The Jaybirds / Gabriel’s Call / Vintage & Unique / Corvus / 2011
• John Reischman & The Jaybirds / The Cypress Hills / Vintage & Unique / Corvus / 2011
• David Peterson & 1946 / I’ll Still Write Your Name in the Sand / In the Mountaintops to Roam / self / 2005
• David Peterson / Interview / Black Diamond Show / WNHU / 2011
• David Peterson / Brush Arbor Meeting / Jesus Use Me / Zion Mountain Music / 1996
• David Peterson & 1946 / 1946 / In the Mountaintops to Roam / self / 2005
• David Peterson / Comin’ On Strong / Comin’ On Strong / Necktie / 2009
• The Mayfield Brothers / Pardon My Whiskers While I Kiss You Goodnight / Vintage Recordings 1948-1956 / Patuxnet Music / 1956, 2006
• Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys with Jim and Jesse / I Wonder Where You Are Tonight / Bean Blossom / Geffen / 1973
• Kenny Baker / Gold Rush / Master Fiddler / County / 1970, 1993
• Phil Rosenthal / Down The Road / A Treasury of Bluegrass and Country Songs / American Melody / 2009
• Kenny Baker & Bobby Hicks / Panhandle Country / Darkness on the Delta / County / 1980
• Kenny Baker & Joe Green / Callahan / High Country / County / 1967, 1968
• Josh Graves & Kenny Baker / Deep Elem Blues / Puritan Sessions / Rebel / 1973, 1989
• Kenny Baker / On the Road to Columbus / Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe / County / 1977
• Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys / Uncle Pen / Anthology / MCA / 1972, 2003
• Kenny Baker / First Day In Town / Master Fiddler / County / c. 1972, 1993
• Mark O’Connor with Kenny Baker / Jerusalem Ridge / Heroes / Warner Brothers / 1993 / Ended today’s show with this tune that we all associate with Kenny Baker. This version with Mark O’Connor shows that Baker’s fiddle legacy will continue to live on in future generations.

July 11, 2011

Playlist for the Black Diamond Show: July 11, 2011

Next week's show will include a feature in tribute to Kenny Baker, the great bluegrass fiddler, who just passed away: Post-Gazette obituary; Tennesean obituary. Some of my favorite records--not just by Bill Monroe--included Kenny Baker on the fiddle.

Back to this week's show.....

The feature in today's show is a great interview with Donna Ulisse--she's about to depart on a brief tour of Russia, then she'll be back in the US in time to appear at the Podunk Bluegrass Festival in East Hartford.

Thanks for your support of bluegrass and traditional country music--and of WNHU.


Artist / Song / Album / Label / Date / Notes
• Don Stover / Black Diamond / Things in Life / Rounder / 1972 / Theme
• David Peterson / Red Rocking Chair / In the Mountaintops to Roam / self / 2005
• Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch / I’ll Fly Away / O, Brother Where Art Thou? Soundtrack / Mercury Nashville / 2000
• Longview / Cotton-eyed Joe / Deep in the Mountains / Rounder / 2008
• Hank Williams / Mind Your Own Business / Health & Happiness Shows / Mercury Nashville / 1949, 1993
• Foghorn Stringband / Nobody’s Darling / Reap What You Sow / self / 2004
• Larry Sparks with Vince Gill / Blues Stay Away From Me / 40 / Rebel / 2005
• Ralph Stanley / Shout Little Lulie / Old-Time Pickin’: A Clawhammer Banjo Collection / Rebel / c. 1971, 2008
• Mark Graham / Mississippi Sawyer / Southern Old-Time Harmonica / self / c. 1988, 2000.
• Donna Ulisse / Lonesome Without You / An Easy Climb / Hadley Music Group / 2011
• Donna Ulisse / Interview / Black Diamond Show / WNHU / 2011
• Donna Ulisse / He Ain’t That / When I Look Back / Hadley Music Group / 2006
• Donna Ulisse / Black Snake / An Easy Climb / Hadley Music Group / 2011
• Donna Ulisse / Caney Creek to Canaan Land / Holy Water / Hadley Music Group / 2010
• Donna Ulisse / Let it Rain / An Easy Climb / Hadley Music Group / 2011
• Big Medicine / Texas Gales, Blackberry Rag / Pine to Pine / Yodel-Ay-Hee / 2009
• Donna Ulisse / When was the Last Time? / Trouble at the Door / Atlantic / 1991
• Chris Brashear & Peter McLaughlin / Desert Trails / So Long Arizona / Dog Boy / 2007
• John Reischman & The Jaybirds / Two of Us / The Road Home – A Tribute to Butch Baldassari / Sound Art / 2009
• Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys / Scotland / The Very Best of Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys / MCA Nashville / c. 1968, 2002
• Any Old Time String Band / Hello Stranger / I Bid You Goodnight / Arhoolie / 1980, 1996
• Flatt & Scruggs & The Foggy Mountain Boys / Foggy Mountain Breakdown / The Complete Mercury Recordings / Mercury Nashville / 1958, 2003
• Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys / Cherokee Maiden / Legends of Country Music: Bob Wills / Sony BMG / 1941, 2006
• Simple Gifts / Little Moses / Time and Again / Purple Finch / 1999
• Bill Evans / Lonesome Polka / Bill Evans Plays Banjo / Mighty Fine / 2001
• Dale Ann Bradley / Blue Eyes Boy / Don’t Turn Your Back / Compass / 2009
• Joel Mabus / Sally Gal / American Anonymous / Fossil / 2011
• Tim O’Brien / Stealin’ / The Road Home – A Tribute to Butch Baldassari / Sound Art / 2009
• Norman Blake & Tony Rice / It’s Raining Here This Morning / Blake & Rice 2 / Rounder / 1990
• Steve Kaufman / Cold Frosty Medley / The Road Home – A Tribute to Butch Baldassari / Sound Art / 2009
• J.D. Crowe & The New South / I’m Walkin’ / J.D. Crowe & The New South / Rounder / 1974
• John Reischman & The Jaybirds / Roustabout / The Road West / Corvus / 2005
• Don Stover / Black Diamond / Things in Life / Rounder / 1972 / Theme

July 4, 2011

July 4th Edition of the Black Diamond Show on WNHU

Here's the playlist for the July 4th Black Diamond Show on WNHU. It's not all patriotic music -- but it's all good stuff! Perhaps more old-time than you'd expect, but I really like some of those old fiddle tunes.

Thanks to Scott Anderson and his daughter Amanda for being such gracious guests during the 2nd half-hour of the show. Not often you can get hot banjo tunes out of your neighborhood pharmacist! :-)

One of these days, I'll get around to archiving these interviews we've been doing.... And as long as I'm typing an administrative comment.... I'm going to discontinue my attempts to get you to complete a survey each week about the newer bluegrass music. Most weeks, I'd get 0-1 responses.... Instead, just drop me an email to let me know if there's anything you've heard that you really liked!

Thanks for your support of WNHU and Bluegrass and traditional country music!

Artist / Song / Album / Label / Date / Notes
• Don Stover / Black Diamond / Things in Life / Rounder / 1972 / Theme
• Joe Diffie / Tall Cornstalk / Homecoming: The Bluegrass Album / Rounder / 2010
• The Piros / Louisville Breakdown / The Piros / self / 2010 / available from myspace.com/thepiros
• Laurie Lewis & Her Bluegrass Pals / Tall Pines / Laurie Lewis & Her Bluegrass Pals / Rounder / 1999
• Homer & Jethro / The Sweetest Sounds / It Ain’t Necessarily Square / RCA, Miller International / 1967, ND
• Donna Ulisse / Faith is a Journey / An Easy Climb / Hadley Music Group / 2011
• Lilly Brothers & Don Stover / When the Saints Go Marching In / The Early Recordings of the Lilly Brothers / County / 1956, 1970
• Leon McAuliffe / Jelly Bean Rag / Tulsa Straight Ahead / Bear Family / 1950, 2009
• Red Hen / Sittin’ Alone in the Moonlight / Red Hen Crossing / self / 2009
• “Basement All-Stars” / Battle Hymn of the Republic / Civil War Memories / Wango / 2005
• Scott Anderson / Sorry Song Number Forty-Seven / Tales from the Swamp / Mato / 2011
• Scott and Amanda Anderson / Interview / Black Diamond Show / WNHU /2011
• Scott Anderson / Drivin’, Singin’, Cryin’ / Tales from the Swamp / Mato / 2011 / Lead vocal by Amanada Anderson, the song’s composer
• Scott Anderson / Can’t You Hear Me Calling / Tales from the Swamp / Mato / 2011
• The Honey Dewdrops / Fly Away Free / If the Sun Will Shine / self / 2009
• Flatt & Scruggs & The Foggy Mountain Boys / God Loves His Children / The Complete Mercury Recordings / Mercury Nashville / 1958, 2005
• The Warrior River Boys / Fireball Mail / Freight Trains Ride Again / Wango / 2000
• The Quebe Sisters Band / The Star Spangled Banner / Dallas Mavericks Pregame / YouTube / 2010 / http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2rNyz_SAM0
• The Country Gentlemen / Under the Double Eagle / Country Songs Old and New / Folkways / 1960
• Finders & Youngberg / Fiddlin’ to my Grave / FY5 / self / 2011
• Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass / Two Little Boys / Civil War Memories / Wango / 2005
• Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mountain Boys / Guitar Pickin’ President / Sunny Side of the Mountain / Decca / 1965
• The Fuzzy Mountain String Band / Green Willis / The Fuzzy Mountain String Band / Rounder / 1971, 1994
• Johnny Horton / The Battle of New Orleans / Live Recordings from the Louisiana Hayride / Scena / 1959, 2004
• Dry Branch Fire Squad / Faded Coat of Blue / Good Neighbors & Friends / Rounder / 1985
• Happy Johnny and Family / Soldier’s Joy / Fonotone Records, Frederick, Maryland / Fonotone / 1963, 2005
• David Holt / Soldier’s Joy / Grandfather’s Greatest Hits / High Windy Audio / 1990
• Doc Watson & Clarence White / Soldier’s Joy / Kentucky Colonels: Long Journey Home / Vanguard / 1964, 2006
• Iron Horse / American Joe / Horse and Pen / B Sharp / 2011
• Faron Young / Unmitigated Gall / Golden Hits – American Essentials / Mercury Nashville / 1967, 2001
• Alan Jabbour & Ken Perlman / Washington’s March / Southern Summits / self / 2005
• ShoreGrass / Battle Cry of Freedom / Songs of the Civil War Era / Shaw Family / 2001, 2005
• Southern Schoolhouse Rascals / Sunny Home in Dixie / Old School, Mountain Style / 5-String Productions / 2006
• Wild Asparagus / Congress Reel / Call of the Wild / Great Meadow Music / 1988, 1990
• The Sun Harbor’s Chorus / God Bless America / Documentary Recordings Sampler: Patriotic Music / Documentary Recordings, Amazon.com / 2009
• Johnson Mountain Boys / See God’s Ark A-Movin’ / Blue Diamond / Rounder / 1992
• Larry Sparks with Chris Jones and Don Rigsby / It’s too Late to Walk the Floor / 40 / Rebel / 2005
• Don Stover / Black Diamond / Things in Life / Rounder / 1972 / Theme