Clinch Mountain Echo

The Stanley Brothers - Stanley Series, Vol. 3 No. 4

(Copper Creek CCCD-5512) 1992


Stanley Series, Vol. 3 No. 4
Rear Cover Booklet Pictures CD Tray

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This edition of the 'Stanley Series' features recordings from a show on 7th Sept. 1958 at the New River Ranch, Rising Sun, Md. The CMB's at the time included Bill Napier on mandolin, and Al Elliot on bass. Filling in on fiddle, is the future 'Bluegrass Unlimited' editor/general manager Pete Kuykendall,[1] who was also responsible for recording most of the recordings, with additional tracks provided by Bill Offenbacher.

At the time of the gig, the Stanley's had recently completed their first session for Starday, and were about three weeks away from recording their classic first King LP (The Stanley Brothers And The Clinch Mountain Boys). Songs from both sessions are included in the live set.

Bill Napier was certainly one of the finest (if not the finest) mandolin players to play with Ralph and Carter, and he tears it up on his Daybreak In Dixie and Bill Monroe's Pike County Breakdown. The later is I think quite a rare recording, although Ralph did later record Pike County... on Curly Ray's They Cut Down The Old Pine Tree LP.

Other less common tracks include: Nobody's Business, which the Stanleys later cut for Blue Ridge; a version of East Virginia Blues, with Ralph on banjo (rather than mandolin); and Old Salty Dog Blues. There's also a version of Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On, sung by Al Elliot, which was a hit for Hank Locklin at the time.

Sound quality of the recording is excellent, although some dialogue is cut, and there are a few occasional minor blips. The CD comes with the usual detailed liner notes by Gary B. Reid, and there are also some small photographs from the gig by Ann Streeter.

Three tracks from this show have previously resurfaced, with: Bile Them Cabbage Down on The Legendary Stanley Brothers Recorded Live, Vol. 1; East Virginia Blues on Vol. 2; and They Sleep Together, Now At Rest on Shadows Of The Past.

 

For more detailed breakdown and background to the show, check Gary B. Reid's The Music Of The Stanley Brothers book, pages 52-55, 89-90 and 137-139.

Track:
Title:
CD:
(67:43)
1
Dickenson County Breakdown

R. Stanley
2
Boil Them Cabbage Down

P.D.
3
Nobody's Business

Porter Grainger / Everett Robbins ?
4
If That's The Way You Feel

R. Stanley / Peggy Stanley
5
Big Tilda

R. Stanley
6
Gonna Paint The Town

R. Stanley
7
How I Long To See The Old Folks

C. Stanley
8
Daybreak In Dixie

Bill Napier
9
The Memory Of Your Smile

Ruby Rakes
10
How Mountain Girls Can Love

Ruby Rakes
11
Little Birdie

P.D.
12
The Fields Have Turned Brown

C. Stanley
13
East Virginia Blues

A.P. Carter
14
Old Salty Dog Blues

Wiley Morris / Zeke Morris
15
Pretty Polly

P.D.
16
I'm A Man Of Constant Sorrow

R.D. Burnett
17
Mother's Not Dead

Maynard Spencer / Lance Spencer
18
Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On

Hank Locklin
19
Baby Girl

C. Stanley
20
Dickenson County Breakdown

R. Stanley
21
John Henry

P.D.
22
Just A Little Talk With Jesus

Cleavant Derricks
23
That Happy Night

R. Stanley
24
They're At Rest Together

Walter Callahan
25
Think Of What You've Done

C. Stanley
26
Uncle Pen

Bill Monroe
27
White Dove

C. Stanley
28
Handsome Molly

P.D.
29
Pike County Breakdown

Rupert Jones (Bill Monroe)
30
If That's The Way You Feel

R. Stanley / Peggy Stanley

Go To Top Of Page [1] From the CD liner notes, Pete Kuykendall:- "The day before, which would have been a Saturday night, the Stanleys played at Vienna, Virginia Volunteer Fire Department Carnival. Bill Clifton was there (and) I remember getting up enough nerve to have Bill front for em (to see) if they wanted a fiddle player to sit in with them. Carter said "Of course," it was a free musician and he wasn't going to turn that down. But, I played with them in Vienna the night before..."