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The Stanley Brothers - Prayer Of A Truck Driver's Son / Never Again

(King 6046) Jul 1966

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This 7" couples Prayer Of A Truck Driver's Son from the Collection Of Original Gospel And Sacred Songs (aka 'The Greatest Country & Western Show On Earth') album, with Never Again from the Country Folk Music Spotlight LP.

I'm not sure whether Prayer Of A Truck Driver's Son was meant to be the 'A' side as such, as it's a rather uninspired recital, but it makes sense for the most recent cut to be promoted as such... But having said that, Never Again is a much better song and was captured on the Stanley's last full show from 16 Oct 1966, where Carter introduces it as "Friends we got a new record that's just come out, we thought we might try to learn it for you here today, we'll all just learn it together, it's called 'Never Again'".^[1]

In Gary B. Reid's liner notes to The King Years, 1961-1965, Ralph recalled:- I was living in Florida and I got up about three o'clock one morning and I got three songs on my mind and, afraid I'd forget it, I got up and wrote three songs, 'Prayer Of A Truck Driver's Son' was one of 'em".

Never Again was written in the 1950's by top-notch bluegrass fiddler Benny Williams, who played in the Clinch Mountain Boys in 1958. He later worked with Bill Monroe who cut it himself in 1964 with Benny Williams and Buddy Spicher on double fiddle. Monroe's version appears on his Kentucky Blue Grass LP (Decca DL 7-5213) 1970.^[2]

I'm not sure either of the precise month of the single's release. Some sources list it as being released in Dec. 1966, but the catalogue number suggests sometime earlier and as mentioned above, Carter introduces Never Again as a 'new record that's just come out' on the Oct 1966 Brown County Jamboree CD. Both song titles are also listed in 'Catalog Of Copyright Entries' by the Library of Congress as copyrighted between July-Dec 1966^[3] with a copyright date of 18th July 1966.^[4]

Both sides of the single can now be found on The King Years, 1961-1965 4xCD box set.

For a detailed breakdown and background to the Stanley's sessions, check Gary B. Reid's The Music Of The Stanley Brothers book, pages 172-173, 193-194, 203-204 and 219.

^{[1] On the Stanley Brothers - Brown County Jamboree CD.
[4] Neil Rosenberg and Charles K. Wolfe's book 'The Music Of Bill Monroe' (p. 152, 175 and 306)
[3] 'Catalog Of Copyright Entries: Third Series, Vol. 20, Part 5, Number 2, Section 2 - Music Name Index - July-Dec 1966' published by the Copyright Office, Library Of Congress, Washington 1968 (p.2556).
[4] 'Catalog Of Copyright Entries: Third Series, Vol. 20, Part 5, Number 2, Section 1 - Music - Current and Renewal Registrations - July-Dec 1966' published by the Copyright Office, Library Of Congress, Washington 1968 (p. 1876 and 1934) https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=szghAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA1876&lpg=PA1876&dq=benny+williams+never+again&source=bl&ots=MNJTpG9G63&sig=MAWRelNsv071sw9ljcjcA9OWVQ4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwinzfnf4dnVAhVjF8AKHc4YC9IQ6AEIXzAN#v=onepage&q=benny%20williams%20never%20again&f=false}