(Starday SLP-106) Nov 1959
Sometime around 1957, things were in flux at Mercury. A deal between the label and Starday, which saw releases credited as Mercury-Starday and allowed for cross-licensing between them soon fell apart. The Stanley Brothers, along with most of Mercury's country roster were dropped by the label and subsequently picked up by Don Pierce at Starday.[1]
The Stanley Brothers first Starday session in the summer of 1958, resulted in two singles. The first, Gonna Paint The Town / That Happy Night (Starday 406) was released in Sept/Oct. 1958 and the second was a Christmas single with Christmas Is Near / Holiday Pickin' (Starday 413) released in Nov. 1958. Except for Christmas Is Near all three cuts were included on the LP.
In the summer of 1959, The Stanleys recorded two further sessions at their home base at WNER-Live Oak, Florida to complete the album. Another single was released in advance of the album's release:- Beneath The Maple / Trust Each Other (Starday 438) Jun 1959, and Starday also released a Picture Sleeve EP with Beneath The Maple / Choo Choo Comin' // Carolina Mountain Home / Trust Each Other (Starday SEP-107) in 1959. A further single, Another Night / Highway Of Regret (Starday 466) was released around the time of the LP in Nov. 1959; and another a few months later: Ridn' That Midnight Train / A Little At A Time (Starday 494) May 1960.
Curiously, Don Pierce included the Mercury recording of Daybreak In Dixie on the album, but re-named it Ralph's Banjo Special... Starday had first released Daybreak... in Aug 1959 on the Various Artists - Banjo In The Hills LP under the alias Banjo In The Hills, so it looks like this was the second time it had been released. The Mercury Hard Times LP didn't appear until much later - Nov. 1963.
'Mountain Song Favorites' is another of the Stanley's classic albums, with great performances and songs which have largely become bluegrass standards and signature 'Stanley' style songs.
The album was also issued in the UK (Melodisc MLP 12-118) 1961[2] and Canada (Sparton SLP-106) 196?. It was later reissued (Nashville NLP 2014) Aug. 1964. Nowadays, with the exception of Daybreak In Dixie it is probably best found on The Early Starday/King Years, 1958-1961 4xCD box set. The Mercury version of Daybreak In Dixie can be found on The Complete Mercury Recordings.
Note that the track list on the original rear cover has Trust Each Other and Gonna Paint The Town listed in the wrong order!
For detailed information on these songs / sessions, check Gary B. Reid's The Music Of The Stanley Brothers book, pages 86-88, 96-98, 137 and 141.
Track: |
Title: |
Time: |
Date: |
Original Release: |
Guitar: |
Banjo: |
Fiddle: |
Mandolin: |
Bass: |
Lead Guitar: |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A-1 |
Ridin' That Midnight Train |
02:03 |
Summer 1959 |
Mountain Song Favorites | Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Chubby Anthony |
Bill Napier |
Al Elliot |
|
R. Stanley |
||||||||||
A-2 |
Another Night |
03:03 |
Summer 1959 |
Mountain Song Favorites | Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Chubby Anthony |
Bill Napier |
Al Elliot |
|
Jack Adkins |
||||||||||
A-3 |
Beneath The Maple (On The Hill) |
02:45 |
Summer 1959 |
Starday 438 | Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Chubby Anthony |
Bill Napier |
Al Elliot |
|
Gussie L. Davis |
||||||||||
A-4 |
Daybreak In Dixie |
02:00 |
15 Nov 1957 |
Hard Times | Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Benny Martin / Howard Forrester |
Bill Napier |
Curley Lambert |
|
Bill Napier |
||||||||||
A-5 |
Gonna Paint The Town |
02:21 |
Summer 1958 |
Starday 406 | Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Joe Meadows |
Bill Napier |
Al Elliot |
Gene Meadows |
R. Stanley |
||||||||||
A-6 |
Trust Each Other |
02:30 |
Summer 1959 |
Starday 438 | Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Chubby Anthony |
Bill Napier |
Al Elliot |
|
R. Stanley |
||||||||||
B-1 |
Highway Of Regret |
02:04 |
Summer 1959 |
Mountain Song Favorites | Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Chubby Anthony |
Bill Napier |
Al Elliot |
|
Donald 'Chubby' Anthony |
||||||||||
B-2 |
A Little At A Time |
02:27 |
Summer 1959 |
Mountain Song Favorites | Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Chubby Anthony |
Bill Napier |
Al Elliot |
|
M.H. 'Red' Malone / R. Stanley |
||||||||||
B-3 |
Choo Choo Comin' |
02:34 |
Summer 1959 |
Starday SEP-107 | Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Chubby Anthony |
Bill Napier |
Al Elliot |
|
Corbet 'Cuddles' Newsome |
||||||||||
B-4 |
Holiday Pickin' |
02:12 |
Summer 1958 | Starday 413 | Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Joe Meadows |
Bill Napier |
Al Elliot |
Gene Meadows |
R. Stanley |
||||||||||
B-5 |
Carolina Mountain Home |
02:20 |
Summer 1959 |
Starday SEP-107 | Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Chubby Anthony |
Bill Napier |
Al Elliot |
|
Len Wright / Estel Lee Scarborough |
||||||||||
B-6 |
That Happy Night |
02:18 |
Summer 1958 |
Starday 406 | Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Joe Meadows |
Bill Napier |
Al Elliot |
Gene Meadows |
R. Stanley |