Ralph Stanley - Play Requests

(Rebel SLP 1514) 1972

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Ten of the twelve tracks for this album were recorded on 31 Aug 1972 at Roy Homer's basement studio in Clinton, Md. The remaining two had been cut the previous year on 24 Feb 1971 (I'll Remember You Love In My Prayers) and 30 June 1971 (All The Love I Had Is Gone) at the Someting Old, Something New sessions.^[1]

Like most of the material recorded with Roy Lee Centers, this LP is pretty indispensible. Featuring the 'classic' tracks Ralph's most frequently associated with: ie. Man Of Constant Sorrow, Little Maggie, Pretty Polly and Clinch Mountain Backstep; it also has decent versions of Flood Of '57 and Maple On The Hill from The Stanley Brothers' back catalogue.

All I Ever Loved Was You, by Ricky's mother Dorothy Skaggs, had been cut the previous month for the Keith Whitley & Ricky Skaggs - Second Generation Bluegrass LP.

Lisa's Joy is a wonderful instrumental, which Ralph named after his newly born daughter. In fact for students of the 'Stanley Style' banjo, this LP has got some great material to absorb. I'll Remember You Love In My Prayers has a fabulous break...

One of my favourite cuts is All The Love I Had Is Gone, written by Roy Lee Centers and Archie E. Jones. Archie had a handful of 45s on Jalyn in the late 60s, so presumably knew Roy Lee via Jack Lynch.^[2] A version with Roy Lee was also recorded on the 1968 Jack Lynch - Bluegrass Music LP, which later re-appeared on The Early Years Vol. 2 album.

There is also a rare version of the 'Play Requests' album with a different cover, showing Ralph leaning on a fence. This was the first pressing, and as the front picture looks very dark, it was quickly replaced with the crouching pose. When the album was reviewed in 'Bluegrass Unlimited' in December 1972, the standard 'crouching' cover accompanied the review. The following month, the 'General Store' section of the mag reported:- "Rebel Records created an instant collectors item recently when the first pressing of Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys' Play Requests LP was released. Due to demand for the LP the first group went out with a different picture on the front than the current version..."

Details of the alternate cover emerged in a magazine feature with Rebel boss, Dick Freeland in 1975.^[3] He was trying to co-ordinate the release of the album to co-incide with Ralph's 'Hills Of Home' festival in May. Review copies of the album were sent out in advance with a black and white copy of the cover photo, and a 1,000 copies were ordered from the pressing plant with the full colour jackets. Unfortunately the colour reproduction was too dark, but it was too late to change anything, so Rebel sent a letter to all potential reviewers requesting them not to run the B&W photograph, as a new cover was being prepared.

The first pressing also has a much clearer picture on on the rear sleeve, compared to later pressings, but has the same Rebel label design.

All the tracks from this LP can be found on the great Rebel 4xCD set 1971-1973, but they are in sequenced by the given recording date and consequently spread across three of the discs. The Rebel box set unfortunately has an error in the date for the 31 Aug session, which took place in 1972 not 1971. The opening 10 tracks on Disc 3, are therefore incorrectly sequenced.^[1]

• Ralph Stanley: banjo, vocals
• Roy Lee Centers: guitar, vocals
• Curly Ray Cline: fiddle
• Jack Cooke: bass (a)
• Ricky Skaggs: mandolin, fiddle (b)
• Keith Whitley: lead guitar (c)

NB: (a) Ed Ferris plays bass on All I Ever Loved Was You and God Gave You To Me. (b) Ricky Skaggs appears on All The Love I Had Is Gone and I'll Remember You Love In My Prayers. (c) Keith Whitley appears on All The Love I Had Is Gone.

Other artwork / related images:

[1] Both the rear of the LP sleeve, and John Wright's "Traveling The High Way Home" book give the year of the 31 August recording date as 1972, but the liner notes to the 4xCD 1971-73 box set says 1971. As Ralph had cut Sing Michigan Bluegrass the day before on 30 Aug 1971, it seems highly unlikely that they would have travelled around 565 miles from Jackson, MI to Clinton MD, to record the following day. 1972 must be the correct year... which makes sense as the otherwise the band had no Rebel session betweeen 11 Dec 1971 and 18 Feb 1973. It also explains why Ricky Skaggs & Keith Whitley were present on the Sing Michigan Bluegrass session, but not the 31 August one. The 'Play
[2] Archie Jones - I'd Never Make You Blue / Without You I'll Have No Future (Jalyn 45-321) 1967;
Archie Jones & The Miami Valley Boys - Why Do You Punish Me This Way / John Hardy (Jalyn 45-325) 1968;
Archie Jones & The Miami Valley Boys - Little Star / I Still Love You (Jalyn 45-328) 1968:
http://www.45rpmrecords.com/OH/Jalyn.php
[3] 'Pickin' Magazine, March 1975. 'Introducing Dick Freeland' (Of Rebel Records) by Jerry Dallman. (p.19-20).