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Across the Blue Ridge #54 - Red Clay Ramblers tradition continues

Paul Brown
(l-r) Bill Hicks, Jim Watson, Joe Newberry and Mike Craver present old time songs, fiddle tunes, and songs from popular plays they’ve performed in and produced.

This week Across the Blue Ridge presents Craver, Hicks, Watson & Newberry from their April, 2016 show at Muddy Creek Music Hall.  Mike Craver, Bill Hicks and Jim Watson are all veterans of the earliest incarnations of the Red Clay Ramblers, a North Carolina-based band that started in 1972 (and is still going today with other personnel).  Joe Newberry joins Craver, Hicks and Watson for occasional performances as a foursome.  This performance showcases the ensemble's understanding of the many traditions that intersected and sometimes merged in the creation of sounds we hear today as distinctively American and distinctively Southern.  You'll hear old time mountain tunes; a song from early string band star Riley Puckett of the Skillet Lickers; songs from musicals in which these performers have appeared; and more recent songs written by band members and others including Craig Johnson and Si Kahn.  Plus, we have a few recordings of older musicians who influenced Craver, Hicks, Watson & Newberry … and some great stories from stage. 

Episode 54 Playlist

  1. Ridin' The Waves
    Jim Eanes & The Shenandoah Valley Boys w. Hubert Davis
    Jim Eanes & The Shenandoah Valley Boys
     
  2. Turkey In The Peapatch
    Ken & Brad Kolodner
    Swift House
     
  3. Little Log Cabin By The Sea
    The Carter Family
    The Bristol Sessions
     
  4. Twisted Laurel
    Red Clay Ramblers
    Twisted Laurel
     
  5. A Man From Tennessee
    Craver, Hicks, Watson & Newberry
    ATBR field recording
     
  6. Ship In The Clouds - Red Fox
    Craver, Hicks, Watson & Newberry
    You've Been A Friend To Me
     
  7. Break 1 - Backstep Cindy
    Tommy Jarrell
    Come And Go With Me
     
  8. I'm Gettin' Ready To Go
    Craver, Hicks, Watson & Newberry
    ATBR field recording
     
  9. Aragon Mill
    Craver, Hicks, Watson & Newberry
    ATBR field recording
     
  10. Tying Ten Knots In The Devil's Tail
    Craver, Hicks, Watson & Newberry
    ATBR field recording
     
  11. Sandy River
    Clark Kessinger
    The Legend of Clark Kessinger
     
  12. Break 2 - Old Sledge
    Burl Hammons
    The Hammons Family
     
  13. How Does A Glass Eye Work?
    Craver, Hicks, Watson & Newberry
    ATBR field recording
     
  14. Piney Mountain
    Craver, Hicks, Watson & Newberry
    ATBR field recording
     
  15. You've Been A Friend To Me
    Craver, Hicks, Watson & Newberry
    ATBR field recording
     
  16. Uncle Charlie's Revenge On Old Time Music
    Craver, Hicks, Watson & Newberry
    ATBR field recording
     
  17. Long Time Traveller
    Craver, Hicks, Watson & Newberry
    ATBR field recording
Former 88.5 WFDD News Director Paul Brown founded Across the Blue Ridge at WFDD in the late 1980s. It was an instant hit, and was broadcast on WFDD for more than a decade until Paul left to become an executive editor, producer, reporter, and world newscaster at NPR in Washington, DC. Now Paul is back in his beloved Blue Ridge region, his journalism and storytelling skills honed better than ever. He's ready to present more music, share discussion with more interesting characters, and be your friend and guide in discovery. Paul is actively involved in today's acoustic music scene, crisscrossing the region and the country as a teacher, performer, and interviewer.

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