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Across the Blue Ridge #98- Listening to the Classics

Deborah Delmore, Public Domain
The Delmore Brothers, in a publicity photo from their heyday in the 1930s. They played a major role in establishing the “brother duet” sound of close singing harmonies that persists in country and pop music today.

This week we present an encore broadcast of one of our popular “listening session” shows.  We dig into the riches of early country music recordings to hear classics of old time mountain, white and African-American gospel, blues, classic country and bluegrass. Host Paul Brown guides us through the fascinating stories of artists, the unique sounds they produced, and the evolution of southern American traditional music from the days of the first major commercial recordings in the 1920s to the bluegrass era.  Hear from greats including Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys,  The Delmore Brothers, The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Hazel & Alice and many more.

Playlist

  1. Lost Girl
    New Ballard's Branch Bogtrotters
    Bogtrotter Blues
     
  2. Maple On the Hill
    Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
    Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
     
  3. Will The Circle Be Unbroken
    Monroe Brothers
    Just A Song Of Old Kentucky Vol. 2
     
  4. My Long Journey Home
    Monroe Brothers
    What Would You Give In Exchange For Your Soul 
     
  5. Cryin' Holy Unto My Lord
    Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys
    Mule Skinner Blues
     
  6. I'm Living Down Here On Borrowed Land
    Silvertone Gospel Harmonizers
    WPAQ: Voice of the Blue Ridge Mountains
     
  7. We Are Drinking From The Fountain
    Stanley Brothers
    Amazng Grace Bluegrass Gospel
     
  8. Brushy Run
    Art Stamper
    Goodbye Girls, I'm Going to Boston
     
  9. Break 1 - Speed The Plow
    Jason Cade
    Hog-Eyed Man 2
     
  10. Little Old Log Cabiin In The Lane
    George Pegram
    George Pegram
     
  11. Swanee River
    Fiddlin' John Carson
    Times Ain't Like They Used To Be V.2
     
  12. Sail Away Ladies
    Uncle Dave Macon
    Times Ain't Like They Used To Be V.2
     
  13. Sally Ann
    Flatt & Scruggs & The Foggy Mountain Boys
    Foggy Mountain Banjo
     
  14. James Alley Blues
    Richard "Rabbit" Brown
    Times Ain't Like They Used To Be V.2
     
  15. James Alley Blues
    Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard
    Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard
     
  16. Break 2 - Elk River Blues
    Ernie Carpenter
    Old-Time Fiddle Tunes From The Elk River Country
     
  17. Wildwood Flower
    The Carter Family
    Anchored In Love
     
  18. Blow Yo' Whistle, Freight Train
    The Delmore Brothers
    Brown's Ferry Blues
     
  19. Streetcar Blues
    Sleepy John Estes
    Times Ain't Like They Used To Be V.3
     
  20. Blue Yodel Number 7
    Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys
    Mule Skinner Blues
     
  21. T.B. Blues
    Jimmie Rodgers
    Essential Jimmie Rodgers
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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