On The Air: Were You There

Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys: Were You There

[purchase studio version]

The Grand Ole Opry got its name as a result of a gag. Introducing the DeFord Bailey following the Music Appreciation Hour show on 10 December 1927, announcer George D “Judge” Hay riffed on the transition from the just finished classical music show to the upcoming Old Time Music (as country was then called) programme WSM Barn Dance by saying: “For the past hour, we have been listening to music taken largely from Grand Opera. From now on, we will present the ‘Grand Ole Opry’.”

The Barn Dance show changed titles several times, often to reflect sponsorship, but wasn’t officially termed the Grand Ole Opry till the 1950s. When people talk of artists being members of the Opry before that, they are referring to frequent performers on the show, much like a club or hall of fame.

The track featured here is from the 28 December 1940 show, then called The Prince Albert Show, after the sponsoring cigarette brand, and recorded at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, which still serves as a concert venue today (and which in 2010 temporarily housed the Opry). Apart from Bill Monroe, the 28 December 1940 show also featured Roy Aycuff, Brother Oswald, Pap & Odie, Ford Rush and Paul Womack and the Gully Jumpers.

Bill Monroe (1911-96) is regarded as the inventor of bluegrass, a sub-genre of country that drew from the traditional music of the Appalachians, ranging from furious and intricate breakdowns dominated by fiddle and banjo to broadside ballads to gospel. It took it its name from Monroe’s backing band, the Blue Grass Boys, which had been formed just a few months before this recording.

By 1940, Monroe was already a big name as half of the Monroe Brothers. He would go on to become a long-serving and massively influential country icon (Elvis’ “Blue Moon Of Kentucky” was a cover of Monroe’s original).

The song here is the spiritual “Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord)”. I would surmise the vocals are by Clyde Moody, “The Genial Gentleman of Country Music” who was a member of the Blue Grass Boys until 1944.

Bodies of Water: What Does The Deep Sea Say?

Bill Monroe & Doc Watson - What Does The Deep Sea Say? [purchase]

What does the deep sea say?
It moans, it groans, it splashes and it foams,
And it rolls on its weary way.

Charlie and Bill Monroe first recorded this tune in 1937, way back when older brother Charlie was the dominant Monroe. But, Bill was no man's second fiddle, so to speak. The group split up in 1938, Monroe joined the Opry in '39, and everything was rosins and bows until Elvis came along and dropped a wiggling turd in the punchbowl. Almost overnight, bluegrass music became quaint and old-fashioned.

Then, in the late 1950s, quaint and old-fashioned music surged in popularity, especially on college campuses. Old was the new new. Bill Monroe was one beneficiary of this so-called folk boom. Doc Watson, the sightless wunderkind of flatpick guitar, was another. When they recorded this duet in May 1963 at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles, Watson was two months away from a performance at the Newport Folk Festival that would put him on the national map for good. Monroe, meanwhile, was already an elder statesman of old-timey, but was about to enter the bluegrass festival era, when he would stand as the genre's livingest legend.

On a sidenote, I'd be willing to bet that in the audience at this Ash Grove show was a young guitar picker named Clarence White. According to Kentucky Colonels bassist, Roger Bush, Clarence called him from the Ash Grove in March 1962, excited about hearing "a blind guitar player from Deep Gap, North Carolina." The KCs actually played the Ash Grove in April 1963, so chances are good they were in town. And if you were in town, why in god's name would you pass up the Bill Monroe/Doc Watson gig??? Trick question ... you wouldn't.

Follow-up dispatch from the "lattice of coincidence":
Within hours of posting this track, Crawdaddy ran a phenomenal profile on Ed Pearl, owner and operator of the Ash Grove nightclub ... who, by the way, singles out Bill Monroe and Doc Watson as career highlights.

Damnations - What Does The Deep Sea Say? [personal recording; not available for purchase]

A beautiful rose, one day,
I placed on the crest of a wave.
I said, "Take it, please, and let it settle home
Above his watery grave."

I've discussed the greatness of The Damnations before, and it was they who turned me onto this obscure chestnut. Though never formally recorded, "Deep Sea" was a regular part of The Damnations setlists. This particular version came from a July 2002 show at the Cactus Cafe in Austin and I was lucky enough to capture it on mini-disc. As usual, sisters Amy Boone (pictured left) and Deborah Kelly (center) provide the killer, downhome harmonies, but it's Rob Bernard's heavy, percussive banjo and Conrad Choucroun's train beat drums that push the song into breakneck, cowpunk territory. Incidentally, after crunching the numbers on Amazon, it turns out you can buy both Damnations albums for a whopping $5!. Get you some.

The Moon: Blue Moon Of Kentucky

From Wikipedia.


"Blue Moon of Kentucky" is a waltz written in 1947 by bluegrass musician Bill Monroe and recorded by his band, The Blue Grass Boys. The song has since been recorded by Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Ronnie Hawkins, Wanda Jackson, LeAnn Rimes, The Beatles, Boxcar Willie, Ray Charles and others.

Bill Monroe: Blue Moon Of Kentucky     [purchase]

Bill Monroe wrote the song in 1947, but didn't record it until three years later. Carl Perkins played an uptempo version of this song in his early live performances. When the just starting out Elvis Presley, along with Bill Black and Scotty Moore, completed a take of the song in July 1954, Sun Records owner Sam Phillips exclaimed, "Boy, that's fine, that's fine. That's a POP song now!" Presley responded, "That sounds like Carl Perkins!"

Elvis Presley's version went to number one on the country charts across the American South in 1954. This song was the second recorded by Presley, and released by Sun Records. According to guitarist Scotty Moore, it was bassist Bill Black who began playing an irreverent version of the song during an up until then unproductive recording session to produce a second side for the previously recorded "That's Alright Mama". Presley and Moore then joined in.


Elvis Presley: Blue Moon Of Kentucky     [purchase]

In 1995, the remaining Beatles, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr performed an impromptu 4/4 version of the song that was eventually released on the Bonus DVD of The Beatles Anthology video release.


The Beatles: Blue Moon Of Kentucky     [purchase]

On her 2006 Elvis tribute album, I Remember Elvis, Rockabilly Queen Wanda Jackson shows she can still bring it. Providing the big beat behind her is Blondie drummer Clem Burke.


Wanda Jackson: Blue Moon Of Kentucky     [purchase]

"Blue Moon of Kentucky" is the official bluegrass song of Kentucky. In 2002, Monroe's version was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. In 2003, CMT ranked "Blue Moon of Kentucky" #11 on its 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music.

Footwear: Little Red Shoes

Loretta Lynn: Little Red Shoes

[purchase]

Here’s some scary music from Appalachia.

Loretta Lynn gives a firsthand account the trials and tribulations of her poor family trying to make do without adequate healthcare, charity, or transportation. The somewhat creepy background music orchestrated by Jack White is a perfect accompaniment for Loretta’s tale.

Dying is a big part of folk music. Loretta’s story about her little red shoes evokes the traditional bluegrass/folk song Put My Little Shoes Away (sometimes credited to Woody Guthrie) which is another first-person account told by a dying, but stoic, child. Little shoes are the primary image in each song.

We know Loretta pulled through, but the fate of the other little kid is not clear.

Bill Monroe: Put My Little Shoes Away [purchase]
Freakwater: Put My Little Shoes Away [purchase]

History: Molly & Tenbrooks

Bill Monroe: Molly And Tenbrooks [purchase].

Tom T. Hall: Molly And Tenbrooks [purchase].

From the NY Times, April 3, 1878:

"Louisville, April 2.—Col. M. Lewis Clark, Jr., President of the Louisville Jockey Club, has perfected arrangement by which Ten Broeck and Mollie McCarthy are to run four mile heats at Louisville July 4 next, for the sum of $10,000. Two or three other races will be given at the same time. The owner of Mollie McCarthy thinks she can beat any horse in the country. The mare will be brought from California to Louisville in Budd Doble’s car, which has been chartered for the round trip, and will probably arrive here about the last of May to prepare for the contest. Ten Broeck was never in better condition than at present..."

(Click here to download the article in its original format).

From the famous song you know that Mollie could not beat any horse in the country, at least not in Louisville on July 4, 1878. Here's a description of the race, according to Thoroughbred Heritage:

"They started evenly, and Mollie led for the first mile, 'with such a beautiful and apparently easy stroke, and the horse seemingly at labor, but really annoyed at restraint, that a shout went up that she had already beaten him.' Mollie led for the second mile, but after the quarter pole Ten Broeck drew ahead, and by the time they had reached 2-1/2 miles he was leading by a length, and at the third mile he was ahead by twenty yards. At 3-1/2 miles Mollie gave up the chase, and Ten Broeck cantered home easily in the slow time of 8:19-3/4. 'Such a shout as went up over the triumph of Ten Broeck, and such a scene of wild and extravagant excitement, I never saw before, and never expect to again, outside the impulsive state of Kentucky.' It was Mollie's first defeat, in fact, her first defeat in any heat at any distance. This race was Ten Broeck's last."

[Note: Some of you may have seen a variation this post before over at Setting The Wood On Fire. It may be cheating a bit to re-post over here, but I like the story so much and it fit the theme, so I figured "what the heck...."]