This post was originally published in September of 2010 – Updated January 2016
Table of Contents
A Rediscovered Listening Trail
It all started because I was search for some bluegrass from the 1970s and I went searching for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. What I found was one of those nights where one song leads to another, and suddenly the room fills with half a century of folk, bluegrass, and Americana, including a song from The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Here is my listening trail on the Sunday Night! Like an evening with Gene Shay!
A Sunday Night Listening Trail
Ok so I like it when Disc Jockeys put together songs with some kind of theme or just some thought anyway. That’s what I did tonight and listened to some good songs!
Starting Point: Manassas and Laurel Canyon
This afternoon I listened to Sides 2 and 4 of Manassas, the band that features Stephen Stills, Chris Hillman and all those other guys Dallas Taylor, Paul Harris, Al Perkins, Fuzzy Samuels and Joe Lala.
Anyway, tonight I started with some tracks from an album that Chris Hillman did with Tony and Larry Rice and Herb Pedersen Out of the Woodwork. It’s a good bluegrass album and I listened to the first two tracks “Hard Times” and “Lord Won’t You Help Me”.
That led me to another band that Herb Pedersen played in The Laurel Canyon Ramblers and I listened to “Back on the Street Again”.
Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, and Folk Memory
Then when I think of Herb’s I of course thought of Herb Bushler (didn’t you) who played bass for Tom Paxton on several albums.I listened to two tracks from the album Heroes. The first one was floating around in my head this morning “Hand Me Down My Jogging Shoes” and second track was “Phil” written after and about Phil Ochs’ suicide. Here’s Tom doing “Phil”
Then I listened to Phil’s great song about Woody Guthrie “Bound for Glory” which led me to a bluegrass version of “Pastures of Plenty” by a group called Breakaway.
Woody, Sonny, Brownie — Following the Listening Trail
After that I listened to a more traditional version sung by Frank Hamilton, who sang and played with Woody. I also listened to Frank doing a version of “Do Re Mi”. In the intro to the song Frank talks about going to see Woody so that Woody could teach him to play harmonica like Sonny Terry.
That led me to Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee and I listened to “Down By The Riverside” and the lyrics “ain’t gonna study war no more… rang out, so I went back to Phil Ochs and listened to “I Ain’t a Marching Anymore”.
Here’s Pete, Sonny and Brownie with “Down by the Riverside”
Well you know that the lyric in that song mentions the Battle of New Orleans so I went to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s album Stars and Stripes to hear that song!
And what would a trip to New Orleans be without a trip to the “House of the Rising Sun” Doc and Richard Watson provided that song from Third Generation Blues .
The Listening Trail Leads to Louisiana, Cowboys, and the End of the Listening Trail….
Staying in Louisiana I headed north and “Callin’ Baton Rouge” from New Grass Revival.
Then I listened to another track from Doc and Richard “Columbus Stockade Blues” (kinda fits at least it’s another town)
. When I saw that track I also saw that Leon Russell also did a version of it on his album Hank Wilson Vol 4 – Rhythm and Bluegrass so I put that on and gave his version a listen! I also listened to his cover of Willie and Waylon’s “Mommas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” (not bad) and then “Cowboy’s Prayer” from Brian Burns and ended the night with Max Stalling’s “Scars and Souvenirs”. I wanted to get back to Chris Hillman but couldn’t get there! But it was a good night of music!
Daily Roots – Sunday Night : A Rediscovered Listening Trail
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