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New
Release: Jerry Butler & John Wade
Website: www.jerrybutleronline.com
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August
14, 2009 - Press Release
Daughters of Bluegrass Nominated for IBMA Recorded
Event of the Year
Nashville,
TN: (August 14, 2009) Blue Circle Records is proud to announce the song,
PROUD TO BE A DAUGHTER OF BLUEGRASS by the award-winning group, The
Daughters of Bluegrass, has been nominated for the 2009 IBMA Recorded Event
of the Year. Winners will be announced during the 20th Anniversary presentation
of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Award Show on Thursday,
October 1, 2009 held at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. PROUD
TO BE A DAUGHTER OF BLUEGRASS is the opening track from the group’s current
Blue Circle Records album, BLUEGRASS BOUQUET, produced by Dixie Hall,
Paul Wolak and Frances Mooney. “A whole recorded event in one
song! I feel very grateful and satisfied in knowing that PROUD TO BE A DAUGHTER
OF BLUEGRASS is a nomination truly representative of an entire project worthy
of being the true recorded event of the year. Our appreciation to all 52 Daughters
and all women in bluegrass,” said Dixie Hall, who also wrote the tune. The
nominated song features the current and two-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year,
Dale Ann Bradley along with some of the top female talents in bluegrass
music including: Rhonda Vincent, Jeanette Williams, Heather Berry, Frances
Mooney, Lorraine Jordan, Sonya Isaacs, Lisa Ray, Linda Lay, Lisa Martin, Sally
Jones, Jeanie Stanley, Carol Lee Cooper, Gloria Belle, Becky Isaacs Bowman, Michelle
Nixon, Sophie Haislip, Louise Tomberlain, Sierra Hull, Mindy Rakestraw, Lizzy
Long, Annette Kelley, Lily Lieux, Dixie Hall, Judi Marshall, Melissa Lawrence,
Beth Lawrence, Rebecca Frazier, Donica Christensen, Lisa Manning and Jenni
Lyn Gardner. “I
want to thank each and every one who voted to nominate the Daughters’ song
PROUD TO BE A DAUGHTER OF BLUEGRASS for this year’s IBMA Recorded
Event of the Year. It's folks like radio hosts who play our music, our fans who
listen and request our songs, fans that attend the many live performances throughout
the year, plus all the people behind the scene that have made this possible,”
said Frances. Daughters,
Dale Ann Bradley, Rhonda Vincent, Sonya Isaacs, and Alecia Nugent are nominated
for this year’s IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year. Dixie Hall has another
original song nominated this year, LEAVING HERE FOR BAKER COUNTY, co-written
by Tom T. Hall, performed by Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice,
and nominated in the 2009 IBMA Song of the Year category. The
Daughters of Bluegrass are the proud winners of the 2006 IBMA RECORDED
EVENT OF THE YEAR AWARD for their previous album, BACK TO THE WELL.
Individually, the Daughters have won a multitude of awards throughout the years
along with numerous 2009 SPBGMA AWARDS including: Blue Circle Records owners Tom
T. and Dixie Hall winning the 2009 SPBGMA Songwriter of the Year Award,
making this 8 years in a row; Rhonda Vincent, the 2009 SPBGMA Contemporary
Female Vocalist of the Year; Jeanette Williams the 2009 SPBGMA Traditional
Female Vocalist of the Year; and Kristin Scott Benson the SPBGMA
Banjo Player of the Year.
|
Bluegrass
Unlimited (Mar 2009) "Bluegrass
Bouquet"
is the
third CD from the Daughters Of Bluegrass, whose first, "Daughters Of American
Bluegrass" was a top-five nominee for IBMA Recorded Event Of The Year in
2005, and whose second, "Back To The Well," won that award in 2006.
The original idea for the Daughters came from Lorraine Jordan and Gena Britt Tew,
who continue to perform with the group. Knowingly or not, these recordings follow
in the footsteps of the first all-female bluegrass aggregate, "Blue Rose"
(1989), the brain child of Cathy Fink.
[ Read
More ]
|
Tom T. &
Dixie Hall
2009
SPBGMA SONGWRITERS OF THE YEAR _____________________________________ Hello
Everybody!
Tom T. and I want to thank those who attended SPBGMA 2009
and voted for us for the SPBGMA 2009 Songwriter(s) of the Year Award. We also
want to congratulate the other award winners and especially to Jeanette Williams
for receiving Traditioanal Female Vocalist of the Year.
We also want to thank the bands that performed on the "Good Home Grown
Music Mini-showcase" in the McGavock Room. CLICK
HERE TO SEE THE VIDEOS
Thank you all who have recorded, requested, and who have supported the artists
who play the 'Good Home Grown Music' of Tom T and Dixie Hall.
God Bless!
Dixie Hall
|
Melvin
Goins & Windy Mountain
DANCIN’ IN THE DIRT BCR-018 |
_____________________________________________________
Daughter
of Bluegrass "Bluegrass Bouquet" Now
available at Ernest Tubb Records, CDBaby
or can be ordered by mail to:
Tom T. Hall Enterprises
"Bluegrass Bouquet" CD Order
P.O.
Box 1246
Franklin, TN 37065
~
Song List ~
[Click on Song Title to Listen]
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09.10.08
- Review Tom
T Hall sings Miss Dixie & Tom T
Blue Circle Records BCR 012 By
Richard Thompson (England)
Since he 'retired' Tom T Hall has, arguably,
been busier than ever. Along with his equally beloved wife Miss Dixie, he has
continued to write songs in abundance. They are prolific writers of songs, bluegrass
songs, their true vocation. As Miss Dixie has said in an interview, "'Retirement'
in my book is giving up work to do what you love doing and we happen to love bluegrass
music so we're having a blast".
'Tom T Hall sings Miss Dixie and
Tom T' comprises a dozen of the very best songs from the duo's catalogue of songs
written in recent years. The supreme quality of the lyrics and melodies is undisputed,
in my view. Many of the songs have already been recorded by others; Chris Jones,
Dave Evans, Junior Sisk, the group Nothin' Fancy and Ryan Holliday among them,
and their popularity is already well established in the bluegrass song catalogue.
Tom T is still 'the story teller', admittedly aided and abetted by his producer
and wife, Miss Dixie.
Perhaps the most well-known song in this collection
is A Hero In Harlan. Hall draws every ounce of emotion from the song which relates
the story of the passing of a man from a coal mining community, only in this instance
he falls in battle, rather than in a coal pit. Pretty Green Hills relates the
story of an elderly man who yearns to enjoy the vista only, poignantly, to be
buried all too soon in those very hills.
The CD begins with I'm A Coal
Mining Man an up-tempo tribute to coal miners and their contribution to the American
economy. Other highlights are Leaving Baker County, which is about finding some
meaningful status elsewhere; the tribute to one of the legends of bluegrass One
Of Those Days (When I Miss Lester Flatt); and the nostalgia-filled Somewhere In
Kentucky Tonight, a man's reflection of life viewed from industrial Ohio
.
However, the one song that captures a real slice of American life as much any
is A Headstone For Harry, a wonderful vignette with the couplet, "Me and
my pals at the Somerset poolroom / Ian't famous for nothing but standing around
broke". You can't beat it, can you?
The final track tells Jimmy Martin's
life story in 5 minutes. It's synonymous with Martin's action-packed life, complete
with introduction, yodel and guitar from the man himself.
Accompanying
Hall, who occasionally plays guitar, are Kristin Scott Benson, Earl Scruggs and
Tim White (all on banjo), Wayne Benson (mandolin), Robert Bowlin (rhythm guitar,
Dobro®), Mike Bub and Ben Isaacs (bass), Glen Duncan (fiddle), Terry Eldredge
and Jimmy Martin (guitar), and Randy Kohrs (resonator guitar). Rebecca Isaacs
Bowman, Sonya Isaacs, Don Rigsby and Josh Williams provide background vocals.
Vocally Tom T is a one-off. He has a rich, expressive baritone, retaining
that expressive and wonderfully resonant delivery that is synonymous with the
original storyteller in his heyday during the 1960s and 1970s.
"Having
a blast" is a very good way to describe everything about this collection,
the picking, the singing and the general ambience. | |
~
SAVE BEAN BLOSSOM FOR BLUEGRASS ~
As
many of you know, the Bill Monroe Memorial Music Park & Campground is once
again for sale.If you are one of the many bluegrass fans with "Bean Blossom
Memories" of your own, and would like to see the history and traditions associated
with the site of the world's longest continuously-running bluegrass festival preserved
for generations to come, you can play a key role!
[Read More] ______________________________ |
| 
Blue Circle Record's
Latest Release:
BCR-015 Heather Berry & Tony
"Before Bluegrass"
(Click
here to listen |
"Heather
Berry is from the Great Valley of the Shenandoah, a place rich in shades of blue
and green, and where American singing is steeped in community, family, and church.
She sings with her beloved Tony, blending voices and instruments in a melodic
style invented back when the noisy new automobile was scaring horses, John Dillinger
and Pretty Boy Floyd were in short britches, Victoria was the Old Queen, and Civil
War veterans marched in all the July 4 parades, scaring the bejesus out of the
kids with the Rebel yell. Heather
and Tony prove that old parlor style is still a great sound, and Dixie and Tom
T. Hall have composed some new songs that fit well in the old keys. Before bluegrass?
Well, yeah. But not before creecy greens, a yum, yum free food from the cornfields
that fed a lot of mountain people devoted to crumbling cornbread into creecy pot
liquor. Creecy greens can grow under snow and arrive in late winter, free for
the taking.. So sing along with Heather and Tony, they are a small young family,
and perhaps you will smell some creecies cooking..." -
Joe Wilson, National Council of The Traditional Arts |
| 
TRADITIONAL
Reviewed 06-17-08
Heather Berry and Tony
Before Bluegrass
J.D. couldn't believe it, but Tom T. Hall and Miss Dixie released this CD
on their label Blue Circle Records, and it is a CD everyone should have in their
collection if they are true musicologist. This CD is Appalachia at its best, transfixing
a sound from the 1920's though the 40's. This style of music eventually evolved
into what we call bluegrass today. Heather and Tony have done all they could do
in preserving a long lost sound. The autoharp is prevalent in each track. Hailing
from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, the Berry's deliver the haunting sounds
of this forgotten era. Tom T. Hall and Dixie Hall wrote several of the tracks
including "Hazel Creek", "Hound Dog Blues", a John Dillinger
penned number "Public Enemy Number One", and a song ole J.D. can certainly
relate to. In the South we have turnip greens, mustard greens, kale, tender greens
and one green that similar to rape. (this is a green that is still waiting for
the politically correct folks to come up with a name for it) Guess what, we'll
call it "creecy greens" the last track on the CD which is picked wild
and boiled with fat back or bacon. You put cornbread in the juice and make pot
licker. I really enjoyed this track because I just happened to have a mess of
these greens to cook. For a true look into American Music History Don't miss out
on this one. 
JDH (www.cashboxmagazine.com)www
| |
Read
latest review of Heather Berry & Tony's new CD "Before Bluegrass"
|
|
04.29.08
Frank
Ray of Cedar Hill is to be inducted into the NATIONAL COUNTRY AND OLD TIME MUSIC
ASSOCIATION Hall of Fame this August at the Country and Old Time music Festival
in LeMars, IOWA. | |
03.28.08
Stacy York shines in “Kentucky In the Rain”
By Dan Tackett Filed
(CD
Review)
www.bluegrassjournal.com |
I’d
never heard Stacy York sing until a promotional copy of her new CD, “Kentucky
in the Rain,” came across my desk. I confess, my first glimpse of the CD
told me it was one to put on the back burner, something I’d get to on a rainy
day in Illinois. It just had that semi-pro look — not a lot of splashy, eye-catching
graphics on the cover and, hmmm, room enough on the back page of the insert to
promote a car dealership, a photographer and a Holiday Inn Express. Well,
I didn’t wait. I gave it a good listen a couple days after receiving the
CD, which is on Tom T. and Miss Dixie Hall’s Blue Circle Records label. I’ve
been listening for several days now and my conclusion: Forget the rains and the
clouds, this gal shines when she sings. |
York has been associated
for several years with Joe Isaacs & Mountain Bluegrass, so it’s no surprise
that Isaacs and several members of his prominent musical family play supporting
roles on several tracks. Needless to say, the Isaacs know how to embellish a good
thing. York
has one of those strong, pure voices that’s crystal clear and well suited
for the material she chose for “Kentucky in the Rain.” It glistens right
out of the starting gate, on the first track, the title cut, which was written
by the Halls. Tom T. even makes an appearance on the cut with some fine bluegrass
rhythm guitar playing that has all the bass runs tucked in all the right places.
In fact, before I even knew it was Hall playing guitar, my ears perked up at the
production on the song, which gives the rhythm guitar an unusual prominence in
the mix. York
tackles some standards on this CD with gusto. Notable are Bill Monroe’s “Can’t
You Hear Me Calling,” and Carter Stanley’s “I’ll Just Go Away.”
The Halls have another delightful tune on the track list, a swing-style ditty
called, “I Don’t See What I Once Saw in You.” York also gives special
treatment to the country classic-sounding, “Where the Roses Never Fade.” Joe
Isaacs brings his hard-driving banjo style on most of the cuts and also adds the
harmony vocals on the bulk of the CD. He also steps up to sing lead on an Onie
Wheeler tune that’s become a bluegrass gospel standard, “Go Home.” Others
handling instrumental chores are Rebecca Isaacs Bowman on rhythm guitar, Curnie
Lee Wilson on lead guitar, Jesse Stockman on fiddle and Sonya Isaacs on mandolin. Co-production
credits go to York and Joe Isaacs. “Kentucky
in the Rain” veers little off the beaten path of traditional bluegrass. But
York’s pleasant voice is strong enough to hold the attention of bluegrassers,
newgrassers and even fans of classic country.
|
Sunday
Morning Revelations - The Beautiful River Of Life
Review on The Blog (www.bluegrassblog.com)
March 2008 - Bluegrass Recordings News Posted
By John Lawless: The
Soul Pickers are Shane Norman (mandolin and lead vocals), Tyler Anderson (banjo,
finger-picked guitar and harmony vocals), Daniel Wiseman (guitar and harmony vocals)
and Wayne Clemons (upright bass and harmony vocals) from the northern Alabama/Tennessee
area. They
formed in 2003 and since that time, the Soul Pickers have done over 275 dates,
including special church singings, homecomings, and revivals, as well as less
obvious locations for a bluegrass Gospel band, like restaurants, civic gatherings,
family functions and music barns. The
Beautiful River Of Life is the band’s debut album, coming courtesy of their
signing for the Blue Circle label in April 2007. The
quartet is supplemented on this 12 track collection by producer Tom Brantley (fiddle,
mandolin and bass vocals), Alicia Nugent (harmony vocals) and a host of ’shouters’
- Ms. Nugent, Brantley, Miss Dixie Hall, Melissa Lawrence, Becky Lawrence, Cari
Norman, Paula Wolak, Clemons and Norman. It
is pleasing to see groups now mining the Dudley Connell song catalogue. The Soul
Pickers open with a rousing rendition of God’s Not Dead - “I can feel
Him all over me.” The opening bars are sung a cappella before Anderson drives
the song on with a high degree of finesse that belies his youthfulness. (Read
More ...) |
Review by Bluegrass Music Profiles
Magazine
March/April
2008 Issue
www.bluegrassmusicprofiles.com
Soul Pickers - Beautiful River of Life
Blue Circle Records -
BCR 010
Hailing
from Hazel Green, Alabama, this group of pickers preach their message through
their music. This four-piece, bluegrass-gospel band consists of Shane Norman,
lead vocals and mandolin; Wayne Clemons, tenor vocals and upright bass; Daniel
Wiseman, guitar; and Tyler Anderson, baritone vocals and banjo. Their music is
straight-forward bluegrass reinforced with tight vocal harmonies. The Soul Pickers
move effortlessly from hard-driving numbers to the smooth, soulful numbers and
are quite comfortable in either mode. The title cut is a beautiful composition
from Dixie and Tom T. Hall which lends itself well in showcasing the band’s
vocal harmonies. I Am the Man, Thomas is an exciting version. Even though several
of the titles may be familiar, these guys make no attempt to emulate other performers.
It’s got a distinct Soul Pickers’ style. BMP Used
with permission from BMP © Bluegrass Music Profiles 2008 All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________________________________________________ |
December,
2007
2007 PowerGrass
Radio Bluegrass Gospel Awards
Bluegrass
Gospel Album:
"Tell
Someone" by The Kenny and Amanda Smith Band ... Rebel Records. Bluegrass
Gospel Group:
The
Cockman Family ... Sherrills Ford, North Carolina Gospel
Songwriter:
Paul
Humphrey also known as Paul Williams Bluegrass
Gospel Song:
"He Loves To Hear You Shout". Performed by The
Soul Pickers.
Album: The Beautiful River Of Life.
Written
by Dixie & Tom T. Hall. It’s on Blue Circle Records Emerging
Group:
One-N-Christ ... Gastonia, North Carolina Awards
based on listener response during the year and by David M. Bissell ... PowerGrass
Radio. Special thanks to all the songwriters, groups, artists, radio stations
and record companies for promoting powerful bluegrass gospel music. Special acknowledgement
to all the pioneers of bluegrass gospel music ... Carter Stanley, Ralph Stanley,Charlie
Sizemore, Larry Sparks, Del McCoury, Melvin Goins, Dave Evans, Lester Flatt, Earl
Scruggs,Ricky Skaggs, Paul Williams, Jimmy Martin, The Forbes Family, The Marshall
Family, Joe Isaacs,Doyle Lawson, Tom T. and Dixie Hall and many others ... thank
you! And
of course let us give all the glory to our Lord and Savior ... Jesus Christ! ___________________________________________________________________________________ |
Bluegrass Now Magazine (Review)
November 2007 Issue
By Bob Mitchell
The
Soul Pickers - "The Beautiful River of Life"
Blue Circle Records,
BCR-010, www.bluecirclerecords.com
Playing time: 37:06 The
Soul Pickers is one of the best gospel groups I've ever never heard of, and they
definitely merit greater exposure. Based in Hazel Green, Alabama, the band began
performing in 2003 and clearly set out to follow Psalm 33:3: "Sing unto Him
a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise." The Soul Pickers arent' loud
in a negative sense, but their music is joyful and soulful. Bluegrass fans will
find their song selection quite traditional and their harmonies consistently tight
and strong.
Members of the Soul Pickers include Shane Norman (lead vocals/mandolin),
Daniel Wiseman (guitar/vocals), Wayne Clemmons (upright bass), Tom Bradley (fiddle,
mandolin, and vocals). Guest Alecia Nugent also contributes harmony vocals.
Dixie Hall said it best. After listening to this band, she urged fans, "Get
batized in traditional bluegrass gospel!" - BM ___________________________________________________________________________________ |
THE SOUL PICKERS - THE BEAUTIFUL RIVER OF LIFE
Bluegrass
Unlimited
[October 2007 Issue]
Blue
Circle Records
BCR010 This
is the debut album from the Soul Pickers, a bluegrass gospel quartet from Fayetteville,
Tenn. Their sound is tight and clear, and they have admirable taste in songs.
"The Beautiful River Of Life" features a nice assortment of songs in
styles that range from the dark and modal old-school to smoother, more modern
sounds. In the former category are a briskly chugging version of the Ralph Stanley/Larry
Sparks classic "I Am The Man, Thomas" (one of the finest bluegrass gospel
songs ever written) and a less exciting take on Bill Monroe's "The Old Cross
Roads." It's hard to give that one the kind of soulful intensity that Monroe
did, and (perhaps wisely) these guys don't try-instead, they deliver it with energy
and conviction, but with a certain lack of edge. Where the Soul Pickers sound
most at home is on the more contemporary material, such as the simple and beautiful
"When I Wake Up (To Sleep No More)" and the more southern gospeltinged
title track (one of several written by Dixie and Tom T. Hall, in whose studio
this album was recorded). "Ain't That Just Like God" is a fun song,
despite its inappropriately silly title, and the album closes with the Halls'
joyful "He Loves To Hear You Shout."
Recommended overall. ___________________________________________________________________________________ |
12.12.07
Press
Release from Dixie Hall
(Blue Circle Records) HE
LOVES TO HEAR YOU SHOUT recorded by The Soul Pickers brings home double honors
this month both as #1 on the Power
Grass Top Ten and as the #1 Gospel Bluegrass song of the year for 2007
Power Grass Bluegrass Gospel Music Awards. According
to Blue Circle Records CEOs and songwriters Dixie & Tom T. Hall, “The
Soul Pickers are an angel band to work with. They have the knack and hard working
ability to get things right and they show promise of becoming a great presence
in traditional Bluegrass Gospel.” Hailing
from Hazel Green, Alabama the band includes: Shane Norman (lead vocals and mandolin),
Katrina Kolb (tenor vocals and upright bass), Daniel Wiseman (guitar), and Tyler
Anderson (baritone vocals and banjo). The band boasts of one the most versatile
sounds in the business, ranging from hard driving instrumentation and strong vocal
harmonies, to a smooth, soulful finesse.
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01.16.08
CEDAR
HILL
Poverty Row Blue
Circle Records
BLUEGRASS Reviewed 01-16-08
CEDAR HILL
Poverty Row
Hot
Damn! What can I say after reviewing Rhonda Vincent, to find out she wrote the
great line notes for Cedar Hill. This is fantastic bluegrass put together
with some of the greatest names in this business, Tom T. Hall and Miss Dixie,
Vince Gill, Molly Cherryholmes and the fantastic group that makes
up Cedar Hill, Lisa Ray, Frank Ray, Joe Wieneman, Rob Collins, Kenny Cantrell,
Ferrell Stowe and Bobby Minner.
Straight from the Ozarks,
Cedar Hill brings a refreshing and crisp sound of bluegrass to a new generation
and all 12 tracks are gems. Standouts include "Poverty Row", "Broken
Angels" with Vince Gill and two great intrumentals "Whiskers
In the Sink" and "Soldiers Joy" that goes back, way back to another
century.
Not a dud on this CD and it makes its debut on the Cashbox
Bluegrass Charts.
If it wasn't for Rhonda taking up space
at the top, this would surely go all the way.
~ JDH ~ |
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|
Tom
T. Hall
Tom T. Hall Sings Miss Dixie & Tom T.
Blue Circle Records
BY GRACIE MULDOON You
can’t have it any sweeter than Tom T. Hall singing the wonderful bluegrass
melodies written by himself and his lovely wife Miss Dixie Hall. This dyamic duo
of country and bluegrass music genres have lived a long, wonderful, storied life
together surrounded by many loving friends and family and being in the music industry
their talents have made them one of the most enduring, and unforgettable couples.
Most all of the tunes written have been drawn from their experiences in life -
the people, places and things that surrounded them that brought wonderment, reflection,
humor, joy and sadness into their lives. Miss Dixie and Tom T. are both gifted
and put those scentiments to paper in the most creative and memorable way - in
a song. The guest list on this one is astounding. Wow! ~ BMP ~ Jan/Feb
2008 Issue
www.bluegrassmusicprofiles.com
| |
TOM
T. HALL/A Hero In Harlan
Writer:
Dixie Hall/Tom T. Hall; Producer: Dixie Hall; Publisher: Good Home Grown, BMI;
Blue Circle Records (www.bluecirclerecords.com) |
No
mainstream country star of his generation has shown as much love and respect for
bluegrass as this Kentucky-bred legend. This gentle waltz aches with loss, yearning
and mourning for a fallen soldier. It’s the centerpiece of a song collection
that should be mined by every star in this city. Get a load of the supporting
cast: Glen Duncan, The Isaacs, Jimmy Martin, Don Rigsby, Earl Scruggs and Randy
Kohrs, for starters. Titled Tom T. Hall Sings Miss Dixie & Tom T, the CD was
recorded at Miss Dixie’s request as his Christmas present to her. “Claim
retirement all you want,” she scolds him in the liner notes, “but the
music won’t leave you alone. And neither will I.”
~
Bob Oermann ~
(Music
Row Magazine) | 
August
14th CD Review: Tom T. Sings Miss Dixie and Tom T. 
Joe
Ross Review of "Tom T Sings Miss Dixie and Tom T" |
| 
Interview
with Jack Wright on "All Things Considered" on NPR Radio |
The Lonesome Pine Office on Youth announces the release of the two-CD set “Music
of Coal: Mining Songs from the Appalachian Coalfields.” Two
years in the making, this pair of audio CDs contains 48 songs addressing various
aspects of coal mining history and culture, including black lung, union organizing,
environmental impacts and the contribution of coal to the national economy. The
CDs are accompanied by a richly detailed book of liner notes with striking historical
photographs. “This
has been a collaborative effort involving many people in the Wise County area
as well as noted experts across the country,” said Paul Kuczko, director
of the Lonesome Pine Office on Youth and executive producer of the CD project.
“We’ve assembled more than two hours of music that truly gives the flavor
of our coal mining heritage.” According
to Jack Wright, who produced the CDs and wrote the liner notes, the musical collection
is a “hybrid” of old and new songs - some previously recorded, others
produced specifically for this project. “We chose some songs that came out
previously on independent labels and may not have been well known, but are vital
in telling original stories from the heart of the coalfields,” Wright said.
“In addition, we have well established artists represented here, like Ralph
Stanley, Dwight Yoakum, Natalie Merchant, Tom T. Hall, Blue Highway and the Carter
Family.”
| |
Tom
T. Sings Miss Dixie & TOM T. HALL
Producer(s):
Dixie Hall
Genre: COUNTRY
Label: Blue Circle
This modest bluegrass
session is evidence that, four decades after his recording debut, Tom T. Hall
still ranks with country's greatest storytellers, and his beloved wife and songwriting
partner, Dixie, is one big reason why. Though the mood is generally upbeat, funerals
figure prominently in "Jimmy Martin's Life Story" (recorded shortly
before yodeling guitarist Martin's 2005 death and humorously suggesting the avoidance
of hard-drinking blues songs at the memorial ceremony), "A Headstone for
Harry" and the great "A Hero in Harlan," an unsentimental look
at a small-town soldier's return for burial. Elsewhere, pastoral memories of dirt
roads, county borders and green hills surround acknowledgement about not fitting
in with the young folks. Sometimes Hall's just along for a relaxed ride among
an all-star cast of pickers and strummers, and he talks more than he sings. But
then, he's always been a great talker. —Chuck Eddy
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| 
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Bluegrass
Music Profiles Record Review: Carolina Road
Sept Issue 2007 - BY
HAL COTTRELL
Lorraine
Jordan and Carolina Road have a great new project out entitled, of course, what
better name than Carolina Road! The title track is sung by new band member Jerry
Butler, formerly of Pine Mountain Railroad, and he does a fantastic job with his
new gang of grassers. What a vocal talent he is and joining forces with Lorraine
Jordan - what a great match for great ‘grass! This band has been around for
quite some time - and headed by Grassy Girl Lorraine - has always produced high
quality music/songs/picking. Kudos to Lorraine and her illustrious band! My favorite
cuts besides the title track of course are Run Little Fox, Maybe You Will Change
Your Mind, Can’t You Hear The Mountains Calling! It’s all good.
~ BMP ~
Visit BMP online at www.blugrassmusicprofiles.com |
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Circle Records | P.O Box 681286 | Franklin, TN 37068-1286
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