zondag 23 juni 2013

Tom Dooley (1929)


"Tom Dooley" is an old North Carolina folk song based on the 1866 murder of a woman named Laura Foster in Wilkes County, North Carolina. It is best known today because of a hit version recorded in 1958 by The Kingston Trio. This version was a multi-format hit, reaching #1 in Billboard, the Billboard R&B listing, and appearing in the Cashbox country music top 20. It fits within the wider genre of Appalachian "sweetheart murder ballads," and "Tom Dooley" is based on a real event.
In 1866, Laura Foster was murdered. Impoverished Confederate veteran Tom Dula (Dooley), Foster's lover and probable fiancé, was convicted of her murder and hanged May 1, 1868. Foster was stabbed to death with a large knife; the brutality of the attack partly accounted for the widespread publicity the murder and subsequent trial received.

A local poet named Thomas Land wrote a song about the tragedy, titled "Tom Dooley" (which was how Dula's name was pronounced), shortly after Dula was hanged. This, combined with the widespread publicity the trial received, further cemented Dula’s place in North Carolina legend. Land's song is still sung today throughout North Carolina.

Here's a text from the Frank C. Brown Collection (Song # 303 version B, from a book released in 1952 and which collected the Folklore of North Carolina by Frank C. Brown during the years 1912 to 1943)


"Tom Dooley" With music. From Thomas Smith, Zionville, Watauga
county. Note by Dr. Brown : "Sung by Mrs. R. A. Robinson, Silver-
stone, N. C, 6/22/21." Mr. Smith says that the "verses are from a
song which has been sung and played for many years (probably for
over forty) in Watauga. . . . There is hardly a fiddler or banjo picker
in our county who cannot play 'Tom Dooley.' "

1 Oh hang your head, Tom Dooley,
Oh hang your head [and?] cry.
You killed poor Laura Foster
And now you are bound to die.

2 You met her on the hillside
And there you may suppose
You met her on the hillside
And there you hid her clothes.

3 You met her on the hillside
Supposed to be your wife,
You met her on the hillside
And there you took her life.

Complete text and history on the song is in this online PDF-file
Turn a page by clicking on it:


And in 1938 Mellinger Edward Henry's book "Folk Songs from the Southern Highlands" was published, with yet another version of "Tom Dooley"

Tom Dooley
114 TOM DOOLEY See Brown, p. 11.
This is another song, based on a real tragedy in North Carolina, in which the young man sings that he was warned, "That drinking and the women Would be my ruin at last"
                                                           A
Obtained form Mrs. William Franklin, Crossnore, Avery County, North Carolina, July, 1930, who learned it from her brother, Edmund Malone Johnson.
1. Oh, bow your head, Tom Dooley;
Oh, bow your head and cry;
You have killed poor Laury Foster
And you know you're bound to die.
2. You have killed poor Laury Foster;
You know you have done wrong;
You have killed poor Laury Foster,
Your true love in your arms.
3. I take my banjo this evening;
I pick it on my knee;
This time tomorrow evening
It will be of no use to me.
4. This day and one more;
Oh, where do you reckon I be ?
This day and one more,
And I'll be in eternity.
5.1 had my trial at Wilkesboro;
Oh, what do you reckon they done ?
They bound me over to Statesville
And there where I'll be hung.
6. The limb being oak
And the rope being strong —
Oh, bow your head, Tom Dooley,
For you know you are bound to hang.



Although there are several earlier known recordings, notably the one by Grayson and Whitter made in 1929, approximately 10 years before Frank Proffitt cut his own recording, the Kingston Trio took their version from Frank Warner's singing. Warner had learned the song from Proffitt, who learned it from his Aunt Nancy Prather, whose parents had known both Laura Foster and Tom Dula.


(o) Grayson and Whitter 1929
Recorded in Memphis, TN Monday, September 30, 1929 by Ralph Peer.
G.B. Grayson,f/v; Henry Whitter,g.

G.B. Grayson learned "Tom Dooley" from the singing of his family and had a personal connection with it: he was the nephew of Colonel James W.M. Grayson who captured Dula in Tennessee.



Listen here:




Two years earlier Grayson and Whitter recorded "Handsome Molly", which uses almost the same tune:


Listen here:




(c) Bascom Lamar Lunsford (1935)  (as "Tom Dooley")
In March 1935 Bascom Lamar Lunsford, from Asheville, N.C., recorded "Tom Dooley" in New York under the supervision of George W. Hibbitt and William Cabell Greet.







(c) Myra Barnett Miller (1936)  (as "Tom Dula")
In July 1936 Mrs Myra Barnett Miller recorded "Tom Dula" in Tuckaseigee, North Carolina, under the supervision of John A. Lomax.







In 1938, folklorists Anne and Frank Warner were song-hunting in the mountains of Watauga County, North Carolina. While there they met singer, guitar and banjo player Frank Proffitt who lived in Pick Britches Valley and was born in Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee on June 1, 1913.
"Tom Dooley" was one of the first songs Proffitt sang for the Warners. He told them it was the first song he remembered hearing his father pick on the banjo. Like G.B. Grayson, Proffitt had a personal connection to the song. He told the Warners that his grandmother, Adeline Perdue, had lived in Wilkes County and had known both Tom Dula and Laura Foster.
Two years later, with a newly acquired Wilcox Gay Recordio disk-cutting machine in tow, they returned to Watauga County, North Carolina and recorded a number of Frank Proffitt's songs, including a three-stanza version of "Tom Dooley."

(c) Frank Profitt (1940) (as "Tom Dooley")
In 1940 in Beech Mountain, North Carolina, Frank and Anne Warner recorded a 50 seconds version of Frank Proffitt singing "Tom Dooley".


Listen here:



Finally released on this magnificent CD:





(c) Frank Warner (1947)

In 1947 Frank Warner recorded a version for the Library of Congress in Washington




Frank Warner taught his version of Frank Proffitt's "Tom Dooley" to his friend Alan Lomax who included, it minus the second stanza, in his 1947 book, "Folk Song: U.S.A.," crediting the song to Warner.

These are the lyrics for “Tom Dula” as they appear in Alan Lomax’s Folk Song: U.S.A. (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1947) and reprinted in Folk Songs of North America (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1960).

Hand me down my banjo,
I’ll pick hit on my knee
This time tomorrow night
It’ll be no use to me

Chorus:
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Hang down your head and cry
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Poor boy you're bound to die.

Met her on the mountain
I swore she’d be my wife
I met her on the mountain
And I stabbed her with my knife

(chorus)

This time tomorrow
Reckon where I’ll be
Down in some lonesome valley
A’hangin’ on a white-oak tree.
I had my trial at Wilksboro’
And what d’you reckon they done?
They bound me over to Statesville
And that’s where I’ll be hung

(chorus)

The limb a’bein’ oak, boys
The rope a’bein’ strong
Bow down your head, Tom Dooley,
You know you’re gonna be hung.

Mammy, oh Mammy,
Don’t you weep or cry
I’ve killed poor Laurie Foster
And you know I’m bound to die

(chorus)

Pappy, oh Pappy,
What shall I do?
I lost all my money
And killed poor Laurie too.

Oh what my Mammy told me
Is about to come to pass
Red whiskey and pretty women
Would be my ruin at last

(chorus)



(c) Frank Warner (1952)
Then, in 1952, Warner recorded "Tom Dooley" for an LP on Elektra Records, accompanying himself on four-string banjo and crediting Frank Proffitt in the liner notes.





Following Frank Warner's 1952 recording of "Tom Dooley," which was the first commercial recording of the song since Grayson & Whitter's release on Victor in 1929, the song was "covered" by several folk revival artists. 



(c) Folksay Trio (Erik Darling, Bob Carey and Roger Sprung) 1953
Just before Carey entered the army, he and Darling made their first recordings together. Stinson Records was repackaging old Asch folk and jazz 78s onto 10" LPs, and the owners approached banjo player Roger Sprung about cutting new sides to flesh out an anthology of Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly masters. Sprung recruited Carey and Darling, and the ad hoc trio worked out four songs, including the Washington Square favorite "Tom Dooley." Cut directly to acetate in the basement studio of a New Jersey home, Darling, Carey and Sprung's efforts were an unheralded benchmark in the evolving urban folk music revival. Released on Folksay, Vol. 2 in the summer of 1953, they were the first significant recordings by a contemporary folk group.




Listen to a sample of the Folksay Trio's 1953 version here (song#11)



Two of the group's songs, "Tom Dooley" and "Bay of Mexico," appeared five years later on the Kingston Trio's debut album for Capitol Records (Released June 1958)



(c) Kingston Trio (1958) (# 1 HIT USA)



Listen here to the Kingston Trio:


Kingston Trio leader Dave Guard candidly admitted to New Lost City Ramblers' John Cohen that his source for their version of "Tom Dooley" was the Folksay album. "It had that little stop in it, 'Hang down your head, Tom - stop - Dooley,' which had never been a part of the song before the Stinson recording," Sprung later told Darling.



The Kingston Trio hit inspired a feature B-movie, The Legend of Tom Dooley (1958), starring actor Michael Landon, co-starring Richard Rust. A Western set after the Civil War, it was not about traditional Tom Dula legends or the facts of the case, but a fictional treatment tailored to fit the lyrics of the song.
You can watch the complete movie here:





(c) Paul Clayton (1956)  (as "Tom Dula")
Paul Clayton's version was contained on his album "Bloody Ballads" (Riverside RLP 12-615), and has a rather different melody.




Listen here:





(c) Tarriers 1957
Two members of the Folksay Trio--Erik Darling and Bob Carey--teamed up with Alan Arkin in 1956 to form the Tarriers who included an up-tempo version of "Tom Dooley" on their 1957 debut LP on Glory Records, that was also released before the Kingston Trio.



Listen here:





(c) Lonnie Donegan (1958)


Listen here:




(c) Pinky & Perky (1958)


Listen here:





(c) Serge Deyglun (1958)  (as "Check tes claques Tom Dooley")
Parody by this Canadian artist.




(c) Les Compagnons de la Chanson 1959 (as "Fais Ta Priere") (French version)


Listen here:




(c) Chico's 1959 (Tom Dooley)  (Dutch version)
Dutch lyrics by Simon Sint (member of the Chico's)


Listen to a sample here:




(c) Bob Davidse (1959) (as "Jan Breydel") (Flemish version)
Flemish lyrics by Robert Swing and Eric Franssen
Released on Victory 11262




(c) Bobbejaan Schoepen (1959) (as "Tom Doely") (Flemish version)
Flemish lyrics Bobbejaan Schoepen and Jan Remo)


Listen here:





(c) Pallieters (1959) (as "Tom Doely")



(c) De Troebadoer van het Heilig Hart (=Pater Mestdagh) (as "Tom Dooley") (Flemish version)


http://www.muziekarchief.be/albumdetails.php?ID=71374

Listen here (at 7 min and 21 sec)






(c) Four Jacks (1959) (as " Tom Dooley")  (Danish version)
Danish Lyrics by Torsten Tanning


Listen here:




(c) Nilsen Brothers 1959 (as "Tom Dooley")  # 1 German hit version
German lyrics by Arno Gillo (=Josef Ollig)


Listen here:




(c) New Lost City Ramblers (1960)


Listen here:





(c) Doc Watson (1964)
Watson performed the older version of the song, similar to Grayson and Whitter, that he had learned from his grandmother.


Listen here:




(c) Hiltonaires (1966)
Hiltonaires recorded a Mento (Jamaican folk) version of the song in 1965 for legendary Jamaican record label 'Studio One', released on their album Ska-Motion In Ska-lip-so in 1966.


Listen here:




(c) Frank Profitt Jr. (1992)
In 1992 Frank Profitt Jr. (son of Frank Sr.) recorded the song on his "Kickin' Up Dust"album.




(c) Neil Young together with Crazy Horse recorded an eight minutes long version on their 2012 album Americana.





MUCH more cover versions here:





maandag 17 juni 2013

Ee-Ba-Ba-Lee-Ba (1945) / E-Bob-O-Le-Bob (1945) / Be-Baba-Leba (1945) / Ee-Bobaliba (1945) / Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (1945)

"Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop" is a 1946 song by Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra. The song's lead vocals were performed by Lionel Hampton himself and featured Herbie Fields on alto sax. The song went to number one on the R&B Juke Box charts for sixteen non-consecutive weeks and reached number nine on the national charts.

BUT "Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop" had a few precursors, like "Ee-Ba-Ba-Lee-Ba", "Be-Baba-Leba", "E-Bob-O-Le-Bob", "Ee-Bobaliba" and "Oo-Oo-Ee-Bob-A-Lee-Bob"  

"Ee-Ba-Ba-Lee-Ba" was originally recorded on June 18, 1945 in the NBC Studios in Hollywood by it's composer Tina Dixon with the band of Jimmie Lunceford backing her.
The recordings were made for the Jubilee Radio Show, which aired from the Armed Forces Radio Service, Casa Manana, Culver City.

Listen here:


Here are the program details of that song in the Jubilee Radio show

Jubilee programme No. 138
AFRS program announcer: Vernon Smith
Master of Ceremonies: Ernest “Bubbles” Whitman
Studios: NBC, Hollywood
Pre-recording dates: June 1945
Date of dubbing: June 18, 1945

Side 1, wax info: HD5-MM-7711-1
"Obbla-Ee-Eebop Is The Thing" - vocal Tina Dixon and Jimmie Lunceford and his orchestra
Probably Jimmy Lunceford, playing most reed instruments including the flute, fronting:-
Freddy Webster, Harry “Pee-Wee” Jackson, Robert Mitchell, Paul Webster, trumpets;
Fernando Arbello, Russell Bowles, James Young, trombones; Omer Simeon, alto saxo & clarinet; Benny Waters, Dan Grissom, Kurt Bradford, alto saxes; Joe Thomas, tenor sax; Earl Carruthers, baritone and alto saxes, clarinet; Edwin Wilcox, piano; Al Norris, guitar; Charles
“Truck” Parham, string bass; Jimmy Crawford, drums; Tina Dixon, vocal; band vocal.

SEE page 39 on the next link:  jubilee_101-200.pdf


The ORIGINAL version was finally released around 1974-1975 on the next Jimmie Lunceford LP: 


Listen here: xxx




But the first officially released version (as "Be-Baba-Leba") is by Helen Humes:(#3 R'nB Hit)
Recorded in Los Angeles in August 1945
Released in September - Philo PV 106
With the Bill Doggett Octet
Ross Butler tp/ Johnny Brown as/ Wild Bill Moore ts/ Ernest Thompson bari/ Bill Doggett p/ Elmer Warner g/ Alfred Moore, b/ Charles Harris d/ Helen Humes voc :I


Listen here:



But possibly there is an earlier version by the Flennoy Trio backing up singer Tina Dixon.
This version (as "E-Bob-O-Le-Bob"), with composer-credits by Tina Dixon, was apparantly released after the Helen Humes, but recorded before (in June 1945) on the Excelsior Records label.







But on the next link you can read that Jim Wynn claims he has written the song years before he finally recorded it in September 1945.



(c) Jim Wynn's Bobalibans (1945) (as "Ee-Bobaliba")

Stanley Casey (trumpet) David Graham (alto saxophone) Freddie Simon (tenor saxophone) Jim Wynn (tenor, baritone saxophone) Luther "Lord" Luper (piano, vocals) Theodore Shirley (bass) Robert "Snake" Sims (drums) Claude Trenier, Pee Wee Wiley (vocals)
Los Angeles, CA, circa September, 1945
Matrix V-162-ME Ee-Bobaliba
Released on 4 Star 1026 and Foto 1026



Listen here:




Texas-born "Big" Jim Wynn (aka James A. Wynn), who was a 33 y.o. L.A. bandleader at the time (1945), had been working as both a tenor and baritone sax player. Along with putting together one of the 1st stripped-down R&B bands in the early 40s, Wynn is credited with being one of the proto-"honkers" who wielded his instrument like a madman onstage, although his recordings don't give much evidence of this. One thing does seem certain, however. During the war years his band, the Bobalibans, had a lazy, swinging theme they'd sing, with the audience's participation, called "Ee-Bobaliba", made up mostly of nonsense blues and scat lyrics: "She's got a head like a rooster, she's shaped like a frog [also to be listened in Clarence "Frogman" Henry's "I ain't got no home], but when she starts lovin' me, ooh-eee bobaliba!"
Nobody is sure how Helen Humes came up with her lyrics. Wynn insisted that she got "be-baba-leba" refrain from him, although he never took her to court on the matter. 


BUT, then again, how original was Wynn's tune ?
A more contemporary version of that ancient riff-with its eight-to-the-bar rhythm-was a song called "Boogie Woogie" recorded by Count Basie [musically based on Pine Top Smith's 1929 hit, "Pine Top's Boogie Woogie" (See: http://jopiepopie.blogspot.nl/2013/10/chicago-stomp-1924-pine-tops-boogie.html), but lyrically quite different.], with a vocal refrain by Jimmy Rushing, recorded for Columbia Records in 1936. The main difference is that Rushing didn't mention any thing about "ooh baba leba".

Listen here:


And listen here to Count Basie's instrumental version from 1938 on Decca



Bebop broadly meant "go, man, go".
This phrase, or something very similar, was widely used in jazz circles in the 1940s, giving its name to the bebop style, and possibly being ultimately derived from the shout of "Arriba! Arriba!" used by Latin American bandleaders to encourage band members


(c) Lionel Hampton (1946) (as "Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop")
As soon as Helen Humes' "Be-baba-leba" charted in December, Decca rushed Lionel Hampton's band into the studio to record "Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop". The "composers" were Hampton and drummer Curly Hammer (only for slighty adapting the lyrics)
"Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop" was recorded on December 1, 1945
Released on Decca 18754  (#1 R&B / #9 POP Hit)



Listen here:




Excactly 4 days later Charlie Barnet cut another version of this song (as "E-Bob-O-Lee-Bob") on the same label as Hampton, but this time the credits go to Tina Dixon.

(c) Charlie Barnet 1946 (as "E-Bob-O-Lee-Bob")
Recorded December 5, 1945
Vocal by "Peanuts" Holland.
Released on Decca 18761






(c) Bull Moose Jackson 1946 (as"Oo-Oo-Ee-Bob-A-Lee-Bob") ("composer": Walter Brown !?)
Bull Moose Jackson and his Orchestra featuring Annisteen Allen [vcl]
Recorded December 19, 1945
Released on Queen (and later on King 4107)


Listen here:




(c) Wynonie Harris with the Hamp-Tone All Stars (1946)
Wynonie Harris (voc), accompanied by Wendell Culley, Joe Morris (tp), Herbie Fields (cl-1, ts-2), Arnett Cobb (ts), Charlie Fowlkes (bar), Milt Buckner (p), Billy Mackel (g), Charlie Harris (b), George Jenkins (dr). Los Angeles, December 1945 or January 1946
Recorded Los Angeles, December 1945 or January 1946
Released on Hamp-Tone 100





(c) Tex Beneke with the Glenn Miller Orchestra ("Hey! Ba-ba-re-bop")
Hit #4 POP (under the direction of Tex Beneke, following Miller's disappearance in a 1944 English Channel airplane crash);
Released on RCA Victor 1859


Listen here:




(c) Ray Ventura and his Orchestra (1946)  (as "Hey ! Ba-ba-re-Bop")
vocalists:Henri Salvador and Bob Jacqmain Vocal Quartet


Listen here:





(c) The Ramblers (1947) (as "Hey-Ba-Ba-Rebob")
o.l.v. Theo Uden Masman.
Vocals: Ferry Barendse.
Label: Decca # M 32162 (AM 1036).
Recorded in Hof van Holland in Hilversum on January 6, 1947



Listen here:




(c) Helen Humes (with Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra) 1947 (as "Hey Baba Leba")

Listen and SEE her here:




(c) Lola Dee (1955) (as "Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop")





(c) Jaques Helian (1957) (as "Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop")
(Adapt. B. Michel, Sherman Edwards)



Listen here:




(c) Thurston Harris 1958


Listen here:





(c) Lillian Briggs (1958)






(c) Blue Diamonds 1964


Listen here:





(c) Tony Sheridan and the Big Six (1965)



Listen here:




(c) Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band (1970) (as "Woe-Is-Uh-Me-Bop")


Listen here:




(c) Father Abraham and The Smurfs (1978)


Listen here:





(c) Peter Koelewijn en zijn Rockets 1981 (Klap Maar in Je Handen)
Dutch artist cleverly used the "Hey Ba-Ba-Re-Bop" riff and also some "Gloria" and scored another hit in The Netherlands.

Listen here:




(c) Wim Leys (2012)

From the album 'De planken uit de vloer'




And finally a version from the 1940's (artist unknown), For adults only (-:

Released around 1946 on Party Platters 310-B






maandag 3 juni 2013

Blue Ridge (Mountain) Blues (1924)


Song History of "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues":

The song was originally titled "Blue Ridge Blues" and was written by Cliff Hess in 1924 under the pseudonym of Roy B. Carson.






It was recorded as "Blue Ridge Blues" by blind musician George Reneau in April of 1924.

(o) George Reneau (1924) (as "Blue Ridge Blues")
(The blind musician of the Smoky Mountains)
Recorded in New York, April 1924
Matrix 13114
Released on Vocalion 14815 in July 1924


And re-released on Vocalion 5034 in January 1927


Listen here:




(c) Riley Puckett (1924) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues")
Riley Puckett (vcl w/gtr) and Gid Tanner (fiddle)
Recorded September 10, 1924 in New York City.
Matrix 140012-1
Label: Columbia 254-D





Listen here:



Riley Pucket's recording was also released on Harmony 5127-H  (alias Fred Wilson).




5 months later George Reneau made a new recording, accompanied  by Gene Austin.

(c) Blue Ridge Duo (1924) (as "Blue Ridge Blues")
(= Gene Austin and George Reneau)
Recorded September 22, 1924 in New York
Matrix 9728-C
Released on Edison 51515


Listen here:




(c) Sid Harkreader (1925) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Recorded April 15, 1925 in New York
Matrix 715/16
Released on Vocalion 15193
Re-released on Vocalion 5082 in 1927

 



(c) Ernest V. Stoneman (1925) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Recorded August 27, 1925. Asheville, NC.
Matrix (9285-A)
Released December 1925 on Okeh 45009




Listen here:




(c) Vernon Dalhart (1925) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Carson Robison (gtr) and possibly Murray Kellner (f)
Recorded August 8, 1925 in NYC.
Released on Banner 1611, Domino 3582, Regent 9914, Paramount 3045, Herwin 75501
Oriole 486 (as Frank Evans)
Broadway 8061 (as Cramer Brothers)


Cramer Brothers / Vernon Dalhart - Blue Ridge Mountain Blues / Behind These Grey Walls (Shellac, 10", 78 RPM) | Discogs



On August 26, 1925 Vernon Dalhart re-recorded the song.
This version was released on Victor 19811



Listen here:



And between August 28-31, 1925 Vernon Dalhart recorded the song for a 3rd time.
This version was released on Gennett 3129 and Silvertone 3129




(c) Al Hopkins and His Buckle Busters (1927) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
(= Hill Billies)
Recorded May 12, 1927 in New York.
Matrix E-23110/11
Released on Brunswick 180




Or here:




(c) Charlie Newman (1927) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues")                                          
Recorded in Atlanta GA. March 15, 1927
Matrix 80538
Released on Okeh 45184






(c) Lulu Jackson (1928) (as "Blue Ridge Blues")
Lulu Jackson (vcl/gtr) and unknown piano.
Recorded December 21, 1928 in Chicago.
Released on Vocalion 1242


Listen here:



Or here:





(c) Cal Davenport and His Gang (1929) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues")
Hubert Davenport, h; Cal Davenport, bj; Malcolm Davenport, g; Bill Brown, g.
Recorded August 31, 1929 in Knoxville TN.
Matrix K-153
Released on Vocalion 5398

Listen to a sample here:




(c) Bill Cox (1931) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues")
Bill Cox (vcl/h/gt)
Recorded Richmond, IN.  August 17, 1931
Matrix 17936
Released on Champion 45106 and Melotone Canadian 45106
Released on Superior 2723 as by Clyde Ashley.


Also released on Champion  S-16343 as by Luke Baldwin.





(c) Bill Cox (1933) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Recorded on August 31, 1933 in New York
Matrix 13923-1
Released on various labels: Conqueror 8232, Perfect 12969, Melotone 12884, 
Oriole 8297, Romeo 5297 and Banner 32941






(c) Riley Puckett (1935) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Riley Puckett: Vocal, Guitar
Recorded  August 8, 1935 in Atlanta, GA.
Matrix 94372-1
Released on Bluebird B-6196


Riley Puckett / Jesse Rodgers - Blue Ridge Mountain Blues / Give Me Your Love (Shellac, 10", 78 RPM) | Discogs

Listen here:




(c) Les Paul aka Rhubarb Red and His Rubes (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
1940's radio transcription [McGregor transcriptions] C.P.McGregor Studio, 729 S.Western Ave., Hollywood, CA
Released on "Les Paul's Country Roots" (Bronco Buster CD 9023)


Listen to a sample here:




(c) Hank Penny and His Radio Cowboys (1941) (as "Blue Ridge Blues"
(Hank Penny [vcl/gt], Jimmie Colvard [steel], Carl Stewart [bass/fiddle], 
Eddie Smith [harmonica], ? [piano], Kelland Clark [accordion])
Recorded June 29, 1941 Charlotte, NC
Matrix CO 30918
Released on Conqueror 9846 and Rambler LP-103


Listen here:




(c) York Brothers (1947)  (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Released on Bullet 642






(c) Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle With Chet Atkins (1949) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
(Radio transcription from 1949)
Released on the CD: Carter Sisters, Mother Maybelle and Chet Atkins.
Label: Country Routes RFD-CD-40


Listen to a sample here:




(c) Wade Mainer and the Mountaineers (1953) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Recorded  1953  Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Matrix 1711
Released on  Blue Ridge 109



Listen here:



Or to a sample here:




(c) Bill Clifton (1957) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Recorded November 1957 RCA Victor Studio in Nashville, TN 
Bill Clifton (Jimmy Selph, Johnny Clark, Curley Lambert, Junior Huskey, Tommy Jackson.
Matrix YW-14992
Released on Mercury 71292


Listen here:




(c) Johnny Bond (1958) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Recorded live at Town Hall around 1958
Released on the album Joe Maphis And Friends Live At Town Hall, 1958-61
Released on K-Tel 6221-2


Listen here:





(c) Lew Childre (1961) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Recorded April 1961 Starday Sound Studio, 3557 Dickerson Road, Nashville, TN 
Lew Childre [vcl/steel], Cowboy Copas [rh gt], Burkett H. Uncle Josh” Graves [dobro], 
Junior Huskey [bass].
Matrix ST-4809
Released on Starday SLP-153





(c) Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Ramblers (1963) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Bill Monroe-m; Frank Buchanan-g; Tony Ellis-bj; Benny Williams-f; 
Red Stanley-f; Bessie Lee Mauldin-bs
Vocals:F. Buchanan-L; B. Monroe-T
Recorded May 3, 1962 Columbia Recording Studio, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville 3, TN
Master:NA 12045 / 112210
Released on Decca single #31456


And on the album "Bluegrass Special" (Decca DL 74382)





(c) Doc Watson (1963) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Recorded live 1963 by Jean and Doc at the legendary Folk City in Greenwich Village.
Released on Folkways SF 40005


Listen here:





(c) The Country Gentlemen (1963) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Recorded January 6, 1963 [live] The Scared Mushroom Coffee House, Columbus, OH -
John Humbird Duffey [tnr vcl/mandolin], Charles Otis “Charley” Waller [ld vcl/rh gt], 
Edward Windsor “Eddie” Adcock [bari vcl/banjo], Thomas “Tom” Gray [bs vcl/bass]
Released on Folkways FA-2411


In the liner-notes of the expanded CD-version there are some notes on "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"


Listen to a sample of the Country Gentlemen's version here:




(c) Johnny Bond (1963) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Recorded September 12, 1963 (live at the Civic Auditorium, Bakersfield, CA
Released on Capitol ST 2009)


Listen here:




(c) Oliver Smith (1966) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Released on Elektra EKL 316





(c) Blue Ridge Rangers (1972) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
The Blue Ridge Rangers is the first solo album by John Fogerty, the former lead singer and lead guitarist of Creedence Clearwater Revival, and features Fogerty playing all the instruments.
In advance of the album "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues" was released as a 45 in August 1972.


Listen here:




(c) Martin, Bogan and  Armstrong (1974) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Released in 1974 on Flying Fish 003



Listen to a sample here:




(c) Norman Blake (1978) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
on album "Directions".


Listen here:




(c) Peter Rowan (1980) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Recorded November 24, 1980 [live] unknown, UK –
Peter Rowan, Bill Keith & Jim Rooney
Released on the album "Hot Bluegrass" (Waterfront WF 016)


Listen here:




(c) Doc and Merle Watson (1981) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
December 1980/January 1981 Crimson Sound, Santa Monica, CA -
Doc Watson (gt/vcl),  Merle Watson [gt], T. Michael Coleman [bass/hmn vcl],
Producer: Mitch Greenhill
Released in 1985 on the album: "Pickin' The Blues" (Flying Fish FF-352)


Listen here:



(c) Rose Maddox (1994) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"


Listen here:




(c) Stoneman Family (1966) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues")  
Recorded November 17, 1965 in Jack Clement Recording Studio in  Nashville, TN
Matrix 059 65-XY-848
Released on MGM


Listen here:



(c) The Stonemans (1981) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"
Recorded January/February 1981 Hilltop Recording Studios, 902 Due West Ave., Nashville, TN - 
Van Stoneman [gt,banjo], Patsy Stoneman [vcl-autoharp], Van Stoneman Jr. [gt], Gene Stoneman [gt], Jack Stoneman [gt], Barbara &  Eddie Mueller [banjo], Johnny Bellar [dobro], Dean Stoneman [mandolin], Donna Stoneman [mandolin], Randy Stoneman [el bass])


Listen here:




(c) Dallas Smith and The Boys From Shiloh (2000) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"


Listen here to a sample:




(c) Rosinators (2003) (as "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues"


Listen here:






NOT to be confused with "My Blue Ridge Mountain Home" (a song written by Carson Robison)