#vassar clements

[mywifeleftme]

273: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band // Will the Circle Be Unbroken

Will the Circle Be Unbroken The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band 1972, United Artists

Who can endure a sentimentalist music critic? Still, this morning anyway, my heart’s fit to weep over a one-hundred-and-ten minutes of exultant roots music and a beautiful idea executed to perfection. The notion behind Will the Circle Be Unbroken was to use the Dirt Band, a crew of talented longhairs from California, as a bridge between the trendy country rock of the day and the genre’s pantheon of avuncularly voiced pioneers. (And I guess in Maybelle Carter’s case ‘aunticularly voiced.’) Many of these sorts of intergenerational tribute projects give me queasy tasting notes of hapless arts council funding or the rap number from Walk Hard, but somehow this triple LP from the heart of rock’s imperial phase manages to be both reverent of traditional country and bluegrass history and present these genres as living organisms.

The Dirt Band are joined by a Field of Dreams cast of legends, plus an adjunct wing of ace players like fiddle genius Vassar Clements, and while the Dirties sneak in one original the focus is squarely on the standards. None of these takes supplant the originals, but the recording fidelity, superlative playing, and warm communal energy make for lovely alternatives. Merle Travis’s “Dark as a Dungeon,” one of the greatest folk and country songs of the century, has never sounded more lovely or doomed; Doc Watson gives Jimmie Driftwood’s “Tennessee Stud” a broad-shouldered boisterousness; Earl Scruggs and the Dirt Band’s John McEuen present the classic fiddle reel “Soldier’s Joy” as an infectious banjo duel. 

Many of the songs include snatches of studio chatter between the band and their guests: Mother Maybelle sounds like the sweetest old thing imaginable; Roy Acuff comes off like as much of a pompous Haven Hamilton-type as I’d always heard he was; Jimmy Martin gives elderly prospector cricket. The tapes are even rolling for the first meeting of guitar legends Travis and Watson, who have an adorably awkward little chat before declaring themselves “buddies.” These peeks into the process are part of Circle’s artifice, but it feels like an honest attempt to capture the historic nature of the summit. The album rounds off with nods to the deep past in the form of a number of Carter family cuts, an homage to bluegrass father “Uncle” Dave Macon, and a group singalong of the spiritual “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” But then, right there at the end, we get 17-year-old Randy Scruggs performing a solo instrumental take on Joni Mitchell’s 1968 “Both Sides, Now.” The symbolism of the teenaged son of Earl Scruggs playing such a recent (and aptly-named) tune is clear, quietly closing the circle between past and present, a pact sealed.

273/365

[krispyweiss]

Jerry Garcia: A Bluegrass Journey Will Open at the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2024

- “It all started with bluegrass,” Billy Strings says of Garcia’s long, strange trip

Though he’s most associated with a long, strange rock ’n’ roll trip, Jerry Garcia’s bluegrass wanderings will be the focus of an upcoming exhibit at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum.

“It all started with bluegrass,” Billy Strings says in a trailer for the exhibit.

Jerry Garcia: A Bluegrass Journey kicks off March 29-30, 2024, with concerts highlighting Garcia’s music with Old & in the Way, David Grisman and the Grateful Dead’s acoustic side. Leftover Salmon will serve as house band alongside “special guests” to be announced later.

“Jerry Garcia really provided that repertoire to a whole new generation … many of the Grateful Dead songs have become parts of the bluegrass canon,” Vince Herman said.

Garcia’s Journey will remain open for two years at the Kentucky museum and will include the Dead man’s banjos, an acoustic and pedal steel guitar alongside other artifacts, interactive displays and exclusive interviews occupying 2,000 square feet.

“When I found out Jerry was originally a banjo player, his guitar playing somehow starting making even more sense,” Jacob Groopman says.

But some people, like hall of fame Executive Director Chris Joslin, came for the bluegrass and stayed for the bluegrass.

“As a bluegrass musician, I have long been a fan of Jerry Garcia’s banjo work with … Grisman, Tony Rice, Vassar Clements and others,” he said in a statement. “This exhibit tells the story an American music legend who simply set out to be a solid musician and to make the music that spoke to his heart.”

10/10/23

[tfc2211]

Dickey Betts and the Great American Music Show live at Ultrasonic Studios: 3rd November 1974

Dickey Betts - Guitar, Dobro, Vocals Jeff Hanna - Guitar Spooner Oldham - Organ Vassar Clements - Violin John Hughey - Pedal Steel Guitar Oscar Underwood Adams - Mandolin Stray Straton - Bass, Vocals Bonnie Bramlett - Vocals, Percussion Jerry Jumonville - Alto Sax David Walshaw - Drums, Percussion Jerry Thompson - Drums Leon Poindexter - Acoustic Guitar Walter Poindexter - Banjo Frank Poindexter - Dobro

[1264doghouse]

Vassar Clements, Jerry Garcia, Rob Stoner, Frank Wakefield & John Herald. Golden State Bluegrass Festival, San Rafael, California 1974.

[breezingby]

Old & In The Way ~ Old & In The Way (Jerry Garcia)

Old and in the way, that's what I heard them say They used to heed the words he said, but that was yesterday Gold will turn to gray and youth will fade away They'll never care about you, call you old and in the way

Once I hear tell, he was happy He had his share of friends and good times Now, those friends have all passed on He don't have a place called home Looking back to a better day, feeling old and in the way

Old and in the way, that's what I heard them say They used to heed the words he said, but that was yesterday Gold will turn to gray and youth will fade away They'll never care about you, call you old and in the way

~ ♫♪♫ ~

When just a boy, he left his home Thought he'd have the world on a string Now the years have come and gone Through the streets he walks alone Like the old dog gone astray, he's just old and in the way

Old and in the way, that's what I heard them say They used to heed the words he said, but that was yesterday Gold will turn to gray and youth will fade away They'll never care about you, call you old and in the way

~ ♫♪♫ ~

Old and in the way, that's what I heard them say They used to heed the words he said, but that was yesterday Gold will turn to gray and youth will fade away They'll never care about you, call you old and in the way They'll never care about you, call you old and in the way

------------------------------------------

A David "Dawg" Grisman classic song from OAITW's debut album from 1975, which was recorded at the Boarding House on October 8, 1973.

The lineup: Peter Rowan - guitar and vocals Jerry Garcia - banjo and vocals David Grisman - mandolin and vocals John Kahn - bass Vassar Clements - viola

[joegramoe]

Will the Circle be Unbroken is the seventh studio album by American country music group The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, with collaboration from many famous bluegrass and country-western players, including Roy Acuff, "Mother" Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Merle Travis, Pete "Oswald" Kirby, Norman Blake, Jimmy Martin, and others. It also introduced fiddler Vassar Clements to a wider audience. The album was released in November 1972, through United Artists Records.

[uneasylisteningradio]

Loneliness October 1, 2022

stream on Mixcloud

Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night Pat Powdrill & The Powerdrills - They Are the Lonely

DJ speaks over The Debonairs - Lonely is the Summer

Joe Dassin - Comme la lune (Four Kinds of Lonely) Generacion Suicida - Dulce Soledad Katherine Henderson with Clarence Williams and His Orchestra - Lonesome Lovesick Blues Alien Nosejob - Phone Alone

DJ speaks over Ornette Coleman - Lonely Woman

Lime Crush - I Don't Wanna Die Alone Beck - I Get Lonesome Bill Withers - Lonely Town, Lonely Street Cosmic Overdose - Isolatorer The Pretty Things - Loneliest Person The Chefs - Commander Lonely

DJ speaks over Desmond Simmons - Alone on Penguin Island

Dick "Two Ton" Baker and His Music Makers - I'm a Lonely Little Petunia in an Onion Patch Lotte Lenya - Lonely House Space - Begin Again Husker Du - Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely

DJ speaks over Malaria! - Einsam

Camille Yarbrough - Ain't It A Lonely Feeling Tres and Kitsy - If You Are Lonely TTL - Bored and Lonely Range Rats - Lonely Melvin Davis - Find a Quiet Place (And Be Lonely) The Carter Family - Happy Or Lonesome Guinea Pig - Lonely Sun Is Dead Mr. Wrong - Isolation Du Plenty

DJ speaks over The Ventures - Lonely Bull

Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers - Lonely Financial Zone Los Saicos - Lonely Star (Estrella solitaria) Merle Haggard - Why Should I Be Lonely? No Entry Band - Cold and Lonely Life Gino Soccio - So Lonely Joe Brown And His Bruvvers - Lonely Circus

DJ speaks over Graf Haufen - Allein

Leonard Cohen - A Bunch of Lonesome Heros The Motels - Only the Lonely Catastrophe Bizarre - Oh Lonesome Me Sham 69 - What About the Lonely?

DJ speaks over Vitamin String Quartet - Cactus

Wipers - The Lonely One Mižerija - Izolacija Lil Louis - Club Lonely Donald Adkins - Lonely Side Walks The Accüsed - Lonely Place Woody Guthrie - Lonesome Day

DJ speaks over Vassar Clements - Lonesome Fiddle Blues

The Louvin Brothers - Weary Lonesome Blues The O'Jays - Lonely Drifter The Lemon Pipers - Lonely Atmosphere Reality - Lonely Shadow Bad Livers - High, Lonesome, Dead and Gone

DJ speaks over Anthony Pasquarosa - On Solitude

Pete Ham - A Lonely Day Wanda Jackson - I'm the Queen of My Lonely Little World Bertha "Chippie" Hill - Lonesome All Alone And Blue Zyfilis - Isolera Tommy Fogerty and the Blue Velvets - Have You Ever Been Lonely Johnny Cash - Port of Lonely Hearts

DJ speaks over The Ventures - The Lonely Sea

Joy Division - Isolation

[whatilistenedtoatwork]

From November 27th to November 30th, 2023

27-11-23

MEGAN HENWOOD “Making Waves”; OLIVIA RODRIGO “Guts”; THE TOADIES “Rubberneck”; THE SURFRAGETTES “Roller Fink”; ELLA FITZGERALD & LOUIS ARMSTRONG “Ella & Louis”; LEONARD NIMOY “Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock’s Music From Outer Space”; NEIL YOUNG “Tonight’s The Night”; TELEVISION “Marquee Moon”; LE TIGRE “Feminist Sweepstakes”; SPINAL TAP “Back From The Dead”; KIRSTY MacCOLL “Tropical Brainstorm”; THE GOODIE MOB “One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show”; ALY BAIN “Aly Bain & Friends”

28-11-23

THE NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND “Will The Circle Be Unbroken”; KISS “Alive!”; TOM WAITS “Blue Valentine”; JANELLE MONAE “The ArchAndroid”; LOS LOBOS “La Pistola Y El Corazon”; SLEATER-KINNEY “The Woods”; SLEEPER “The It Girl”; KATE AND ANNA McGARRIGLE “Pronto Monto”; ELVIS PRESLEY “From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis”; SHADOWY MEN ON A SHADOWY PLANET “Dim The Lights, Chill The Ham”

29-11-23

MILES DAVIS “At Plugged Nickel Chicago, Volume 2”; TOM LEHRER “That Was The Year That Was”; WORLD PARTY “Goodbye Jumbo”; WAS (NOT WAS) “What Up Dog”; EURYTHMICS “Be Yourself Tonight”; SUZANNE VEGA “Days Of Open Hand”; SUPERGRASS “Life On Other Planets”; HERBIE HANCOCK “Empyrean Isles”

30-11-23

THE PAJAMA GAME “Original Cast Recording”; DUKE ELLINGTON “The Blanton-Webster Band”; HERBIE HANCOCK “Mwandishi”; ERIC BOGLE & JOHN MUNRO “When The Wind Blows”; JOAN JETT “Bad Reputation”; BRITNEY SPEARS “Circus”; SPICE GIRLS “Spice”; HOT TUNA “Burgers”; DONNA SUMMER “Four Seasons Of Love”; NED’S ATOMIC DUSTBIN “Bloodbrainvolume”; THE SLITS “Return Of The Giant Slits”; SCOTT BRADLEE’S POSTMODERN JUKEBOX “PMJ & Chill”; VASSAR CLEMENTS “Once In A While”; CEE LO GREEN “The Lady Killer”; ERIC B & RAKIM “Follow The Leader”

[brn1029]

On this day in music…

June 13th

1964 - The Beatles

The Beatles performed another two shows at Centennial Hall, Adelaide, South Australia. For the four shows that The Beatles performed in Adelaide there were 12,000 tickets, for which 50,000 requests had been placed. The two shows on this day were drummer's Jimmy Nicol's last as a "temporary Beatle". Ringo Starr (who had been ill), re-joined The Beatles in Melbourne the next day.

1966 - Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Strangers in the Night’. Composed by Bert Kaempfert with English lyrics by Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder, Sinatra's recording won him the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

1969 - Mick Taylor

The Rolling Stones held a photo call in Hyde Park to introduce new guitarist Mick Taylor. The 20 year-old former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers made his live debut with The Stones the following month at a free concert in Hyde Park, London.

1970 - Grand Funk Railroad

Grand Funk Railroad, supported by Steel Mill, (featuring Bruce Springsteen) appeared at the Ocean Ice Palace in Bricktown, New Jersey, tickets $5.00.

1970 - The Beatles

The Beatles started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'The Long And Winding Road', the group's 20th US No.1. The album 'Let It Be' started a four-week run at No.1 the US album chart on the same day. The 12th and final studio album by The Beatles, was recorded in January 1969, before the recording and release of Abbey Road.

1972 - Clyde McPhatter

Clyde McPhatter, original lead vocalist with The Drifters, died of a heart attack in New York. Joined Billy Ward & the Dominoes in 1950, formed The Drifters in 1953, had several solo hits including 1962 'Lover Please,' was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

1975 - John Lennon

John Lennon made his last ever TV appearance when he appeared on 'Salute To Sir Lew Grade', performing 'Slippin And Slidin', and 'Imagine'. The performance was recorded at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on April 18, 1975.

1975 - Peter Frampton

Peter Frampton played the first of two nights at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California. Recordings from these two shows were used as part of his No.1 double album 'Frampton Comes Alive'. It became the best-selling album of 1976, selling over 6 million copies in the US and Frampton Comes Alive! was voted "Album of the year" in the 1976 Rolling Stone readers poll. It stayed on the chart for 97 weeks.

1998 - Dave Matthews

During the Dave Matthews Band set at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in Washington, DC's RFK Stadium, law student Lysa Selfon was struck by lightning. With help from an off duty paramedic, she was revived and eventually made a full recovery. The strike also injured 11 other people in the crowd.

2000 - Elton John

A roadie who worked for The Spice Girls, Oasis, Elton John and Whitney Houston was arrested and charged with smuggling millions of pounds worth of Ecstasy into the UK.

2017 - Anita Pallenberg

Anita Pallenberg, the model and actress best known for her relationships with members of the Rolling Stones, died at the age of 73. Pallenberg was the girlfriend of Brian Jones but left him for fellow Rolling Stone Keith Richards. She was also alleged to have had an affair with Mick Jagger while they were making 1970 film Performance, though she always denied it.

2018 - D.J. Fontana

Legendary Elvis Presley drummer D.J. Fontana died peacefully at his home age 87. Before joining guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black in Presley's backing band the Blue Moon Boys, Dominic Joseph Fontana worked as the house drummer for his hometown of Shreveport's Louisiana Hayride working with the likes of Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Steve Young, Melba Montgomery, Norma Jean, Vassar Clements, Carl Butler and other country artists.

[warpwoof]

Vassar Clements

You know, he came from Florida. He didn't read or write music, but he was influenced by everything he heard and he incorporated this into a very personal and powerful style, which I think any term like `hillbilly jazz' or, you know, any of these general musical terms just don't come up to what he created. They don't indicate the magnificence of what he did.

David Grisman

[dreamsofvinyl]

Old & In The Way - Old & In The Way (1975)

Favorite Track(s): “Wild Horses”

Genre: Bluegrass, Folk, Country

[hiawathab]

“Black Hawthorne” - from “An Americana Christmas” - 1995 - Vassar Clements, Norman Blake and others. 

[krispyweiss]

Neither Old Nor in the Way, Peter Rowan Turns 80

Peter Rowan turns 80 today.

Born July 4, 1942, Rowan declared himself Old & in the Way when he co-founded a band by that name in 1973 alongside Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, David Grisman and Vasser Clements. Their self-titled debut remains one of the best-selling bluegrass albums in history.

This all happened after Rowan served a stint as lead singer and rhythm guitarist for Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys and as he was writing classics like “Panama Red” and “Midnight Moonlight.”

He’s still at it, playing gigs - his shows are always a hoot - and releasing new music. His latest LP, Calling You from My Mountain, was released in June.

People who are that busy are neither old nor in the way, even if they’ve 80 and have been Old & in the Way for damn near 50 years.

7/4/22

[gratefulfrog]

[1264doghouse]

Vassar Clements, Jerry Garcia, Rob Stoner, Frank Wakefield & John Herald, Golden Gate Country and Bluegrass Festival 1974.

[breezingby]

Old & In the Way ~ Hobo Song

Too late to feel sorrow Too late to feel pain He's just an Old Hobo Lost out in the rain

He'll never cause trouble So don't have no fear He's just an Old Hobo And he'll soon be far away from here...

He used to be a Ramblin' man Just like you... Until he sank so low There was nothing no one could do

He used to be a Gamblin' man Just like you... Until he sank so low There was nothing no one could do

~ ♫♪♫ ~

Oh, don't make him ask you Don't make him beg He's was a war hero That's how he lost his leg

He killed thirty Injuns' With one cannonball Now he's just an old hobo Asleep out in the hall

He used to be a Ramblin' man Just like you... Until he sank so low There was nothing no one could do

He used to be a Gamblin' man Just like you... Until he sank so low There was nothing no one could do

~ ♫♪♫ ~

He's got a wife and five children Who live out in L.A. How they miss their dear daddy Who's gone so far away

They still have his picture It's hung up on the wall Now he's just an old hobo Asleep out in the hall

He used to be a Ramblin' man Just like you... Until he sank so low There was nothing no one could do

He used to be a Gamblin' man Just like you... Until he sank so low There was nothing no one could do

He used to be a Gamblin' man Just like you... Until he sank so low There was nothing no one could do