Sugar Beets, Yodeling Women, and a Chocolate Drop Comes to Portland

Viking Twang Episode 62, October 27, 2015

Good morning, welcome to Viking Twang Episode 62. My name is Randy Black, happy to be here on KPSU, your college radio station. Hope you’re making it through midterms; I have one right after the show. Not sure if I’m studied up enough for it.

I have three great sets for you today. In the last set we’ll feature Dom Flemons, from the Carolina Chocolate Drops. He’ll be in town this weekend for several events put on by Bubbaville, the organization that promotes the Portland Old Time Gathering.

The second set will feature a group of great women yodelers, because nothing prepares you for a midterm like some wonderful yodeling.

The great Eugene sort-of-hippie band the Sugar Beets just played a three-city Silver Anniversary Tour. They’ve been one of my favorite bands for at least 15 years. They have a new live album coming out, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. So today we’re going to play a set from their 1998 album, Once Upon a Time, recorded at the Woodsmen of the World Union Hall in Eugene. The band is: Megan and Brianna Bassett on vocals, though Halie Loren has since replaced Brianna, who left for nursing school; Marty Chilla on guitar, Matt Keenan on bass, Scotty Perey on keyboards, Eric Peterson on percussion, John Sheron writing songs, Tanya Voxman on fiddle, and Jeremy Wegner on mandolin and occasionally sitar.

1 – Turkey Red; W.C. Beck & the Portland Country Underground.
2 – Higher; written by Megan Bassett.
3 – The Green Alligator; written by John Sheron and sung by Scotty Perey.
4 – Make Ends Meet; also by John Sheron.
5 – You Are the Shine; Marty Chilla wrote that one.

Second Set:
When I was researching Episode 55, all about Jimmie Rodgers, I found an album called American Yodeling, which has no less than 99 great classic yodeling performances from over the years. We always can use some yodeling on the Twang, so here are performances by some of the great women yodelers, starting out with the Cowboy’s Sweetheart – but not the version you normally hear:

6 – I Want To Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart; Rosalie Allen. The great country-western disc jockey in
New York City in the 1940s and 1950s; she recorded this in 1946.
7 – Lovesick Blues; Lily Connors. An Australian singer, she recorded this in 1950.
8 – The Arizona Yodeler, DeZurik Sisters. Mary Jane and Carolyn were from Minnesota. From
1938.
9 – I’m Gonna Straddle My Saddle, Polly Jenkins with Texas Rose and Uncle Dan Wilcox; from
1948.
10 – Will There Be Any Yodelers In Heaven? The Girls of the Golden West. The girls are sisters
Millie and Dollie Good from Texas, recorded in October, 1934.

Dom Flemons, a founding member of the great string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, is coming to town this weekend for a residency sponsored by Bubbaville, the organization that puts on the Portland Old Time Gathering. There’s a number of events this weekend, starting with a bones workshop Saturday afternoon, and including a showing of the movie The Winding Stream on Sunday at the Hollywood Theater, and a concert featuring our favorite, Squirrel Butter, on Tuesday at Secret Society. In the meantime are other workshops, appearances and even potlucks. Go to the Bubbaville website or the Viking Twang Facebook page for more details. We also say a fond farewell to the David Rawlings Machine, after their wonderful show at the Crystal Ballroom last Thursday. We’ll start with a Chocolate Drops song:

11 – Your Baby Ain’t Sweet Like Mine; Carolina Chocolate Drops, from their 2010 album,
Genuine Negro Jig.
12 – But They Got It Fixed Right On; a traditional song from his 2014 solo album, Prospect Hill.
13 – Too Long I’ve Been Gone
14 – Grotto Beat
15 – Method Acting/Cortez The Killer; The David Rawlings Machine, from their 2009 album,
Friend of a Friend.
16 — Twang Theme; Countrypolitans

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