Viking Twang 20, Dec. 21, 2014: Our First Christmas show, plus bluegrass from Newport, and folky country women

Viking Twang Episode 20, December 21, 2014

Good morning, welcome to Viking Twang. My name is Randy Black, happy to be here for our 20th episode. I’m not usually big on Christmas music, but it is the season, so what the heck. Maybe we can put a little twist on the spirit of the season. In our second set, I’ll play some bluegrass music from the Newport Folk Festival in the early 60s, and the final set a little more electricity than the rest of the show. Let’s see what’s going on down on Del McCoury’s mountain.

1 – ‘Zat You, Santa Claus? Louis Armstrong and the Commodores; his big band, recorded
October, 1953.
2 – Turkey Red, W.C. Beck & the Portland Country Underground.
3 – Bluegrass Christmas, The McCoury Brothers; with Del, Doc Watson, Mac Wiseman and Sonny and Bobby Osborne, from a 2004 album, Christmas on the Mountain. Written by Ronnie McCoury.
4 – At the Christmas Ball, Geoff Muldaur and his daughter Clare; from the 2000 album Password, with Richard Greene and Fritz Richmond backing them up.
5 – Papa Ain’t No Santa Claus (Mama Ain’t No Christmas Tree), Butterbean and Susie; the husband-and-wife vaudeville team Jodie and Susie Edwards, from 1930.
6 — The Girl With the Holiday Smile, Lyle Lovett; from his 2012 album, Release Me.
7 – Bah Humbug, Tim O’Brien; also from the Christmas on the Mountain album.
8 – Santa Claus is Coming To Town; Joseph Spence. The great Bahamian singer from a 1972 Rounder Records album called Living on the Hallelujah Side.
9 – Grateful for Christmas, Hayes Carll; from his 2011 album KMAG Yoyo.

The heyday of folk music in the late 50s and early 60s also brought a lot of interest to some of the great early bluegrass musicians. The next set is bluegrass performances from the Newport Folk Festival in the early 60s. We’ll start with some Jim & Jessie.

10 – Sweet Little Miss Blue Eyes, Jim & Jesse with the Virginia Boys; from 1966.
11 – Rabbit Soup, Don Stover; the New England banjo player who was with the Lilly Brothers for years; also from 1965.
12 – I’ll Live On; The Lilly Brothers with Don Stover and Tex Logan, from 1966.
13 – Walking In My Sleep, Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard; with a young David Grisman on mandolin, from 1966.

Break
14 – The River’s Gonna Run, Buddy & Julie Miller; from 2000; Buddy was Emmylou Harris’ longtime band leader; his wife Julie wrote this song.
15 – Burn Down This Town; Rosanne Cash. From her 2006 album, Black Cadillac.
16 – Austin Lovers and Country Songs, Dryer; Rachel Browning and Scott Fralick, a local band from 2000.
17 – Crocodile Man; Tracy Grammar. From Pickathon 2005, written by Tracy and the late Dave Carter.
18 – Silent Night; Michael Cleveland & the All Stars. From the Arcadia Fire Hall in Maryland, Dec. 4, 2000.
19 – Twang Theme; the Countrypolitans.

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