The Glory-Beaming Banjo

Three "Vinyl Hunter" posts in a row, are you tired of these yet? I hope not. I've had a good stretch of picking up some excellent old-time albums on vinyl, and I'm expecting another one soon. For today, however, I received this package from a certain old-time master that contained the 1986 album by Robert Sykes and the Surry County Boys, Black-Eyed Susan .  Released on Heritage Records, the record was still in the shrink wrap. Despite a bit of wear on the corners, the vinyl is in pristine condition. I always find it exciting to break the seal on records that have been sitting around unopened for years. As I mentioned above, this record came from a a well-known old-time musician who has been mentioned on this blog before . I was watching a live broadcast of Paul Brown and Terri McMurray on Facebook  awhile back, and he mentioned having copies of the Sykes LP available. So, after the broadcast, I messaged him and inquired how I could get one. A quick PayPal trans...

For whatever reason I forgot to write about one of my vinyl purchases earlier this year. As you know, I've been working on building my collection of old-time music on LP. Back in July, I learned that Mike Seeger's record collection was being auctioned off on eBay. As you can imagine, there were quite a few albums that I coveted, including a copy of Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music . However, the prices on some of the more collectible items skyrocketed beyond my checking account. But there was one record that I kept a close eye on.  The album I managed to buy was Visits ,  a compilation put together by Ray Alden and released on Heritage Records in 1982. The double album is split between "The Old Timers" and "The Young Musicians." It features the likes of J.P. Fraley, Fred Cockerham, Doc Roberts, Esker Hutchins, Mose Coffman, Burl Hammons, Buddy Thomas, Melvin Wine and Ward Jarvis.  Alden was the founder of the Field Recorders...

T oday I received a new addition to my old-time vinyl collection: The Young Fogies . This double LP compilation was produced by Ray Alden and released in 1985 on Heritage Records , based in Galax, Virginia. The album features 41 tracks by the top old-time groups performing at the time, from veterans like the New Lost City Ramblers and Highwoods String Band to up-and-comers such as the Indian Creek Delta Boys and the Horse Flies. You have household names (well, in old-time households, at least) such as Art Rosenbaum, Brad Leftwich, Pat Conte, Alan Jabbour, Mac Benford, Bruce Molsky, Doc Watson, Paul Brown, Richie Stearns and so many more. Red Mules and Dan Gellert on one side. Perhaps what excites me most about this compilation is the Ohio connection . Between the first three sides, there are four Ohio-based performers. They are: The Hotmud Family playing "Take Me Back to My Old North Carolina Home," featuring Rick Good on banjo and vocals.  The Rhythm Gorillas pl...