The most famous family in country music's history must
be credited to the Carter Family, whose musicianship almost
spans the whole of the 20th century. The original Carter
Family group was formed in 1926, when A.P. (Alvin Pleasant
Delaney) Carter, his wife Sara and Sara's cousin Maybelle
formed a trio, singing and playing mountain music around
their hometown of Maces Spring, Virginia. They recorded
together between 1927 and 1941. In the 1940's the original
trio went into decline and from 1943 Maybelle continued
through the 50's and 60's with the assistance of her three
talented daughters Anita, Helen and June as
Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters. The great respect
and the affect that the Carter Family had on country music
over the decades is best summed up with them being elevated
to the status of "First Family of Country Music".
The release of I Ain't Gonna Work
Tomorrow - Songs Of The Carter Family on King Records finds
12 tracks with various artists who recorded in a bluegrass style on
the King, Starday and Gusto family of labels covering songs
identified to the Carter family. "Wildwood
Flower" is perhaps the most popular of the songs
performed by the Carter Family. Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper open
this collection with a pleasant version of the number underscored by
banjo and resonator guitar replacing Mother Maybelle's autoharp.
The title track "I Ain't Gonna Work
Tomorrow" is a rarer tune from the Carter Family
catalogue that they originally recorded in 1928. The Country
Gentlemen recorded the track on Starday around 1959 and
drive it along at breakneck speed. Various performers recorded
"Charlie & Nellie"
well before the Carters got
hold of and recorded it in 1938. Here Reno & Smiley
offer their 1959 recording, which is rather slow and doesn't
perpetuate a great deal of enthusiasm from a group who were
a leading duo in bluegrass music. Bluegrass balladeer Hylo
Brown included "Lulu Wall"
on his 1962 album Bluegrass Goes To College and gives the
number a lively quality, making it a standout track on this
choice album. Hylo got his nickname from his vibrant vocal
range that allowed him to sing both 'high' and 'low' producing
a sound that was both amazing and unique.
I Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow - Songs Of
The Carter Family is chock full of classic vocal
performances combined with down-to-earth acoustic based
musicianship that is second to none. Bringing this marvellous
collection to its close are
two further striking tracks…the penultimate track being
The Country Gentlemen featuring John Duffey, Charlie Waller
and Pete Kuykendall with "I Never
Will Marry" which they recorded on Starday back
in the 1950's. The final track is said to contain the best-known
melody in country music. It served as the tune to Roy Acuff's
"Great Speckled Bird" and Kitty Wells' "It
Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels". Here we see
Red Allen backed-up by an all-star cast including Frank
Wakefield on mandolin, Don Reno on banjo, Chubby Wise on
fiddle and Roy Husky Jnr on bass for the Carter Family favourite
"I'm Thinking
Tonight Of My Blue Eyes", making this a highly
sort after collection for the bluegrass devotee.
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