Classic Recording Sessions - On This Date (3/18)

Rose Maddox - 50 years ago
Monday, March 18, 1963 (1:30 pm - 5:30 pm)
Capitol Recording Studios, 1750 N. Vine St., Hollywood, CA
Rose Maddox: vocal • John Calvin "Cal" Maddox: guitar/vocal • Joe Maphis: guitar/fiddle • Roy Nichols: guitar • Ralph Mooney: pedal steel guitar • "Gentleman" Jim Pierce: piano •  Lawrence B. Wooten: bass • Gwynn M. Nichols: drums • Henry K. Vernon: unknown
Producer: Ken Nelson

50 years ago today, Rose Maddox entered the Capitol Studios in Hollywood, California to record these four songs. Rose didn't exactly set the world on fire during her time at Capitol, but she had a run of 14 Billboard charting hits from 1959 to 1964 and made some great sides. Two of those 14 hits were recorded at this session: "Down To The River" and "Somebody Told Somebody" - both #18 hits in 1963. "Down To The River" and "I Don't Hear You" are both Buck Owens compositions. Buck didn't play on these sessions, but they were, of course, duet partners at the time. In fact, Rose's very next session the following day was her second and last duet session with Buck. But we do have Joe Maphis (doubling on fiddle) and Roy Nichols on guitar - two of the west coast's finest players. Roy Nichols had a long history with Rose, playing as a teenager with The Maddox Brothers & Rose as his first professional gig. After subsequent stints with Lefty Frizzell, Cousin Herb Henson, and Wynn Stewart, Roy, as we all know, went on to be longtime lead guitarist with Merle Haggard & The Strangers. It all adds up to some great, spunky recordings by Rose Maddox & company that I find thoroughly enjoyable. I hope you enjoy them too...

As an added bonus, we also have a wonderful live version of "Down To The River" that was recorded at the Bakersfield Civic Auditorium as part of the Cousin Herb Henson Trading Post show. The song was released on an album of the show called Country Music Hootenanny. Rose's latest duet recording with Buck was in the charts at the time this was recorded on September 12, 1963, but this was her most recent solo hit. A couple months after this show, "Somebody Told Somebody" hit the charts. Hope you enjoy this bonus track...

Song Of The Day: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music)

The Blackboard Cafe, Bakersfield, CA

Joe & Rose Lee Maphis • Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs

The Flying Burrito Brothers • Vern Gosdin

From the Flatt & Scruggs 1955 songbook

Today we have five versions of one of the all-time classic honky tonk songs, "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music)." The story goes that Joe Maphis wrote the song one Saturday night (presumably in 1952) while driving home to Los Angeles from Bakersfield after seeing Buck Owens perform at the Blackboard Cafe. The Blackboard had a reputation for being a pretty hardcore honky tonk bar, and the title alone is very evocative of what it must have been like. The song has been covered many times over the years by a variety of artists, but I picked five versions today that I think are significant for various reasons.

The first version is the one recorded by two of the songs three credited composers, husband and wife team Joe and Rose Lee Maphis (Max Fidler, a Los Angeles based accordionist, is the third composer). This version done for OKeh Records in April of 1953 isn't the first recorded as the next version by Flatt & Scruggs was recorded the previous November.

The Flatt & Scruggs version is certainly one of the most well known and was responsible for introducing the song into the bluegrass repertoire where it's been covered many times. I'd love to know how the song got to them.

Margie Collie's version is interesting in that it's almost an answer song as she turns it around to the woman's perspective. Her version made for Decca was also probably recorded before the Maphis's sometime around late March or early April 1953. She's a somewhat limited vocalist, but it's interesting to hear another version from the era when the song was written.

While I love and idolize Gram Parsons, you could argue that in many ways he's a somewhat limited vocalist himself, and his vocal on the Flying Burrito Brothers version of "Dim Lights" is one of his lazier ones. But like many of his better vocal performances, that tortured vulnerability still comes through. To be fair, this recording was done as a demo and wasn't originally released in Gram's lifetime. I think a lot of people know the song from the FBB version, particularly those less familiar with traditional country and bluegrass. (Many versions over the years by New Riders of the Purple Sage could also share some of that responsibility - especially for Dead Heads.)

From two somewhat limited vocalists to one of modern country's most gifted, Vern Gosdin. Though the song is seemingly quite well known and has been covered a multitude of times, Gosdin's 1985 version is the only version to chart so far on Billboard's Country charts, and even then only peaking at #20. Also in contrast to the previous FBB demo version which is somewhat sparse and straightforward, Gosdin's version is quite heavily produced - a bit too much for my taste, in fact, but his vocal is outstanding as usual.

As I've mentioned, there are plenty of other versions of this song including ones by Porter Wagoner, Rose Maddox, Earl Scruggs & Tom T. Hall and many others. I hope you like the five I've chosen for today...

As an added bonus, here's a video clip of Joe & Rose Lee Maphis performing the song live on the Los Angeles television show Town Hall Party from 1959. Also featured here on fiddle is the great Gordon Terry.

Joe & Rose Lee Maphis live on Town Hall Party (1959)

Song of the Day: "Just For The Children's Sake"

Miss Bonnie Owens

Tuesday, May 3, 1960 (2:00 pm - 6:00 pm)

Radio Recorders, 7000 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood 38, CA

Bonnie Owens: vocal; Billy Strange: guitar; Ralph Mooney: steel guitar; Gordon Terry: fiddle;

George French, Jr: piano; other personnel unknown.

Producer: Bob Keane

JUST FOR THE CHILDREN'S SAKE (Del-Fi 4142)

Jean Shepard

Thursday, July 14, 1960 (Session #9552, 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm)

Bradley Film & Recording Studio, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville 3, TN

Jean Shepard: vocal; Grady Martin: guitar; Ray Edenton: guitar; Herman Bland: steel guitar;

Lightning Chance: bass; Buddy Harman: drums; Jerry Smith: piano; unknown: fiddle.

Producer: Ken Nelson

FOR THE CHILDREN'S SAKE (Capitol 4425)

Bonnie Owens

Wednesday, August 3, 1966 (Session #14017, 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm)

Capitol Recording Studios, Capitol Tower, 1750 N. Vine St., Hollywood, CA

Bonnie Owens: vocal; probably - Merle Haggard: guitar; Ralph Mooney: steel guitar;

Jerry Ward: bass; other personnel unknown.

Producer: Ken Nelson & Fuzzy Owen

JUST FOR THE CHILDREN'S SAKE (Capitol unissued)

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that the b-side to "Lonely Little World" was another Harlan Howard song called "For The Children's Sake." For today's post, I thought I'd feature that song. We have three versions of it: the Jean Shepard flipside mentioned above, and two Bonnie Owens recordings. The first one is the earliest version I know of from 1960 for Bob Keane's Del-Fi Records, and it's a fabulous example of early Bakersfield, hard driving country. Bonnie re-recorded the song in 1966 after she had signed to Capitol, but this version was not issued at the time. This is another great Harlan Howard tune, and all three versions are outstanding country shuffles, which I really love. Hope you do too...