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...

Classic Recording Sessions - On This Date (6/13)

Castle Studio, Tulane Hotel

206 8th Ave. North, Nashville 3, TN

Friday, June 13, 1952 - 58 years ago

Hank Williams

Hank Williams: vocal, guitar; Chet Atkins: guitar; Jack Shook: guitar; Don Helms: steel guitar; Charles Wright: bass; Jerry Rivers: fiddle.

(10:00 am - 1:00 pm)

Jim & Jesse McReynolds

Jim McReynolds: vocal, guitar; Jesse McReynolds: vocal, mandolin; Curley Seckler: guitar; Hoke Jenkins: banjo; Bob Moore: bass; Sonny James: fiddle.

(2:00 pm - 5:00 pm) & (7:00 pm - 9:00 pm)

The first of Nashville's recording studios began in 1946 when three of WSM's engineers, Carl Jenkins, George Reynolds, and Aaron Shelton started Castle Recording Studios. Their initial recordings were done in WSM's studios, but by 1947 they had moved their operation to the Tulane Hotel. Today we have three back-to-back sessions recorded at Castle Studios. A morning session with country music legend Hank Williams, and afternoon and evening sessions with up-and-coming bluegrass artists Jim & Jesse McReynolds.

These are two acts in almost opposite phases of their careers. Hank is on top, and has only two sessions after this left for MGM before his passing at the end of the year. This session yields three significant hits for him, including one of his biggest, "Jambalaya." Jim and Jesse McReynolds, on the other hand, are at the very beginning of their recording career. They had previously recorded with Larry Roll as the Virginia Trio for the small Kentucky label in 1951, but these are their first bluegrass recordings as Jim & Jesse & The Virginia Boys. Today they recorded two sessions for Capitol Records. Among the songs they recorded today was the Louvin Brothers composition "Are You Missing Me" which was to became a standard for Jim & Jesse.

It's an interesting opportunity to reconstruct a day at the famous Castle Studios in the early years of the Nashville recording scene. And what an amazing it day it was too! I hope you enjoy these recordings as much as I do...

Classic Recording Sessions - On This Date (6/8)

Carl Smith - 59 years ago

Friday, June 8, 1951 (1:00 pm - 4:00 pm)

Castle Studio, The Tulane Hotel, 206 8th Ave. North, Nashville 3, TN

Carl Smith: vocal, guitar; Grady Martin: guitar; Velma Smith: guitar; Bob Foster: steel guitar; Hal Smith: bass.

Producer: Don Law

Wanda Jackson - 54 years ago

Friday, June 8, 1956 (Session #4414, 11:00 am - 3:30 pm)

Capitol Recording Studio, 1710 North Vine St., Hollywood 28, CA

Wanda Jackson: vocal, guitar; Joe Maphis: guitar; Buck Owens: guitar; Lewis Talley: guitar;

Ralph Mooney: steel guitar; Clarence Dooley: bass; Marion Adams: drums; Jelly Sanders: fiddle.

Producer: Ken Nelson

Today's sessions differ for the sake of comparison from yesterday's in that they're only 5 years apart as opposed to 20. Today's session for Carl Smith finds him as his career is taking off in a big way. His first Billboard hit has just entered the charts this month, and today he's recording what will prove to be his second #1 hit, "(When You Feel Like You're In Love) Don't Just Stand There." Carl's style of country is still very much in vogue and several other '50s post-Hank Williams stars are launching their careers around this time with similar styles as well. The arrangements on these tracks are relatively sparse and straightforward with a small group of Nashville studio players, including the ubiquitous Grady Martin on lead guitar. Again, fairly representative of the style of country being produced in Nashville at the time.

But five years later, the dawn of rock and roll is upon us. And that's where we find Wanda Jackson today. Five years later, and in California. Though Wanda would ultimately have most of her success as a country artist (and today's session is primarily in that vein), she's most lauded for her rockabilly recordings from this era. Even during her prime rockabilly period, Wanda stepped back and forth between country and rockabilly, sometimes even on the same song, a perfect example of which is "I Gotta Know" recorded at today's session, and one of my all-time favorite Wanda Jackson recordings. This session features several of Bakersfield and Hollywood's prime studio players from the era too with Ralph Mooney, the West Coast's premier pedal steel player, and guitartists Joe Maphis and Buck Owens, a full year before his first recordings for Capitol. Also on guitar and from Bakersfield is Lewis Talley who would figure prominently in the career of Merle Haggard, particularly early on.

Not as much has changed between today's two sessions as yesterday's. But the change is worth noting. The impact that Elvis and rock & roll had on country music both in Nashville and on the West Coast was significant. If you listen to previous posts that feature post-rock & roll country recordings like the 1957 Porter Wagoner session from yesterday and the 1960 Lefty Frizzell session from a while back, those help illustrate the point.

Or, just listen and enjoy the music. I hope you do...

Tracks from today's Wanda Jackson session, as well as many of her other prime era recordings, are available on Omnivore Recordings' recent release The Best Of The Classic Capitol Singles.

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...

Song of the Day: "Lonely Little World"

Jean Shepard

Monday, March 21, 1960 (Session #9421 - 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm)

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

Jean Shepard: vocal; Grady Martin: guitar; Ray Edenton: guitar; Walter Haynes: steel guitar;

Junior Huskey: bass; Buddy Harman: drums; Floyd Cramer: piano.

Producer: Ken Nelson

Just a quick and lonely little post today of one of my favorite Jean Shepard records. It's a song written by my favorite country composer, Harlan Howard. The b-side, "For The Children's Sake" (also recorded earlier by Bonnie Owens) was also a Harlan Howard tune. I've always liked Jean's country shuffles like this, and the pedal steel on this track by Walter Haynes is sublime. This record never charted, but I think it should have been a hit. It's a pretty obscure record, but I somehow ended up with two copies of the 45 over the years. Hope you enjoy it too...