Happy Birthday America

Today is Independence Day in America. So, in typical American fashion, I thought I'd post some songs of people pounding their chests and bragging to the world about how great it is to live in this country. Not to say that it isn't, but I can't think of too many other countries that have so many songs telling you so. But even if you're not American, you can still appreciate one of our finest truly American art forms, Bluegrass Music. Happy 4th of July! Hope you enjoy the tunes...

Jimmy Martin (pledging allegiance to his Cadillac) • Jim & Jesse • Flatt & Scruggs • Bill Clifton

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)

Classic Recording Sessions - Bluegrass, Fall 1949

The argument over what is the true beginning of rock and roll will forever be debated. It largely depends on what you consider "rock and roll." The case of bluegrass is a little easier. While it's origins and contributers are cause for some minor quibbling among aficionados, it's pretty safe to safe that the musical approach that became known as "bluegrass" began with Bill Monroe's classic Blue Grass Boys line up that included Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, and Chubby Wise. Their influence was enormous. As has been stated by Neil Rosenberg and others, "bluegrass" as a genre (though yet to be known as that for some time) really began when that original musical approach began to be emulated by others, with the Stanley Brothers recording of Monroe's "Molly And Tenbrooks" as the first significant example. Around the same time that the Stanleys made that record, Flatt & Scruggs left Monroe's band to form their own.

And that brings us to today's post. By the fall of 1949, Flatt & Scruggs had been on their own for more than a year-and-a-half and with their own radio show and records on the Mercury label. They were becoming quite successful and significant rivals to Monroe. The Stanley Brothers were gaining in popularity and about to record their second session for Columbia. This was also a point of contention for Monroe as he was also still recording for Columbia and was less than pleased they had signed the Stanleys,who Monroe at the time considered to be stealing from him. Monroe hadn't recorded since his last session with Flatt & Scruggs almost exactly two years previous on October 28, 1947. This would be Monroe's last session with Columbia, as he was to leave for a lifelong deal with Decca shortly after largely because of the signing of the Stanley Brothers. It's also his only session with singer/guitarist Mac Wiseman, who had previously been part of the initial Flatt & Scruggs session in the fall of 1948.

So, if the Flatt & Scruggs-era Blue Grass Boys are the beginning of the style, and the Stanley Brothers Rich-R-Tone recording of "Molly And Tenbrooks" is the beginning of bluegrass as a genre, then certainly these recordings in the fall of 1949 are the dawn of bluegrass emerging by the three original major forces after the settling of the dust of the bluegrass big bang.

Bill Monroe & The Blue Grass Boys

Saturday, October 22, 1949

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

Bill Monroe: vocal, mandolin; Mac Wiseman: vocal, guitar; Rudy Lyle: banjo: Jack Thompson: bass; Chubby Wise: fiddle.

Producer: Art Satherley

The Stanley Brothers & The Clinch Mountain Boys

Sunday, November 20, 1949

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

Carter Stanley: vocal, guitar; Ralph Stanley: vocal, banjo; Darrell “Pee Wee” Lambert: vocal, mandolin;

Ernie Newton: bass; Les Woodie: fiddle

(3:30 pm - 6:00 pm session)

(9:00 pm - 11:00 pm session)

Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs & The Foggy Mountain Boys

Sunday, December 11, 1949

Cincinnati, OH

Lester Flatt: vocal, guitar; Earl Scruggs: vocal, banjo; Benny Sims: fiddle; Curly Seckler: vocal, mandolin; Howard Watts: bass

(Session K 24)

(Session K 25)

Special thanks go to Harlan Taylor for the germ of this idea. Be sure to look for titles in his Warped Records series by each of these artists. Available at all VMIMC blogs in the greater music city area.