Back to the Country - Country Music Doctors

This week I had a lot of fun putting together a 3-hour country music (broadly defined) radio program entirely by musicians with PhDs. It consists of friends, mentors, colleagues, and heroes and some really, really good music! The Back to the Country show originally aired yesterday (1/19/22) on WORT 89.9FM but will be available for the next two weeks on the Audio Archives page (archive.wortfm.org). 

And just in case you heard something you liked and want to dig a little further into an artist or a song, below is a digital bibliography for the show!

Show: Back to the Country - Country Music Doctors

Air Date: 1/19/22

Host: Nate Gibson

Radio Station: WORT 89.9 FM and wortfm.org

Audio Archive: https://archive.wortfm.org/ [episode available through 2/2/22]

Spinitron playlist: https://spinitron.com/WORT/pl/15118893/Back-to-the-Country-Country-Music-Doctors

Music and Artist LINKS

Cliff Murphy - "Another Good Man Gone Bad"

Bio: https://www.arts.gov/about/leadership-staff/clifford-murphy

Music: 

Say Zuzu -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Say_Zuzu

Hog Mawl - https://bit.ly/3rzWMG7

Bay State Lullaby - https://bit.ly/3tHGWw6

Jeff Todd Titon - "Old-Time Fire On the Mountain" 

Bio: https://vivo.brown.edu/display/jtiton

Web: https://sustainablemusic.blogspot.com

Music: Fiddle Tunes for Slack Key Guitar - https://bit.ly/3AeK9V4

David Evans - "Railroad Blues"

Bio: https://www.memphis.edu/music/fac-staff/evans.php

Music: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAC2iDtd4sTXziv20ZjbY_w

Timon Kaple & Dead Columns - "Sugar" [feat Mississppi Bill Peden]

Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timonkaple/

Music: https://soundcloud.com/deadcolumns

Daniel Ellsworth & the Great Lakes - https://bit.ly/3FNvUaJ

Mike Lee & The Double Double Digits - "The Saguaro Speaks"

Web: https://www.tallandsmallphotography.com/

Music: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm1wpmLhyH77HHa8PoxLlgQ

Omnimodern - https://www.youtube.com/user/omnimodern

Carrie Hertz & Thomas Grant Richardson - "You Are Not Alone" 

Web: https://www.carriehertz.com/about

Web: TGR on LOC https://bit.ly/3tHW38Q 

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRGtDJD1vHI

Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/tgrantrichardson

Rich Walter - "Stardust Medley"

Bio: https://mim.org/leadership/richard-d-walter-phd/

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z38i8xSQOqU

Ruth and the Stones - "Upset Apples"

Bio: https://bit.ly/3FJKSPl 

Web: http://www.kellybosworth.com/ruth-the-stones

Music: https://bit.ly/3IjfmJp

Note: Big congrats to Jennie Williams who was just formally introduced as the new State Folklorist of West Virginia!]

Jon Kay - "October Dulcimer" 

Bio: https://traditionalarts.indiana.edu/About/Staff%20Page%20Content/Jon%20Kay.html

Web: https://www.youtube.com/user/folktraditions/videos

Music: https://bit.ly/3GLLyEX

Sarah Dees [cello and vocals w/ Mary Okie] - "Sister Witch"

Bio: https://www.philrs.iastate.edu/directory/sarah-dees/ 

Music: https://maryokie.bandcamp.com/album/verily

Kysona Armstrong [w/ Christina Harrison] - "Riverside"

Web: www.kyshona.com 

Music: https://kyshona.bandcamp.com

And this!: https://www.facebook.com/kyshona/videos/1706068926106634/

Jess Waggoner - "Diners and Queer Bars" 

Bio: https://gws.wisc.edu/staff/waggoner-jess/

Music: https://queermadisonmixtape.bandcamp.com/track/diners-and-queer-bars

Jim James and the Damn Shames - "Fast Freightrain"

Bio: https://www.irp.wisc.edu/staff/spartz-james-t/

Music: https://www.facebook.com/damnshames

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXuIcgnJKhZQMvGPg4XbEMg

Charles Hughes - "Miss Mollys’ Reel"

Bio: https://www.rhodes.edu/bio/charles-hughes

Kori Graves and Blixie - "Ancisters" 

Bio: https://www.albany.edu/history/faculty/kori-graves

Music: https://myspace.com/blixiemusic/music/songs

Earl Speilman and the Bluegrass Hoppers - "Bluegrass Breakdown"

Web: https://www.spielmanlegal.com/ 

Music: https://bit.ly/3tFKfnm

Rod Moag - "Fool Over You"

Bio: https://sites.utexas.edu/malayalam/biography-rodney-moag/

Web: http://www.rodmoag.com/

Music: http://www.rodmoag.com/discography.html

Jim Leary [songwriter] & Emil - "River Road Friday"

Bio: https://gns.wisc.edu/person/james-p-leary/

Music [Emil]: https://bit.ly/3qHKa0v

Phil Nusbaum - "The Dark Before the Storm"

Web: http://philnusbaum.com/

Music: https://www.facebook.com/Phil-Nusbaum-Music-291040003443/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs297_amDmh9tO03kEFYgFQ

LeRoy Larson - "Hoe-Down Medley"

Bio: https://folklife.wisc.edu/leroy-larson/

Music: https://www.library.wisc.edu/music/2021/01/11/remembering-leroy-larson/

Bill + Bobbie Malone - "Gathering Shells from the Seashore"

Bio [Bill]: https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/country-music/bill-c-malone-biography/

Bio [Bobbie]: https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS3652

Web: https://www.facebook.com/Bill-C-Malone-239745532725337/

Music: http://www.rodmoag.com/discography.html

Lee Bidgood - "Bluegrass Tennessee"

Bio: https://www.etsu.edu/cas/das/bluegrass/facstaff/leebidgood.php

Web: https://leebidgood.net/home

Music and Film: http://www.banjoromantika.com/about-the-film.html

Holly Riley in The Adventures of Annabelle Lyn - "If Luck Be Your Lady (Live)"

Bio: http://dhc.umt.edu/about/staff/default.php?ID=7130

Web: https://www.hollyrileymusic.com/
Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV-1CsL8mLw

And also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS9K_BJGFsM

Greg Reish - "She Belongs To Me"

Bio: https://www.mtsu.edu/faculty/gregory-reish

Web: https://www.springfedrecords.com/whoweare

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h_5-26bjPE 

And https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ8tX7GJ5IJU7tKpcNRPFNw

Nadine Hubbs - "Queer Jolene"

Bio: https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/nhubbs/

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MQLx_AVjuU

Travis Stimeling & Chris Haddox - "The Line" 

Bio: https://www.music.wvu.edu/faculty/travis-stimeling

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7_wUzCkgEo

Note: Many congrats to Travis on his recent 2021 Belmont Book Award [Country Music Book of the Year] for Nashville Cats: Record Production in Music City [Oxford University Press]!

The Jeremiahs [feat Chris Wilson] - "Don’t Know That For Sure"

Mark Dillon - "Lost Highway"

Bio: http://www.avidblogs.com/mark-dillon-pro-tools/

Web: https://markdillonmusic.com/

Music: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe2Yz-LurcQcXG3Z7ObvT9Q

Jim Clark - "Dark Hollow"

Bio: www.barton.edu/tag/dr-james-a-clark-professor-emeritus-of-english-at-barton-college

Music and Poetry: https://bit.ly/3AimJhI

Neil Rosenberg - "Foggy Flats Blues"

Bio: https://www.mun.ca/folklore/people/dr-neil-rosenberg/

Web: https://www.bluegrasshall.org/inductees/neil-vandraegen-rosenberg/

Music: Homegas w/ Peter Aceves Narváez and Richard Blaustein https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-midSuSpHm0

And Crooked Stovepipe w/ Ted Rowe: https://bit.ly/3fHilPA

Tom Adler - "Cat’s Eye / Prairie Dog Town" 

Bio: https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p078101

Web: https://www.mandolincafe.com/news/publish/mandolins_001347.shtml

Music: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBfCbdhSTYLbinl0jlgAp_A

East Texas String Ensemble [Stan Alexander, Ab Abernathy, Tom Nall, and Charles Gardner] - "Remember Me"

Web: https://www.discogs.com/artist/4918905-The-East-Texas-String-Ensemble

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3IGiNmG8wM

Pete “Dr Banjo” Wernick - "Beatin’ My Time"

Web: https://drbanjo.com/

Music: https://www.youtube.com/user/PeteWernick

Aaron A. Fox - "Live Forever"

Bio: https://music.columbia.edu/bios/aaron-a-fox

Music: https://www.youtube.com/user/EcoMusicology

Lucy Kaplanski - "Return of the Grievous Angels" 

Web: https://lucykaplansky.com/

Music: https://lucykaplansky.com/videos

Kristina Jacobsen - "Gone Gone Gone"

Bio: https://music.unm.edu/faculty/kristina-m-jacobsen/

Web: http://kristina-jacobsen.com/

Music: https://soundcloud.com/kristinajacobsenmusic

Craig Morrison and his Bluegrass Buddies - "Your Old Standby"

Web: https://www.craigmorrison.com/

Tom & Ngaire Waeltz - "Little Miss Lilliana"

Web: https://www.sharecare.com/doctor/thomas-waeltz-xymtf42

The Happy Trailsters [feat Jocelyn Neal] - "Happy Trails" (edited by Carl Eddy)

Bio [Jocelyn Neal]: https://music.unc.edu/people/musicfaculty/jocelyn-neal/

Web [ICMC]: https://www.internationalcountrymusic.org/

Music [Carl Eddy]: https://www.reverbnation.com/musician/carleddy4

BONUS WEB CONTENT:

Craig Maki and the Country Music Doctors [Nate Gibson, Greg Reish, and Lee Bidgood] - Slow Down [Studio B Recording]

Web [Craig Maki]: http://www.jumpingfrom6to6.com/itv_bones_maki.htm

Web [Nate Gibson]: nathandgibson.com

Music: https://bit.ly/3qHG9Jx

Anti-Education References in Introduction:

Aaron Tippin - “Workin’ Man’s PhD” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t7ECnE43QE

Josh Martin - “Country Boy PhD” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdY_kcG90hc

Alabama Big Earl - “PhD in Skanky” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYZgCUOGv-A

Roland Whitt - “PhD in Country” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV_2wCI3r2I

Kenny Chesney - “Rich and Miserable” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCdJyZUKJyM

Harlan Howard - “Mister Professor” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGXYh_ZEq8w

Country Music Rookie Cards on Back to the Country

When I was a kid I was obsessed with collecting baseball cards. I was constantly re-sorting and cataloging my collection, reading and memorizing the statistics on the cards, and ambitiously hunting for my favorite players' Rookie Cards.

Fast forward many years and I'm pretty much doing the exact same thing, except that these days I collect country music records instead of baseball cards. I'm still constantly re-sorting and cataloging my collection, still memorizing all the statistics on the labels and in the deadwax, and I'm also always hunting for my favorite artists' Rookie Cards, or debut recordings.

Over the past 20 or so years I've found quite a few of them and tomorrow morning (11/10/2021) from 9-noon (CST) I'll be playing my very favorite Country Music Rookie Cards for ya on Back to the Country, WORT 89.9 FM (streaming via wortfm.org or via the WORT app). Hope you can join me!

Swede Home Chicago, The Wallin's Svenska Records Story, 1923-27 Event on Sunday 11/7

Just a short while ago Archeophone Records released an amazing 2xCD set documenting the history of Chicago-based Wallin's Svenska Records and the early musical contributions of Swedish immigrants in the US: Swede Home Chicago, the Wallin's Svenska Records Story, 1923-27. I played a small role in the project by digitizing about half of the 28 known 78 rpm discs as well as digging out some of the rare discs and sleeves from the Mills Music Library and the Swedish American Museum in Chicago.

Jim Leary wrote and annotated the beautiful 76-page booklet and Marcus Cederström did some stellar transcription and translation work along with adding additional notes. Rich Martin did the audio restoration and remastering while Rich and Meagan Hennessey did some breathtaking design and photo restoration It's an awesome project and this Sunday at noon (cst), Jim and Marcus will be talking about the label, the project, and sharing some of the rare tunes and images. The online event is free and you can register here: bit.ly/swedehome. Participants will receive the Zoom link ahead of the event.

I'm really looking forward to it and hope to see some of you there!

The Starday Extended-Play (EP) Series on Back to the Country

Tomorrow (10/13) I'll be hosting Back to the Country again on WORT 89.9 FM from 9am to noon and the theme this week will be the elusive and fantastic Starday Extended-Play (EP) Series.

Back when I was writing The Starday Story, I included a Record Listing Supplement in the back of the book that included all of the Starday releases that I could verify. Unfortunately, by the time of publication, I could only verify about 1/4 of the EPs. Some of them are just impossibly rare! Rather than include a mostly blank listing, I decided not to include it in the book.

Fast forward 10 years and I've finally tracked down all but 5 of the 140+ Starday EPs. They include some of the best bluegrass gospel recordings Starday ever issued by John Reedy, Jimmie Williams and Red Ellis, Don & Earl, Charlie Moore, Vern & Ray, Hoyt Scoggins, Jim & Jesse, and more. To celebrate, I've put together a complete Starday EP Record Listing as I would have liked to include in the book and I've planned a 3-hour program to feature the very best of the Starday EP Series.

To view and/or download the Starday EP Series PDF, go here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jqNwwzxjfoT3C1MjgFpBtcBvsaDtGLUG/view?usp=sharing and to listen to the show tomorrow morning, tune in to 89.9 FM or stream it via www.wortfm.org.

RIP Betty Amos

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that my friend Betty Amos passed away yesterday morning. Betty was an accomplished singer, hit songwriter, and just the second woman recorded playing three-finger Scruggs-style banjo. She was a member of the Carlisles in the early '50s and sang on many of their hit records like "Knot Hole," "Iz Zat You Myrtle?," "Rattlesnake Daddy" and others. She was a solo star on the Louisiana Hayride in the mid '50s and made it very clear to me that Elvis Presley was a guest on HER segment of the Hayride and not the other way around. In the early '60s she formed a trio with her sister Jean and best friend Judy Lee (and sometimes a quartet with Gloria Belle) and recorded several incredible bluegrass and fuzz-country sides for Starday Records.

I first interviewed Betty and Judy and Jean back in 2005 when I was researching The Starday Story and I met up with them every year since to pick and sing and catch up on our lives. Betty was always hilarious, always immensely talented, always willing to pick and sing a few tunes, and always interested in my life and supportive of my projects.

A few years back it was a lifetime highlight when I got to sing alongside her and Judy and Jean for the Nate Gibson & the Stars of Starday project (Bear Family Records). We sang two of my favorite Betty Amos originals: "Eighteen Wheels A Rolling" and "Second Fiddle (To An Old Guitar)." I'm so grateful we got to take our private pickin' parties into the studio and I send my eternal thanks to Kenny Vaughan, Chris Scruggs, Dave Roe, and Pete Finney for helping to make it happen.

I will greatly miss Betty pretend strangling me, yodeling up a storm, harmonizing on our favorite gospel tunes, making her sister Jean drive over to Judy Lee's place to sing harmony with us (because we need the full trio!), and generally telling hilarious and amazing stories about learning karate and kicking butt while on tour in the '50s and '60s, surviving plane crashes in Alaska, touring with the Carlisles, Faron Young, Johnny Horton, and others, signing on with the Wheeling Jamboree, and playing just about every instrument with strings on it.

My many thanks (and condolences) to her best friend and manager Judy Lee for the heads up and for so many years of promoting Betty. I'm forever grateful for Betty's music and friendship and wish her unending peace and country music serenades.

A Country Music EVENT on WORT 89.9 FM!

Tomorrow morning is the 2nd Wednesday of the month which means I’ll be back on WORT hosting Back to the Country from 9-noon CST. This week I’ll be taking an in-depth look into one of my very favorite record labels—EVENT RECORDS from Westbrook, ME. Operating from 1956-1961, Event captured some of the best bluegrass ever made by The Lilly Bros w/ Don Stover and Charlie Bailey, made some of the earliest (and best) recordings of Dick Curless and 15-year old guitar phenom Lenny Breau, and brilliantly documented a vibrant New England country music scene in the late ‘50s that included artists like Roy Aldridge, Hal Lone Pine, Betty Cody, Slim Coxx, Curtis Johnson, Harold Carter, Smokey Val, Clyde and Willie Joy, Gene Hooper, Jimmy Copeland, and many more.

Bear Family Records has released deep dives into the early music career of Event co-founder Al Hawkes (see: Allerton & Alton—Black, White & Bluegrass) and the extensive Event Records rockabilly catalog (see: That’ll Flat Git It Vol. 20), but Wednesday’s show will focus on the rich country music contributions of Event Records with many released and unreleased gems from the Event vaults.

Al was a dear friend of mine, a pioneer bluegrass musician, an electronics wizard, and a passionate country music collector and archivist. I’m mighty honored to present a show that focuses on his recorded country music and bluegrass legacy and hope y’all can tune in to hear more of my very favorite records! Tune in via 89.9FM in Southern WI or streaming live via wortfm.org