Ghost Town Hoedown mix

 

Volume I (for I maintain the hubris to believe there will be at least one subsequent volume) of Ghost Town Hoedown, features about an hour's worth of country and western music. It includes other tangentially related tunes that could be sub-classified into other genres, but, for the most part, work with the theme.

This compilation was sourced entirely from 45s and 78s in my personal collection, and as such, may not always present the greatest audio quality. I think the George Morgan track is the worst of the bunch, but what can you expect from a 78 with more scuffs than a gym floor. 

Below are the songs in the order they are presented in the program, with what information I have to include with each track. Thanks for listening and enjoy!

1. Tommy Tucker "Miller's Cave"

Released in 1960, this track is the b-side to a song titled "The Stranger", which would have worked well for this compilation as well. I particularly enjoy the harmonizing provided by the background singers. This song is a typical example of the murder ballads popular in folk, blues and hillbilly music. Tucker was born in Memphis and apparently added the Ray to his name to avoid confusion with the Ohio-born R&B singer of the same name who recorded "Hi-Heel Sneakers" in 1964.

2. Mitchell Torok - "El Tigre"

Please pardon the poorly cropped and oddly sized image above. Mitchell Torok has recorded everything from pop to country and western to children's music. This is another tune about gunning down someone who took the narrator's woman from him, albeit in a somewhat upbeat, Spanish-flavored folk tune. Providing a much appreciated twist on the I-gotta-bullet-for-someone-what-done-wronged-me standard, listeners can hopefully forgive Torok's pronunciation of El Tigre as "El tie-gray" in favor of the more realistic outcome of the hotheaded narrator's actions. This single was released in 1961.

3. Bonnie Lou - "Tennessee Wig Walk" 

If there's one thing I'm not proud of in regards to the end product of this mix, it's the lack in diversity of the voices included. Sure, the actual sounds range from blues to square dance to instrumental rock 'n' roll to western swing, but with a predominantly male roster. Shamefully, there are only two women in this inaugural volume; an oversight that I hopefully will be able to remedy by the time a second volume drops. 

This recording of "Tennessee Wig Walk" comes from a 78 rpm ten-inch released in 1953. It's definitely more pop flavored than many of the other songs in the mix, but that shouldn't be held against it. As far as I'm concerned, "pop" isn't a four letter word, and definitely not always a pejorative when it comes to it being added as a suffix or prefix to various musical genres. Country and western purists might find themselves immediately turned off at something like this, the same way a self-described punk rocker might look down their nose at a Redd Kross album, but this is a nugget of immensely enjoyable music; handclaps and all. Bonnie Lou was an Illinois-born banjo picker, singer and performer who cut a number of amazing records. I have some other, more rock 'n' roll flavored singles of hers that I've played on past episodes of In The Shadow Of The Sugarloaf, but didn't quite fit the bill here. The fact that she's not as revered or as well known as Dolly Parton or Patsy Cline is a shame.

4. Ruffnecks - "Tally Ho"

I know absolutely nothing about the Ruffnecks, other than they appear to have released this sole 45 on Austin, TX-based Le Cam Records in 1962. This track is the b-side, the a-side featuring a similar–and equally great!–twangy, Ventures-esque rockabilly instrumental titled "Black Gold". I particularly enjoy the drum stick imitation of horse hooves on this one!

5. Mr. Undertaker - "Here Lies My Love"

Another mournful tune about a lost love, specifically as a result of jealousy. "Hate was the pallbearer, and on its tombstone was written 'Misery'." How evocative is that?! The difference here is this tune is provided not by a country and western singer, but by blues phenomenon Roy Hawkins, using a pseudonym for this 1955 single. Hawkins is the cowriter of a certain little blues tune titled "The Thrill Is Gone", later made famous by B.B. King. He produced a lot of amazing music in the 1940s and 50s, later to be covered by King, James Brown and others. True this might sound more at home with Juke Joint dirges from the 1950s, but thematically it fights in perfectly here.

6. Hollywood Argyles with Gary (Flip) Paxton - "Gun Totin Critter Called Jack"

This tune, and frankly, all tunes like it, balance on the razor edge between fun and obnoxious. Gary Paxton is a white male performer, here performing with the all white male vocal group the Hollywood Argyles, and they are doing their damndest to appropriate the vocal stylings and mannerisms of black groups like The Coasters and The Olympics. The Hollywood Argyles were allegedly a studio group assembled by problematic rock guru Kim Fowley, the aforementioned Paxton, and included surf drummer phenom Sandy Nelson. Here they give us a tale about an angry hombre named Jack, who liked to shoot people in the back (way back in 1882). It's a MAD Magazine send up of western conventions that was released in 1960, the same year as their one charting hit, "Alley Oop" based on the popular comic strip caveman of the same name. The a-side to "Gun Totin Critter Called Jack" is a similarly styled tune called "Bug-Eye" about a creepy Karloff-esque fiend.

7. Leo Diamond with Orchestral Accompaniment - "The Phantom Gaucho" 

Leo Diamond was a popular orchestra leader and harmonica player who released a lot of what is now considered "lounge" or "bachelor pad" music. Fun pop-orchestral compositions that explored various cultural flavors and often with interesting titles. Many of his singles feature an assortment of American Standards and originals with titles that read like the contents list of a pulp adventure magazine from the late 1940s through the 60s, which is when Diamond was at his most popular. This 1954 track has a bit of a rhumba beat to it, albeit with a decidedly western flavor. There's the whistle of the supposedly phantom protagonist(?), the clip-clop of spectral horse hooves, and an upbeat, downright cheery syncopation you can dance to. 

8. Ernest Tubb And His Texas Troubadours - "Till My Getup Has Gotup And Gone"

This is a 1966 Tubb tune revealing his plan to sow his wild oats before he's too old to do so (despite not being written by Tubb himself). While it's difficult to agree with his view on how to treat women, it's delivered with the standard Ernest Tubb country croon that I enjoy, along with a fun-if-not-grammatically-correct title.

9. Faron Young - "Nightmare" 

"Nightmare" is a more rock 'n' roll sounding b-side from a 1963 Mercury single. Young is probably in the top 5 of my personal favorite country music artists, and I think this tune fits the theme of the mix well.

10. The Schooners - "Viddly Biddly Baby" 

Much like the Ruffnecks, I know nothing about The Schooners beyond the fact that they apparently existed long enough to cut this one 45 for Ember records in 1958. The a-side, featured here, is a vocal number, but just barely. It has a tinkling rock 'n' roll piano and a steady drum and bass rhythm fleshed out with jangly rockabilly guitars, and the vocal component is essentially just the repetition of the title over and over again with some "bop bop bop" chorused in the background. If you're going to cut just one single, this is the way to do it. The b-side is an amazing instrumental called "Schooner Blues" that will most definitely make its way onto other shows/mixes.

11. Rex Allen And The Anita Kerr Singers - "The Albino (Pink-Eyed) Stallion"

Superstar Rex Allen, native Arizonan who went on to a hit singing career and the narration voice of many Disney nature programs, may be the marquee attraction here, but really the wordless vocals of the always great Anita Kerr Singers are what make the song what it is. This one essentially has Rex singing a folky narration of a tale about the devil's own steed, roaming the Arizona landscape. Apparently Rex wants to mount this demon horse! Crazy stuff! The b-side is a barely tolerable spoken word bit about how much his children love Jesus. 

12. Cousin Fuzzy And His Cousins - "Ghost Canyon"

Not a country group at all, but rather a polka group from Green Bay, WI! Most of Cousin Fuzzy's output appears to be standard polkas and waltzes, released locally on the Polkaland Record label throughout the 1950s and 60s, but this b-side (no clear date associated with the release per Discogs) is decidedly neither a waltz or a polka at all. There must've been something in the schnitzel that caused Cousin Fuzzy and His Cousins to cut this jangly, country-flavored spectral ditty. Whatever the impetus, I'm glad they did. Instrumental with some wordless vocals haunting the strum and stomp! What better way to follow up a tune about a ghostly galloper!

13. Jenks (Tex) Carman - "Hillbilly Hula" 

I guess this was Jenks's tribute to the Isles. The a-side of a 1953 single that features plenty of steel string stretching, though not much to hula to.

14. Joe Maphis And His Chuckwagon Team - "We'll Build A Bungalow"

There's not much I can say about this instrumental square dance tune. That almighty information database known as The Internet can't even hep me to when it was released, though if I had to guess I'd wager it was in the early-to-mid 1950s. I don't even know if either Maphis, or anyone in His Chuckwagon Team, for that matter, ever built or owned a bungalow! But look at that label and sleeve design!

15. Hank Thompson And His Brazos Valley Boys - "Smoky The Bar"

Thompson is probably my favorite country musician. His inclusion here is with a 1968 single that plays off of the name of a popular DNR created cartoon character, but rather than singing about properly dousing campfires, he croons about dimly lit barrooms and the denizens who populate such places. From fire safety to sociology, whatta gas! 

16. Harlow Wilcox And The Oakies - "Moose Trot"

This 1969 instrumental on the dubiously named Plantation Records label, is the most recent inclusion in the mix. My understanding is Wilcox was a studio musician who released some singles in the 60s and a couple of albums in the early 1970s with names that read like Little Golden Books titles, such as "Cripple Cricket And Other Country Critters" and "Groovy Grubworm And Other Golden Guitar Greats". This is the b-side to the track "Groovy Grubworm". It seems like it sure could have been featured on one of those Country Funk compilations that Light In The Attic put out a few years back.

17. Jan Howard - "The One You Slip Around With"

This 1959 b-side (there sure are a lot of b-sides in this thing) has Ms. Howard wishing she was the one her man was cheating with, rather than the one sitting at home while he's out running around. 

18. The Texans - "Rubber Dolly"

Here we have an instrumental clearly labeled "Hoedown". The Texans appear to be an instrumental hoedown band that released singles on the Blue Star square dance label out of Houston, TX, in the 1950s. What "Rubber Dolly" refers to, I couldn't say.

19. Grandpa Jones And His Grandchildren - "Mountain Dew"

What would a hillbilly hoedown be without a reference to still-made likker? Not authentico, that's what. Here's the b-side from a 1958 Decca single about jess that. Don't you mention no revenuers! 

20. Cris Kevin And The Comics - "Have Gun Will Travel" 

This decidedly rock 'n' roll number is the 1959 a-side to the popular "Haunted House" track that made one of the Buffalo Bop halloween compilations, and appears on the infinite cascade of 1950s and 60s Cramps-inspired monster mash mp3 mixes made by bedroom bloggers each October. This track isn't about ghosties and goblins, but a gunfighter "with a real cool racket" involving cowboy boots and a buckskin jacket. Comic book shenanigans (as indicated by the name of the backing band) about wagon holdups and surly hombres.

21. Sons Of The Pioneers - "The Graveyard Filler Of The West"

This tune proves that in the old days, country music had a sense of humor and gave you material to laugh at, as opposed to modern country music (let's say since the mid-to-late Seventies) which is mainly just laughable and a joke, without being in on it. Soapbox proselytizing aside, this song comes from a 1955 78 rpm that's been scratched to high hell, but still sounds ok. Another demon horse, but different than the one that Mr. Allen wanted to catch.

22. George Morgan - "Tennessee Hillbilly Ghost"

This song has been covered by a lot of people, but this is the version I have. There's a fair amount of surface noise to this 78, released in 1951, but I thought it a fun inclusion regardless. Sounds like a story Andy Taylor might tell Opie around a campfire; though you know it wouldn't really scare anyone but Barney. The sleeve that this record was originally sold in, is in tatters, but I can't throw it away with such great line art on it!

23. Lonzo And Oscar - "Give Me An R C Cola And A Moon Pie (And Play 'Maple On The Hill')"

This is just one early country song about the majestic Moon Pie snack. Comic country duo Lonzo and Oscar cut this 78 in 1951. I highly recommend you enjoy with a Moon Pie of your own!

24. Hank Locklin And The Rocky Mountain Boys - "Pinball Millionaire"

Despite everything we've been through in the last 23 tracks, this might be the weirdest, which is a good place to leave it. Hank Locklin looks as much like a stereotypical used car salesman as anyone who has ever existed. Don't believe me? Look it up. I've done my research, now you do yours! The idea that anyone could become a millionaire PLAYING pinball–not selling or licensing machines, not developing games for manufacturers, but PLAYING it–boggles my mind. Regardless, it's a fun tune which is written around one of my other interests, which happens to be pinball! I scored my copy of this neat, 1950 78 rpm 10" shellac from local Vintage Music Company in Minneapolis!