Album notes
In a way, this four-disc set of early radio transcriptions functions both as a mini-history of American radio in the '30s, '40s, and early '50s, as well as a crash course in the rise of country music from its Appalachian folk roots through what was then known as hillbilly music to the advent of honky tonk and what could be clearly termed "modern country." Radio in the '30s and '40s was king, dominating American parlors and living rooms the way television would at the close of the 20th century, and for programming flexibility, transcriptions of popular performers playing live were cut to metal discs(later discs were glass-based), then slipped on the air as if the artist was broadcasting live in real time. Thanks to this practice, and the fact that many of these transcription recordings have survived, it is possible to re-create the feel of old-timey radio on collections like this one. The first two discs of Early Country Radio feature the Carter Family in recordings done in the mid-'30s, while disc three includes transcriptions by Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Pardners, Roy Hall & His Blue Ridge Entertainers, and J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers from around the same time period. The final disc leaps into the '40s with sets from Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners (who apparently lost the "d" and gained a "t" by this time), the little-known Cowboy Slim Rinehart, and a transcription done by Hank Williams & the Drifting Cowboys for a 1951 March of Dimes show. As the '50s opened, television quickly replaced radio as the dominant entertainment medium in American homes, although the eventual installation of radios in cars kept that audio format alive, and the rise of modern country and rock & roll is tangibly linked with the ability to drive one's car and have music be just a click away.
Steve Leggett
Track listing
CD1 [55:58]
1. Keep on the Sunny Side-When Our Lord Shall Come Again - The Carter Family 2:37
2. Who's That Knocking - The Carter Family 2:02
3. Old Ladies Home - The Carter Family 1:48
4. One Little Word - The Carter Family 2:04
5. Chinese Breakdown - The Carter Family 1:04
6. I Wouldn't Mind - The Carter Family 1:41
7. The Last Letter - The Carter Family 1:40
8. I Cannot Be Your Sweetheart - The Carter Family 2:10
9. Honey Babe - The Carter Family 0:42
10. I'm Sitting on Top of the World - The Carter Family 1:32
11. Broken Engagement - The Carter Family 2:23
12. There'll Be Joy, Joy, Joy - The Carter Family 1:45
13. Cyclone of Rye Cove - The Carter Family 2:03
14. Why There's a Tear in My Eye - The Carter Family 2:12
15. Goin' Back to Texas - The Carter Family 1:57
16. Diamonds in the Rough - The Carter Family 2:21
17. Del Rio - The Carter Family 0:46
18. Broken Down Tramp - The Carter Family 2:15
19. Just a Few More Days - The Carter Family 2:28
20. Soldier's Sweetheart - The Carter Family 1:45
21. Bonnie Blue Eyes - The Carter Family 1:29
22. What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul - The Carter Family 1:51
23. Keep on the Sunny Side-Announcer-Alabama Gals - The Carter Family 1:01
24. Little Moses - The Carter Family 1:45
25. Little Log Cabin By the Sea - The Carter Family 1:08
26. Room in Heaven for Me - The Carter Family 1:39
27. The Storms Are on the Ocean - The Carter Family 1:43
28. Your Mother Still Prays for You, Jack - The Carter Family 1:42
29. Engine 143 - The Carter Family 1:50
30. Where Shall I Be - The Carter Family 1:11
31. Homestead on the Farm - The Carter Family 1:26
32. Diamonds in the Rough - The Carter Family 1:43
The Man From The Mountain says ......
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Track listing
CD2 [1:06:22]
1. May I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight Mister/more - The Carter Family 11:38
2. Broken Hearted Lover - The Carter Family 1:30
3. Darling Daisies - The Carter Family 1:29
4. Little Joe - The Carter Family 1:27
5. My Heavenly Home is Bright and Fair - The Carter Family 1:29
6. The Last Letter - The Carter Family 1:35
7. Leaning on the Everlasting Arms - The Carter Family 1:42
8. My Old Pal of Yesterday - The Carter Family 1:41
9. No Depression in Heaven - The Carter Family 2:50
10. Jealous Hearted Me - The Carter Family 2:47
11. I'm Working on a Building - The Carter Family 2:40
12. My Dixie Darling - The Carter Family 2:48
13. Kissing is a Crime - The Carter Family 2:09
14. Little Darling Pal of Mine - The Carter Family 3:29
15. Cannonball Blues - The Carter Family 2:23
16. Are You Lonesome Tonight - The Carter Family 2:46
17. My Native Home - The Carter Family 2:32
18. A Distant Land to Roam - The Carter Family 2:45
19. East Virginia Blues No. - The Carter Family 2 2:51
20. Keep on the Sunny Side - The Carter Family 2:46
21. Single Girl, Married Man - The Carter Family 2:50
22. Lonesome Valley - The Carter Family 2:29
23. Happy or Lonesome - The Carter Family 2:37
24. Just Another Broken Heart - The Carter Family 2:58
The Man From The Mountain says ...
Track listing
CD3 [1:04:40]
1. Opening Theme and Introduction: I Got a Gail Waitin' for Me/We'll Meet - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Pardners 20:54
2. Opening Theme and Introduction: Watermelon on the Vine/Daisy Mae/Happy - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Pardners 19:25
3. Introduction and Dr. Pepper Commercial/Fisher's Hornpipe/Don't ... - Roy Hall & His Blue Ridge Entertainers 13:47
4. Arkansas Traveller/Blue Railroad Train/Shortenin' Bread - J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers 4:30
5. My Old Pay of Yesterday/Indian River Hoedown/Letter Edged in Black - J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers 6:02
The Man From The Mountain says ...
Track Listing
CD4 [1:05:57]
1. Under The Old Hickory Tree - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners 1:56
2. Don't Let My Ramblin' Bother Your Mind - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners 2:02
3. Sourwood Mountain - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners 1:29
4. I Walk Alone - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners 2:12
5. Little Liza Jane - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners 1:25
6. I've Made A Covenant With My Lord - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners 2:22
7. Down In Caroline - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners 2:40
8. An Empty Mansion - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners 2:14
9. Two Little Sweethearts - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners 2:25
10. Bile Them Cabbage Down - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners 2:12
11. Seven More Days - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners 2:30
12. Walk That Long Lonesome Road - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners 2:09
13. That's The Love I Have For You - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners 2:31
14. I Know You'll Understand - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners 2:43
15. You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners 2:15
16. It's A Grand And Glorious Feeling - Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky Partners 1:56
17. Left All Alone, and others... - Cowboy Slim Rinehart 17:46
18. March Of Dimes Introduction / Moanin' The Blues / Help Me Understand When God Dips His Love In My Heart - Hank Williams & his Drifting Cowboys 13:02
The Man From The Mountain says ...
