Deeper Roots: A Century of America’s Music goes deeper…back 87 years to the summer of 1927 when Ralph Peer, a producer for the Victor Talking Machine Company visited the town of Bristol, Tennessee scouting for talent. He brought with him the equipment necessary to capture those first-take performances which would come to be known as The Bristol Sessions. From late July through early August artists such as The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers and the Stoneman Family made recordings in a makeshift studio inside downtown Bristol’s Taylor-Christian Hat Company. Johnny Cash once said that “These recordings…are the single most important event in the history of country music.”
Join Dave Stroud as Deeper Roots goes beyond the more notable names from these recordings and, with a certain leaning to the country sounds, he will also reveal the gospel and folk tradition that came out of these and the later Johnson City Sessions. We’ll hear from The Johnson Brothers, The Stamps Quartet, Alfred Karnes, Uncle Eck Dunford, and a host of others.
Bluegrass music owes more than a debt to Bill Monroe. It owes a name, a legacy, and a following to a man whose songwriting and musical prowess went well beyond the genre that bears his brand. Inspired by the early mountain music that his uncle, Pendleton Vandiver, would introduce him to, Bill developed a keen eye for talent and expected only the best from his band (although his lack of business acumen would trip him up time and again). That keen eye paired with an ear for stellar musicianship would show in the performers he ‘discovered’ and who rank among the greatest of the genre: Mac Wiseman, Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt, Peter Rowan, Kenny Baker, Del McCoury, and many others. Please join us for sets that explore Bill Monroe’s legacy. The sets include
The traditional music of Uncle Pen
The talent of Monroe’s sidemen
The early classic sound of “The Monroe Brothers”
Classic covers of Bill Monroe’s music done by late century artists
Two sets of some of the greatest of Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
How about we go for that “high lonesome sound”? We’ve got two hours of bluegrass, a truly American sound which evolved from many streams over the past 100 years. Dave Stroud spins the music of Jimmy Martin, The Monroe Brothers, Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, and many others in a “Bluegrass Special”. Deeper Roots celebrates more than just that ‘high lonesome sound’ with this episode. We also celebrates a one year anniversary on KWTF.
