Posted by :Pete Smith on May 27, 2009, 11:51 pm
86.144.130.145
“The Advertiser” (UK) 15 May 2009
Vern Gosdin, known in the Seventies and eighties as “The Voice”, passed away on 28 April in Nashville aged seventy-four. Famous for such hits as “Set 'Em Up Joe”, “Chiselled In Stone” (later a hit for George Strait), "Till The End" (a duet with Janie Fricke) and "Mother Country Music". But success was hard to come by and Vern suffered more than his share of hard knocks on the road to country stardom. Born in Woodland, Alabama, Vern was greatly influenced by the Louvin Brothers and the Blue Sky Boys. As a youngster he sang in the Gospel quartet, The Gosdin Brothers with his brother Rex. During his teens Vern's family moved to Birmingham where The Gosdin Family Gospel Show became a favourite on local radio. In 1961 Vern and Rex moved to Long Beach in California where they began performing bluegrass, later adding rock rhythms and forming a sort of precursor to country rock. Later the duo joined Chris Hillman (The Byrds, Desert Rose Band) in the Golden State Boys an outfit that would become the Hillmen. Back as The Gosdin Brothers Vern and Rex enjoyed a hit with "Hangin' On," and, on several occasions, opened the Byrds' shows. In 1972 Vern moved to Atlanta where he opened a store and raised a family. Music still played a big part in Gosdin's life and whenever he could would perform in local clubs. This brought back the hunger for country music success and so Vern relocated to Nashville where his friend Emmylou Harris was just starting to make moves. Gosdin and Harris cut a demo single of “Hangin' On” coupled with “Yesterday's Gone”. The demo was enough for Vern to be awarded a contract with Elektra who drove the single into the Top Twenty. Whilst Vern enjoyed hit after hit Elektra decided to fold its country division in 1980 and though Vern moved from a major label to a small independent, Compleat, the hits kept on coming, particularly after he teamed up with Max D. Barnes as his song writing partner to produce such chart hits as "If You're Gonna Do Me Wrong”, "Way Down Deep." (1983) and, in 1984, his first number one, "I Can Tell By The Way You Dance”. In 1987 the Columbia label signed Vern and the hits continued with "Do You Believe Me Now," and, in 1988, his second number one with "Set 'Em Up Joe." In 1989 "Chiselled in Stone," co-written by Gosdin and Barnes won the CMA's “Song of the Year”. As the eighties turned into the nineties Vern's brand of traditional flavoured country lost favour and he drifted from small label to small label. Our sympathy to Vern's family, friends and fans.
Remember there are stars in the southern sky.
“The Advertiser” (UK) 22 May 2009
Eighty-four years ago tomorrow (23 May) Mac Wiseman was born in Crimora, Virginia. Recognised universally as one of the best voices in bluegrass music, Mac attended the Conservatory of Music in Dayton where he studied and developed a vasty knowledge of the folk music of the Shenandoah Valley. His first job in music was that of dic jockey for station WSVA and shortly after playing the Tennessee Barn Dance on Knoxville's station WLOX where he worked alongside the legendary Molly O'Day. As Wiseman's reputation as a guitarist and tenor voice grew he was invited to join such iconic bands as Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys where he spent much of 1947 in a line-up that was arguably Monroe's best , that is Chubby Wise, (fiddle), Lester Flatt (guitar), Cedrick Rainwater (bass) and Earl Scruggs (banjo).
When Flatt and Scruggs left Monroe to form the Foggy Mountain Boys Wiseman went with them. Mac stayed with the band for about a year, reunited with Monroe briefly then in 1950 formed his own band. Mac's first solo recordings were cut for Dot in 1951. The label so respected his musical acumen that from 1957 to 1961 he doubled as the label's A&R man. During the early sixties Mac recorded for Capitol but returned to Dot in the early seventies and later recorded with Lester Flatt for RCA.
During his long career Mac Wiseman played all of America's top venues and travelled extensively abroad, making several trips to the UK. From 1956 and for several years he was a regular on the Luoisian Hayride, second only to the Grand Ole Opry. Amongst Wiseman's many recordings are such classic titles as “Tis Sweet to Be Remembered”, “I Wonder How The Old Folks Are At Home” and “Jimmy Brown The Newsboy”, one of a select number of bluegrass records to make the country top five. Mac also charted with “The Ballad Of Davy Crockett”, “Johnny's Cash And Charley's Pride” and “My Blue Heaven”, recorded with jazz legend Woody Herman. Wiseman is one of the few bluegrass performers not to have a regular band. Rather he preferred to record with others and these have included such great names as the Osborne Brothers, Larry Perkins and Del McCoury. In 1993 Mac was inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.
Happy birthday to Misty Morgan (23), Rosanne Cash (24), Tom T. Hall, Gerry Ford and Jessi Colter (25), Hank Williams Jr (26) and Don Williams (27).
Remember there are stars in the southern sky.
18
Message Thread:
« Back to thread