Ralph Stanley - Pound Va. 1972
Rare video with Roy Lee Centers, Keith Whitley, Ricky Skaggs, Curly Ray Cline & Jack Cook!
This is a very rare 57min video of a Ralph Stanley gig from Pound, Va. probably from sometime around June 1972. The show was a held to help promote the opening of a new Sears store in the town, with the band performing through-out the day on the back of a flat-bed truck.
Fortunately a local community TV crew were on hand to film nearly an hour of the performance, which gives us a unique glimpse into just how great the CMB's were at the time. It is wonderful to see Roy Lee Centers, probably Ralph's greatest lead vocalist after Carter, and the youthful exhuberance of Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs shines through. All the band look like they were having a blast, and they were certainly at the top of their game musically.
The show took place a little after the May '72 release of Ralph's Old Country Church LP, and the video includes three songs from it: the chilling a capella Village Church Yard, These Men Of God and When I Get Home. Two tracks are also featured from Curly Ray Cline's They Cut Down The Old Pine Tree LP (Farmer's Girl & Sally Goodin) that was recorded around the same time.
Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs get the spotlight for two of the old Stanley Brothers numbers, which they'd cut for their Tribute To The Stanley Brothers debut (We'll Be Sweethearts In Heaven and The Angels Are Singing In Heaven Tonight), and Jack Cook is in fine voice on Sitting On Top Of The World and I'm Walking The Dog. (The later song never being cut by Ralph).
The video was apparently shown at Ralph's Birthday party in either 2009 or 2010, where it was said to be planned for release... but for some reason that didn't happen. Copies however did circulate to some extent on DVD, and thanks to Kris Rasnake can now be found divided into three sections on youtube:
Or... if you want to minimise the cuts between each section here's a playlist.
Huge thanks to Kris Rasnake for uploading this gem!!
| Track: |
Title: |
|---|---|
| Part 1 |
(21:15) |
| 1 |
Riding On That Midnight Train |
| R. Stanley |
|
| 2 |
Sally Goodin |
| P.D. |
|
| 3 |
Sitting On Top Of The World |
| 4 |
Katy Daly |
| Eamon O'Shea arr Paul Mullins |
|
| 5 |
We'll Be Sweethearts In Heaven |
| C. Stanley |
|
| 6 |
Will You Miss Me? |
| A.P. Carter |
|
| 7 |
Little Maggie |
| P.D. |
|
| 8 |
Two Coats (start) |
| P.D. |
|
| Part 2 |
(21:20) |
| 8 |
Two Coats (end) |
| P.D. |
|
| 9 |
These Men Of God |
| Jimmy Williams / Red Ellis / Phillis Williams |
|
| 10 |
When I Get Home |
| Roscoe S. Reed |
|
| 11 |
The Farmer's Girl |
| Alton Delmore / Rabon Delmore |
|
| 12 |
Shout Little Luly |
| P.D. |
|
| 13 |
Blue Eyed Verdie |
| Curly Ray Cline |
|
| 14 |
Orange Blossom Special |
| Ervin T. Rouse |
|
| 15 |
The Angels Are Singing (In Heaven Tonight) (start) |
| C. Stanley |
|
| Part 3 |
(14:45) |
| 15 |
The Angels Are Singing (In Heaven Tonight) (end) |
| C. Stanley |
|
| 16 |
I'm Walking The Dog |
| Cliff Grimsley / Tex Grimsley |
|
| 17 |
Village Church Yard |
| P.D. |
|
| 18 |
Love Me Darling Just Tonight (part) |
| M.H. 'Red' Malone / Ruby Rakes |
