The Stanley Brothers - I'll Never Grow Tired Of You / No School Bus In Heaven
(Mercury 71302) Apr 1958
This was the Stanley's final 7" to be recorded for Mercury, with Carter's I'll Never Grow Tired Of You having been held over from a Feb 1957 session, and No School Bus In Heaven being a true story about a recent tragedy. I'm not sure which song was the 'A' side, but as Billboard's review lists I'll Never Grow Tired... first, I'm guessing No School Bus... was the flip-side.
Billboard (21 Apr 1958) gave the single a score of 73, describing I'll Never Grow Tired... as "Hill approach by the Brothers on a honky-tonker. Traditional backing accompanies. Devotees of the hill sound will take to this"; and No School Bus... as "A real weeper about a tragic bus accident in Kentucky. The pair develops pathos in the reading. This, too, can click with hill fans."[1]
The school bus tragedy occurred on 28th Feb 1958 outside of Prestonburg, Kentucky, when avoiding an on-coming truck, the bus swerved into a flooded river. According to an online report, 26 children were drowned and the bus driver was also killed.[2] In the wake of the accident, Hobo Jack Adkins wrote and recorded Kentucky School Bus which was quickly released - Will They Have A Resting Place/Kentucky School Bus (Starday 363). You can find his original version on youtube or on the Hobo Jack Adkins - 'Early Bluegrass' CD-R (British Archive Of Country Music BACM-CDD-432) 2013.[3] As the original is credited to Jack alone, and the Stanley's version, with slightly altered lyrics, co-credits Buddy Dees, presumably he was responsible for smoothing out Jack's rough diamond.
Both tracks can now be found on The Complete Mercury Recordings 2xCD set.
For a detailed breakdown and background to the Stanley's sessions, check Gary B. Reid's The Music Of The Stanley Brothers book, pages 64, 68-69, 81 and 83.
| Track: |
Title: |
Time: |
Date: |
Original Release: |
Guitar: |
Banjo: |
Fiddle: |
Mandolin: |
Bass: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-1 |
I'll Never Grow Tired Of You |
02:12 |
27 Feb 1957 |
Mercury 71302 | Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Chubby Anthony |
Pee Wee Lambert |
George Shuffler |
| C. Stanley |
|||||||||
| B-1 |
No School Bus In Heaven |
02:51 |
?? Mar 1958 |
Mercury 71302 | Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Ralph Mayo |
Bill Napier |
Curley King |
| Jack Adkins / Buddy Dee |
[1] https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7goEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=mercury+71302+billboard&source=bl&ots=6a5Ok7MqDe&sig=9r9VEDqdkikW9ofwElsDL2rdmRY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjEk7LojpzUAhULLMAKHV7iD5UQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=mercury%2071302%20billboard&f=false[2] http://www.oocities.org/garycountry/bus27.html
[3] It's worth mentioning that this CD-R also includes the original version of Lonesome Night, which the Stanley's also recorded.