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Ralph Stanley - Over The Sunset Hill / Going Up Home (To Live In Green Pastures)

(King 45-6179) 1968

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This 7" was recorded for Ralph's session for Over The Sunset Hill album on 21st Feb. 1968. I'm not sure whether it was released prior to the LP, or afterwards, but copies seem to be fairly rare & crop up for sale less frequently than Ralph's other King singles.

Going Up Home (To Live In Green Pastures) became one of Ralph's perennial classics, often featured in live performances, it was later re-recorded on Rebel (I Want To Preach The Gospel) and on 1992's Saturday Night / Sunday Morning. The song appears to have been written by H.W. VanHoose,^[1] and first appeared in a Stamps Quartet Music Co. Inc. songbook "Vict'ry Road" published in 1963. On this 7" it's arrangement is credited to Ralph and 'A. Gearheart' and is listed on BMI as by 'Avril Gearheart' (& Ralph). As 'Arvil Gearhart' and The Southern Gospel Band, there was at least three LPs of Bluegrass Gospel, including 'Father Hold My Hand' (Starlite LP-1001 / Cabot LP-1001) 1966, which featured I Want A Clear Record - one of Arvil's songs that Ralph also included on the Over The Sunset Hill album. By the way, the LP (and subsequent re-recordings of Going Up Home... don't credit Arvil with the co-arrangement.

The other side of the single, Over The Sunset Hill is another great song. Ralph also later re-recorded it on Back To The Cross in 1992.

Both sides of the 7" can now be found on the Poor Rambler 3xCD set.

^{[1] https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=45648}