(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: |
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A-1 |
I'll Never Grow Tired Of You |
02:12 |
27 Feb 1957 |
Mercury 71302 |
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C. Stanley |
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Vcl - Gtr | Vcl - Bjo | Fid | Mnd | Bs | |||||||||||||||||
Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Chubby Anthony |
Darrell 'Pee Wee' Lambert |
George Shuffler |
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B-2 |
No School Bus In Heaven |
02:51 |
?? Mar 1958 |
Mercury 71302 |
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Jack Adkins / Buddy Dee |
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Vcl - Gtr | Vcl - Bjo | Vcl - Fid | Mnd | Bs | |||||||||||||||||
Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Ralph Mayo |
Bill Napier | Curley King |
|
[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.