Hymns And Sacred Songs LP.">
(King 5197) Apr 1959
This 45 was recorded as part of the 10-11th Feb 1959 sessions for their Hymns And Sacred Songs LP, which was released later in Oct 1959.
The single got a lacklustre review in the 13 Apr 1959 edition of 'Billboard' magazine. That Home Far Away got three stars saying: "The Stanley Brothers, accompanied by the Clinch Mountain Boys, turn in a hoe-down styled reading of a sacred gospel item that can interest hill folk". The flipside, How Can We Thank Him For What He Has Done just got two stars: "On this side the brothers sing about the wonderful things the Lord has done for us. There is a sermon in the middle of the vocal."[1]
How Can We Thank Him For What He Has Done was written the day before it was recorded on the 10th Feb. Al Elliot: "(That) night we got into Cincinnati, Carter... well, he sat down and he said 'I want us to write this song. It's on my mind (and) me, you, and Ralph can sit here and write it'. So, we got together and wrote that there that night and had it ready to record the next day. We switched instruments on that. Carter did the recitation and I played the guitar and then we got three part harmony on it." [1]
Ralph later re-recorded That Home Far Away on his 2010 CD A Mother's Prayer; and How Can We Thank Him... as a duet with Diamond Rio on the 1998 2xCD set Clinch Mountain Country.
Both sides of the single can be found on The Early Starday/King Years, 1958-1961 4xCD box set.
Thanks to Bill Sanguinetti for the 45 label photographs!
For a detailed breakdown and background to the Stanley's sessions, check Gary B. Reid's The Music Of The Stanley Brothers book, pages 94-95 and 140.
Track: |
Title: |
Time: |
Date: |
Original Release: |
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A-1 |
That Home Far Away |
02:08 |
11 Feb 1959 |
King 5197 |
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Ruby Rakes |
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Ld Vcl - Gtr | Tn Vcl - Bjo | Fid | Bt Vcl - Mnd | Bs Vcl - Bs | |||||||||||||||||
Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Chubby Anthony |
Al Elliot |
George Shuffler |
|
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B-1 |
How Can We Thank Him For What He Has Done |
02:30 |
10 Feb 1959 |
King 5197 |
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Ruby Rakes |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Ld Vcl | Tn Vcl - Bjo | Fid | Bt Vcl - Gtr | Bs | |||||||||||||||||
Carter Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Chubby Anthony |
Al Elliot |
George Shuffler |
|
[1] https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UiAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA58&dq=king+5197+stanley&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiC2Z74xp6DAxXAX0EAHfQWAO8Q6AF6BAgMEAI#v=onepage&q=king%205197%20stanley&f=false
[2] An interview with Doug Gordon and Roy Burke III quoted in the liner notes to the 4xCD box set The Early Starday/King Years, 1958-1961.