Clinch Mountain Echo

CMB Birthdays this month:

06 Dec 1936 - Jack Cooke. Born 'Vernon Crawford Cooke' in Dorchester, Wise, Virginia.

07 Dec 1955 - Sammy Adkins.

07 Dec 1931 - Bobby Osborne. Hyden, Kentucky.

16 Dec 1923 - Jay Hughes. St. Paul, Virginia.

17 Dec 1935 - Bill Napier. Born 'Billy Edward Napier' in Wise, Virginia.

20 Dec 1935 - Chubby Anthony. Born 'Donald Lee Anthony' in Lincolnton, North Carolina.

25 Dec 1919 - Curly Seckler. Born 'John Ray Sechler' in China Grove, North Carolina.

30 Dec 1933 - Melvin Goins. Born 'Melvin Glen Goins' in Bluefield, Mercer, West Virginia.

30 Dec 1943 - Claude 'Buddy' Moore. Born Claude Moore in Pike, Kentucky.

31 Dec 1934 - Ralph 'Joe' Meadows. Born 'Ralph Joe Meadows' in Basin, Wyoming County, West Virginia.


In Memoriam:

01 Dec 1966 - Carter Stanley. Bristol, Virginia.

01 Dec 2009 - Ralph 'Hank' Smith. West Liberty, Kentucky.

02 Dec 2009 - Jack Cooke. Norton, Virginia.

15 Dec 1990 - Henry Dockery. South Carolina.

27 Dec 2013 - Al Elliott. Kingsport, Tennessee.

27 Dec 2017 - Curly Seckler. Nashville, Tennessee.

28 Dec 1977 - Leslie Keith. Tucson, Pima, Arizona.


For the Official Ralph Stanley II and the Clinch Mountain Boys site, visit:

Ralph II ralph2.com

Spotlight on:-

Sing Everybody's Country Favorites
(King KLP-690)


CME Recommends...

A Life Of Constant Sorrow
alifeofsorrow.com

CME Recommends...

Ralph Stanley Museum
ralphstanleymuseum.com

CME Recommends...

Hills Of Home Festival
drralphstanleyfestival.com

CME Recommends...

Rebel Records
rebelrecords.com

CME Recommends...

Bluegrass Unlimited
Bluegrass Unlimited
Clinch Mountain Echo

The Stanley Brothers - Memory Of Your Smile / Suwannee River Hoedown

(King 5210) Jun 1959


Memory Of Your Smile

This 7" was released about three months after the classic The Stanley Brothers And The Clinch Mountain Boys LP (King 615), which featured The Memory Of Your Smile.

'Billboard' magazine reviewed the disc in their 1st June 1959 edition, with Memory... getting 3-stars and being described as:- "Plaintive vocalising on a moving weeper. Worth rural spins". The flpside, Suwannee River Hoedown got 2-stars and was summed up as:- "Bouncy hoedown is wrapped up in lively fiddle solo work."[1]

The Memory Of Your Smile is a splendid bar-room bluegrass tale of the pain of being dumped by your gal, with soulful vocals from Carter. As with all the previously unpublished songs released on the early King period, it was credited to Ralph and Carter's half-sister Ruby Rakes, but was later credited to Ralph and Carter on Ralph's 1981 The Memory Of Your Smile LP and to Carter alone on the 2001 Clinch Mountain Sweethearts CD. The instrumental, Suwannee River Hoedown, was similarly credited to Ruby Rakes but written by Chubby Anthony and Carter Stanley.

Suwannee River Hoedown, was recorded at the end of the sessions for the gospel LP Hymns And Sacred Songs in Feb 1959. It was later included on the Stanley's In Person album in Nov 1960.

Both sides of the 7" can now be found on The Early Starday/King Years, 1958-1961 4xCD box set.

PS: For the banjo players, Suwannee River Hoedown is in 'D' tuning (f# D F# A D)... and there's good banjo tab for it on Gary Bates's (aka Stanleytone) page on the banjohangout.

 

For a detailed breakdown and background to the Stanley's sessions, check Gary B. Reid's The Music Of The Stanley Brothers book, 91-92, 94-95, 139 and 140-141.

 

Track:
Title:
Time:
Date:
Original Release:
A-1
The Memory Of Your Smile
02:19
30 Sep 1958
Stanley Bros. & The Clinch Mtn Boys

Ruby Rakes
  Ld Vcl - Gtr Tn Vcl - Bjo Fid Mnd Bt Vcl - Bs    
  Carter Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Ralph Mayo
Bill Napier
Al Elliot
 
 
B-1
Suwannee River Hoedown
02:36
11 Feb 1959
King 5210

Ruby Rakes
  Gtr Bjo Fid Mnd Bs    
  Carter Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Chubby Anthony
Al Elliot
George Shuffler
 
 
Other artwork / related images:
Suwannee River Hoedown

[1] https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=CiAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA50&dq=billboard+stanley+brothers+Memory+of+your+smile&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjd0feN0O3UAhWiLsAKHX20DKsQ6AEILDAB#v=onepage&q=billboard%20stanley%20brothers%20Memory%20of%20your%20smile&f=false

For the Official Ralph Stanley II and the Clinch Mountain Boys site, visit:

Ralph II ralph2.com

Spotlight on:-

Live At The Old Homeplace
(Rebel REB 1627)


CME Recommends...

A Life Of Constant Sorrow
alifeofsorrow.com

CME Recommends...

Ralph Stanley Museum
ralphstanleymuseum.com

CME Recommends...

Hills Of Home Festival
drralphstanleyfestival.com

CME Recommends...

Rebel Records
rebelrecords.com

CME Recommends...

Bluegrass Unlimited
Bluegrass Unlimited