The Stanley Brothers - Good Old Camp Meeting Songs

(King KLP-805) May 1962

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This gospel album was recorded between 2-4th May 1962, with George Shuffler on lead guitar and Ralph Mayo on fiddle. Four months later, it got a four-star review in 29 Sep 1962 issue of Billboard magazine, which said: "The Stanley boys have been a traditional strong act on straight, down the line, bluegrass items and on sacred material, which is part of their standard performance at all times. Here, they give a rousing sample of the devotion and dedication which goes into their own kind of church music. 'Hand In Hand With Jesus', 'Memories Of Mother', 'We Shall Rise' etc., are all in the program. Good photo of the pair on the cover".^[1]

The album was also made a 'Billboard Spotlight Pick', in the 2 Mar 1963 edition of the magazine, which included the album under it's "sacred spotlight" saying: "The Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys have a strong following on their earlier disks and in this new package, the Stanleys turn out another batch of strong home-spun religion. To the accompaniment of the familar banjo and fiddle sound, the duo offers 'Drinking From The Fountain', 'Hand In Hand With Jesus', 'Memories Of Mother' and 'Harbor Of Love', among others. Set should register well in the market."^[2]

Memories of Mother, Let Me Walk, Lord By Your Side and Harbor Of Love are re-recordings of three of Carter's songs that they originally cut for Mercury.

Two singles were drawn from the sessions: Who Will Sing For Me / Drinking From The Fountain (King 5708) in Nov 1962; and Memories Of Mother / Paul And Silas (King 5754) in May 1963.

The album has also been reissued (Gusto/King SK-805) 1976. Nowadays it is probably best found on The King Years, 1961-1965 4xCD box set.

On the Gusto/King reissue the cover looks like it's been re-produced from a photo of the original, i.e. a bit blurred.

For detailed information on these songs / sessions, check Gary B. Reid's The Music Of The Stanley Brothers book, pages 131-134 and 160-162.

Other artwork / related images:

[1] books.google.co.uk
[2] books.google.co.uk