Sing the Songs of Vern and Ray is a tribute to Vern Williams and Ray Park, who played together as Vern & Ray in Northern California from 1960 into the 1970s, Williams on mandolin and tenor vocals and Park on fiddle and lead vocals. Laurie Lewis and Kathy Kallick released it on Spruce and Maple (SMM 1012) on 5 August 2014, with liner notes by Randy Pitts. Lewis had played in the Vern Williams Band, and so had banjoist and singer Keith Little, who sings and plays on several tracks.
Lewis plays fiddle and string bass, Kallick guitar, and Tom Rozum mandolin. Patrick Sauber plays banjo on most of the 18 tracks and Little on the rest; Sally Van Meter adds resonator guitar on three, and Annie Staninec adds a second fiddle on two. The lead singing is shared among Lewis, Kallick, Rozum and Little.
Three songs are credited to Park himself (“To Hell with the Land,” “Montana Cowboy” and “How Many Times”), and “Thinkin’ of Home” to Park and Williams. “Cabin on a Mountain,” “Blue Grass Style” and “Thinkin’ of Home” were also the songs on the band’s 1961 Starday EP. The rest is drawn from Stephen Foster (“Oh! Susanna,” “My Old Kentucky Home”), A. P. Carter (“Cowboy Jack,” “My Clinch Mountain Home”) and traditional pieces such as “Little Birdie,” “Black-Eyed Susie” and the instrumental “Flying Cloud.”
Tracklist
- 1 Oh Susanna alt version 1:43
- 2 Cabin on a Mountain alt version 2:50
- 3 Cowboy Jack 3:56
- 4 Little Birdie alt version 1:59
- 5 If I Had My Life to Live Over Again 2:48
- 6 Happy Iu2019ll Be 2:32
- 7 Black Eyed Susie alt version 2:03
- 8 To Hell With the Land 3:23
- 9 Flying Cloud 2:32
- 10 Montana Cowboy alt version 3:16
- 11 Down Among the Budded Roses Source Recording 3:37
- 12 Thinkinu2019 of Home 2:51
- 13 Field of Flowers 3:06
- 14 How Many Times 2:24
- 15 My Clinch Mountain Home 4:30
- 16 My Old Kentucky Home 2:59
- 17 Blue Grass Style 1:47
- 18 Touch of Godu2019s Hand 2:36
