On the Radio 1952-1953 cover

On the Radio 1952-1953

The Lilly Brothers and Don Stover

Album · 2002 · Rounder 1109

On the Radio 1952–1953 (Rounder 1109) was released in 2002. It collects performances by Bea and Everett Lilly with banjoist Don Stover from the daily morning radio show the three hosted on WCOP in Boston. They were taken from the acetate discs the Lillys made for the program, which were transferred to tape in 1970 and later to digital masters. Bea Lilly plays guitar, Everett Lilly mandolin and Stover banjo. All three sing lead at different points, with the brothers taking tenor parts and Stover singing baritone. Ken Irwin and Mike Toney produced the release, and Jim Rooney was among the writers of the liner notes.

The brothers, from Clear Creek, West Virginia, had worked on radio since the late 1930s, including WCHS in Charleston and, from 1948, the WWVA Jamboree in Wheeling. In 1952 fiddler Tex Logan, whom they had met at WWVA, persuaded them to reunite in Boston. There, with Stover, they played WCOP’s Hayloft Jamboree and clubs including the Hillbilly Ranch. They are credited with bringing bluegrass to New England, and Joe Val, Bill Keith and Peter Rowan were among the musicians they influenced.

Between a short intro and a closing snatch of “Cumberland Gap,” the disc holds eighteen performances. Among them are “Why Don’t You Tell Me So,” “That Star Belongs to Me,” “Girl with the Blue Velvet Band,” “The Old Home Town,” “What Is a Home Without Love,” “Sinner You Better Get Ready” and “The Prisoner’s Song.” The instrumentals are Bill Monroe’s mandolin piece “Rawhide,” with Everett Lilly leading, and “Cumberland Gap.” The Lilly Brothers and Don Stover were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in October 2002, the year the album appeared.

Tracklist

  1. 1 Intro 0:27
  2. 2 Why Don’t You Tell Me So alt version 2:47
  3. 3 That Star Belongs To Me 3:07
  4. 4 Here Rattler Here 1:40
  5. 5 Rawhide alt version 2:31
  6. 6 Girl With The Blue Velvet Band 3:10
  7. 7 Why Did You Wander alt version 2:43
  8. 8 Don't Make Me Go To Bed And I'll Be Good 3:25
  9. 9 The Old Man's Story 3:04
  10. 10 I’ll Still Write Your Name in the Sand alt version 2:35
  11. 11 No Mother or Dad alt version 2:56
  12. 12 Cumberland Gap alt version 3:06
  13. 13 The Old Home Town alt version 2:57
  14. 14 Good Old Mountain Dew 1:40
  15. 15 What Is A Home Without Love 2:46
  16. 16 We're Going to Have a Big Time Here Tonight 1:59
  17. 17 When The Saints Go Marching In 2:13
  18. 18 Sinner You Better Get Ready 3:03
  19. 19 Prisoner’s Song alt version 2:43
  20. 20 Cumberland Gap - Outro 0:33

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