On the Radio 1952–1953 (Rounder 1109) compiles transcription recordings from the Lilly Brothers' years as house band at the Hillbilly Ranch club in Boston — an unlikely crucible for traditional Southern bluegrass transplanted to urban New England. Bea Lilly and Everett Lilly performed together for years in the Boston folk and country music scene, accompanied here by banjoist Don Stover and Herb Hooven. The Lilly Brothers were among the first to bring Appalachian-rooted bluegrass to a Northeastern audience, establishing a devoted following in Boston years before the folk revival made acoustic music fashionable. These radio transcriptions capture the band in live studio performance — direct, unvarnished documents of early 1950s traditional bluegrass delivered by musicians for whom it was not a revival but a living inheritance.
Tracklist
- 1 Intro 0:27
- 2 Why Don’t You Tell Me So alt version 2:48
- 3 That Star Belongs To Me 3:07
- 4 Here Rattler Here 1:40
- 5 Rawhide alt version 2:31
- 6 Girl With The Blue Velvet Band 3:10
- 7 Why Did You Wander alt version 2:43
- 8 Don't Make Me Go To Bed And I'll Be Good 3:25
- 9 The Old Man's Story 3:04
- 10 I’ll Still Write Your Name in the Sand alt version 2:35
- 11 No Mother or Dad alt version 2:56
- 12 Cumberland Gap alt version 3:44
- 13 The Old Home Town alt version 2:58
- 14 Good Old Mountain Dew 1:40
- 15 What Is A Home Without Love 2:46
- 16 We're Going to Have a Big Time Here Tonight 1:59
- 17 When The Saints Go Marching In 2:13
- 18 Sinner You Better Get Ready 3:03
- 19 Prisoner’s Song alt version 2:43
- 20 Cumberland Gap - Outro 0:33
