Sparklin’ Bluegrass was released in 1975 on King Bluegrass (KB-531) by Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers. Sparks, who was raised in Lebanon, Ohio, joined the Stanley Brothers in 1964 and played guitar in Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys after Carter Stanley’s death in December 1966. He left in late 1969 to form the Lonesome Ramblers, and he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2015.
The album was recorded at Lemco Studio in Lexington, Kentucky, mostly in 1974, with one track, “Just Lovin’ You,” dating from 1973. The band was Sparks on guitar and lead vocal, Dave Evans on banjo and tenor, Wendy Miller on mandolin and baritone, and Art Wydner on bass. On the closing track, “He Is Willing to Save Your Soul Yet,” a Ralph Stanley song, Mike Lilly plays banjo and sings baritone and Miller takes the tenor.
Several songs are by Sparks and his circle: “Just Lovin’ You” (with Bernice Sparks), “No Chains” (with Lydia Spall) and “Lonesome Blues” (with Mike Lilly). The rest includes “Too Late to Walk the Floor,” “Cannonball Blues,” “A Face in the Crowd,” “Rovin’ Gambler” and “Blue Ridge Cabin Home.” Robert Trout produced the album, Cecil Jones engineered it, and Frank Godbey wrote the liner notes.
Tracklist
- 1 Dark Hollow alt version 2:12
- 2 Faded Love alt version 2:57
- 3 A Life Of Sorrow 2:43
- 4 Too Much Mountain Dew 2:18
- 5 A Face in the Crowd Source Recording 3:23
- 6 Kentucky Chimes (Instrumental) 2:21
- 7 Just Lovin’ You 2:48
- 8 Brand New Broken Heart 2:52
- 9 Memories And Dreams 2:26
- 10 Goodbye Little Darlin’ 2:19
- 11 Long Journey Home alt version 3:04
- 12 This Lonesome Old Feeling 3:34
- 13 Kentucky Banjo (Instrumental) 1:56
- 14 Blue Ridge Cabin Home alt version
- 15 Rock Hearts alt version 2:03
- 16 Roving Gambler alt version
