The Athens State University Foundation, in conjunction with the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention, will host a CD release party celebrating A Century of Strings, Stories, & Songs, a 15-song album honoring the legacy of Country Music Hall of Fame members The Delmore Brothers and their music. The event will be held Tuesday, September 29 at Athens State University on The Delmore Brothers Stage in McCandless Hall.
Produced by Grammy nominated producer, songwriter, and artist Jerry Salley, the tribute album is a compilation of some of The Delmore Brothers biggest hits as well as a few of their lesser-known songs that define the broad influence they had not only on country music, but also other genres that were just coming into their own in the 1940’s. It was recorded primarily at Daywind Studios in Hendersonville, TN and will be released on the Billy Blue Record label on October 1.
Beginning with their first appearance as The Delmore Brothers at the 1926 Athens, Alabama Fiddlers Convention when Alton was 18 and Rabon was 10, The Delmore Brothers would join the Grand Ole Opry in 1933 and go on to write over 1,200 songs during the course of their career. A Century of Strings, Stories, & Songs features nine duos, some of which feature artists that have never recorded together, along with six award winning bluegrass bands.
The album begins with Junior Sisk and Don Rigsby performing Honey, I’m Ramblin’ Away, followed by Marty Rabon and Jimmy Fortune singing I’ve Got the Big River Blues. Doyle Lawson and Jerry Salley team up to do When It’s Time for the Whippoorwill to Sing, and the legendary Del McCoury joins forces with guitar great Trey Hensley on Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar. The Malpass Brothers lay down a perfect brother harmony version of Put Me on the Trail to Carolina, followed by the SteelDrivers compilation of the critically acclaimed Brown’s Ferry Blues. The Grascals join in on Will You Be Lonesome Too? featuring Charlie McCoy on harmonica, who played on the Flatt & Scruggs version 62 years ago. The Wood Box Heroes provide a haunting version of Field Hand Man while Alex Miller and Carson Peters team up for Hillbilly Boogie. Riders in the Sky bring their unique sound to The Fugitive’s Lament and Bradley Walker and Ricky Skaggs produce a skillful version of Blue Railroad Train, the Delmore Brothers song recorded by Tony Rice on his 1979 Manzanita album which also featured Ricky Skaggs singing harmony. The Gibson Brothers close harmony is a perfect segway to the lesser-known Delmore Brothers tune Life’s Too Short, followed by Chris Jones and The Night Drivers performing the monster hit Blues Stay Away From Me, a song inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007. Appalachian Road Show performs the only gospel tune on the album, Bound For The Shore, a song written by Alton and his mother when he was 13 years old and popularized by the Brown’s Ferry Four which consisted of Alton and Rabon Delmore along with Grandpa Jones and Merle Travis. The final song on the album features the beautiful harmony of Darin and Brooke Aldridge on Sweet, Sweet Thing, featuring Charlie McCoy on harmonica.
The CD release party will kick off at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, September 29, and will feature ten of the musicians from the album including Junior Sisk, Don Rigsby, Marty Rabon, Jimmy Fortune, Jerry Salley, Doyle Lawson, Alex Miller, Bradley Walker, and Darin and Brooke Aldridge performing live versions of the songs. The balance of the songs will include videos of the recording sessions and will be hosted by producer Jerry Salley. In addition to the artists that will be on stage, the band for the event will feature the musicians who played on the album including Aaron McDaris on Banjo, Justin Moses on Mandolin and Resophonic Guitar, Jason Roller on Guitar and Fiddle, Mark Burchfield on Bass, and Zack Arnold on Guitar.
Tickets for the show are $40 which includes a CD, vinyl, or USB copy of the album, or $30 for general admission. To purchase tickets, please visit: https://athensstate.ticketspice.com/the-delmore-brothers-album-release-party.