Whether or not you are familiar with the Delmore Brothers, if you are a bluegrass fan, you know their songs. Now, get acquainted (or rekindle your love affair) with this influential 1930s brother duo with A Century of Strings, Stories & Songs: A Tribute to The Delmore Brothers. The 15 new recordings of their amazing repertoire are performed by a star-studded array of bluegrass and country musicians.
Alton and Rabon Delmore made their first appearance at the 1926 Athens Fiddlers Convention (now the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention), so this album celebrates their centennial year. The hosts of that event, the Athens State University Foundation, invited Jerry Salley to produce the new collection, honoring the innovative songwriting, bluesy melodies, and close harmonies of the ground-breaking duo. The resulting collection is a real treat, shining a welcome spotlight on the sometimes-overlooked pioneers.
The new tribute was recorded in part by roster artists from Jerry’s Billy Blue Records: Doyle Lawson and Jerry himself, the Grascals, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Marty Raybon, Appalachian Road Show, and Carson Peters.
They are joined by a great lineup of talent in novel duet combinations: Bradley Walker & Ricky Skaggs, Trey Hensley & Del McCoury, and Junior Sisk & Don Rigsby. In addition, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, the Gibson Brothers, Charlie McCoy, Alex Miller, the SteelDrivers, Wood Box Heroes, Riders in the Sky, Jimmy Fortune, and the Malpass Brothers contribute great tracks.
If you aren’t already a hardcore Delmore fan, you may be surprised how many of the songs on this album you’ve heard before. Blue Railroad Train, I’ve Got the Big River Blues (more often heard as Deep River Blues), Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar, and Will You Be Lonesome Too are familiar to most of us. Brown’s Ferry Blues was a recent hit for Tony Trischka and Billy Strings, and both Good Ol’ Persons and Hot Rize have covered Life’s Too Short.
But this album will also introduce you to a wealth of lesser-heard gems (the duo wrote over 1,000 songs), and should encourage you to dig into the original Delmore Brothers recordings, which are terrific themselves and deserve to be more widely heard. From Don Rigsby & Junior Sisk’s hot version of Honey, I’m Ramblin’ Away to Appalachian Road Show’s smooth gospel quartet on Bound for the Shore, you are likely to discover some new favorite songs.
The sophistication of the Delmore Brothers’ songwriting gives the artists here a lot of wonderful material to work with, and they all rise to the occasion by delivering inspired performances. Chris Jones & the Night Drivers stick closely to the original version of Blues, Stay Away From Me (the Delmore’s biggest hit, reaching #1 on the charts), while Wood Box Heroes bring their own modern interpretation to Field Hand Man. Both are equally successful and authentically heartfelt. This variety of approaches keeps the album lively and engaging from start to finish.
If there is one issue, it’s that the vocals on a few tracks sound noticeably processed, perhaps losing some of the distinctive character that a more live sound with a bit more “edge” might have preserved. On the whole, though, the album is nicely produced, with thoughtful choices evident in the selection of artists, material, and track sequencing. It was recorded primarily at Daywind Studios in Hendersonville, TN.
It’s a real tribute to the Delmore Brothers that a century later, their music still sounds delightfully fresh. They were truly ahead of their time, and this album does a great job of introducing them to a new audience, as well as providing new interpretations for the longtime true believers. May the Delmore Brothers influence another hundred years’ worth of musicians!
