High Moore and OMS Records have created another wonderful socially-distanced video featuring lead singer Billy Troy, along with Moore and several other talented bluegrass pickers, this time for a dead-on tribute to the great Flatt & Scruggs.
Previous videos from this team have featured Bobby Osborne doing I Can’t Stop Loving You, and Billy Troy leading a bluegrass version of Never Ending Song of Love. Even though the audio was captured separately by each performer, it was all recorded in bona fide studios, and sent to Hugh to put in final form. The end results have been powerful musical statements, and Moore says he has a few more up his sleeve.
Today’s new video is a remake of the Lester and Earl classic, I’ll Go Stepping Too, originally released in 1953 as a single, backed by Earl’s cut of Foggy Mountain Chimes. That first release of the Jerry Organ and Tom James song featured the great Benny Martin on fiddle, supporting Lester Flatt on lead and Curly Seckler on harmony vocals.
For this tribute cover, Troy takes the lead, with John Cloyd Miller playing mandolin and singing tenor. Chris Sharp is on guitar, playing in the Flatt-inspired thumbpick style, Ray Legere on fiddle recreating all of Benny’s solos and fills, Zack Mondry on bass, and Hugh pulling all the Scruggs licks on the banjo.
These guys have some legit connections to The Foggy Mountain Boys. Troy is the son of Josh Graves who played reso-guitar for many years with the band, and Miller is the grandson of Jim Shumate, who played fiddle on the early F&S records. Moore was great friends with Benny Martin, and produced and recorded a number of his albums in the 1990s. Sharp had also performed and recorded with the various members of The Foggy Mountain Boys after that group dissolved.
They know how this vintage sound was made, and they do a fine job bringing it forward into 2020, using green screen video.
Hugh says that this track of I’ll Go Stepping Too will be available soon on the popular download and streaming sites, and on AirPlay Direct for radio programmers.
He also hinted that at least one more of these Flatt & Scruggs remakes are in the offing before the end of the year.
Great job everyone!
