You know that awful feeling when you record a seminal bluegrass instrumental album… and then forget about it for 53 years? Yeah… I hate when that happens.
It happened to Eddie Adcock and Pete Kuykendall, who just remembered last year that they cut a record for Eddie back in 1963. Pete recorded it in his basement, as he had previously with a number of other important DC-area grassers at the time, and it sat on the shelf until the two brought it to mind during a phone conversation a few months ago.
Both men have dealt with serious health issues of late – Eddie with his brain implant to correct a nervous tremor, and Pete now living in a convalescent home because of his balance issues. But they’ve kept up with each other like old friends do, and luckily for us, their recalling this old master has led to its being found and professionally restored for a full release.
It was stored along with a batch of nearly 1,000 old analog tapes at the home Pete and Kitsy Kuykendall shared for many years. Prior to the time that Pete launched his venerable publication, Bluegrass Unlimited, he had studied audio at the Capitol Radio and Electronics Institute in Maryland, and worked as a DJ. He built Wynnwood Studio in his home, where he recorded a number of commercial albums, including a couple for The Country Gentlemen.
Adcock was playing banjo with the Gentlemen at the time, and Pete tracked a solo project for him with Tom Gray on bass and Barry Worrell on drums. Pete also played the guitar for these sessions. Eddie was always an innovator, and this newly-restored tape demonstrates both the chordal, Merle Travis-inspired playing he was using with the Gentlemen, and his bluesy single string work.
Tom Mindte with Patuxent Music has agreed to release the project, which he says has been beautifully restored by Sonicraft A2DX Lab in Freehold, NJ. It’s on a fast track, and Tom says to expect it within the next 30 days.
One track has been released to radio via Airplay Direct, Eddie’s version of the Bud Isaacs steel guitar classic, Bud’s Bounce, which he calls Eddie To The Rescue. Fans of a certain age will recall Adcock playing this one with the Country Gentlemen from time to time.
A complete track listing follows:
- Los Dedos
- Downtown Boogie
- Theme From “Exodus”
- Country Gentleman
- Warm And Windy
- Banjo Bop
- Camptown Races
- Meet Mister Callaghan
- Darling Nelly Bly
- Eddie To The Rescue
- The Waltz You Saved For Me
- Blowing Bubbles
- Virginia Bluebell
What a wonderful opportunity to finally hear this album, freshly recorded in 1963!
