Here’s some more socially-distanced, green screened, retro bluegrass from Billy Troy, Hugh Moore, and The Country Store for OMS Records.
Since COVID-19 restrictions took effect earlier this year, Hugh and his merry band of Flatt & Scruggs aficionados have been hard at work recording audio and video tracks from their homes, and piecing them together into these very effective presentations on YouTube. All of the members of this outfit are thoroughly versed in the music of Lester and Earl, and jumped at the chance to participate in these recreations, largely for the fun of it.
Moore, who owns and operates OMS Records, tells us that it was initially simply a labor of love, and a result of everyone’s frustration with not being able to get together and play. But as interest in the videos has picked up online, he is considering putting together an album with all of their vintage bluegrass takes and make it available for purchase.
This time out, they tackle an absolute classic of the genre, Someone Took My Place With You, which is based around the stellar fiddle playing of the great Benny Martin. His kickoff to this song has become so definitive that you rarely hear it performed nowadays without some approximation of Benny’s break being attempted. In fact, this solo is considered one of the finest of the early bluegrass repertoire, and it takes a mighty stout fiddler to pull it off properly.
Billy Troy takes the lead vocal, supported by Moore on banjo, Ray Legere embodying the Big Tiger on fiddle, Chris Sharp on guitar, John Cloyd Miller on mandolin, and Zack Mondry on bass.
Serious fans of Flatt & Scruggs will recognize this video as being based on the August 29, 1953 recording of the song, from Benny’s second stint as a Foggy Mountain Boy.
Take it away boys…
Great job! One can only imagine how much fun they all have had with this project.
