Customer Reviews

Hillbilly Gospel 1948-1958

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I drove (quite literally---a lot of it was in the car) my son crazy from the ages of 12 to 16 playing this CD constantly. I could not stop listening to it. It will haunt him the rest of his life. And I will love it forever. Do not say you do not like gospel or would not buy hillbilly music or hate Jesus. Do not say it is not something you would ever listen to because you are too cool. This is one of the coolest CDs ever. Just buy it.

This excellent collection is drawn from small labels recording Southern white, mainly rural, Gospel music 1948-1958. The music includes a broad spectrum of musical styles. It is unfortunate that the track list above does not include the performer names. They are (in sequence) Calvary Quartet; Caudill Family; Four Leaf Clover Quartet; Rebels Quartet; Deep South Quartet; Peanut Faircloth with The Log Cabin Boys; Bill Port & Howard Seratt; two by Ernest Martin & His Gospel Melody Makers; Battle Mountain Boys; Turner Brothers (Red & Lige); Roy Lanham and his Gospel Quartet; Alton Delmore & The Browns Ferry Four; Curt & Faye Bartmess; Campbell Trio with Jerry Tuttle; Joe Franklin "The Friendly Farmboy"; Tennessee Harmony Boys; Alsa Brook Quartet; Johnny & Jimmy; Musical Lewis Family; Les & Helen Tussey & The Golden Hill Boys; Bille & Gordon Hamrick; and Blue Ridge Quartet.

My personal favorite cut is the guitar / harmonica arrangement of "Jesus Hold My Hand." However, this album doesn't divide into good and bad cuts - rather it divides into uncommon and common renditions. For example "Do Lord" is an excellent rendition, but one would expect to be able to find similar renditions by groups contemporary to this recording. That is the worst that can be said of any of these cuts.

For some reason many of the finest collections of American rural music come from overseas, and this one is no exception. Hillbilly Gospel is a fantastic collection of obscure gems - the sound quality is good & the performances are all first rate, the liner notes are great and there are 24 tracks. Curt & Faye Bartmess' version of "The Downward Road" alone is worth the price!