Dim Lights, Thick Smoke & Hillbilly Music: Country & Western Hit Parade 1951 [Import]

Various (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 22, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Bear Family
• ASIN: B002NXX7QG
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,153 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. TENNESSEE ERNIE: The Shot Gun Boogie

2. ELTON BRITT AND THE SKYTOPPERS: Rotation Blues

3. HANK SNOW: The Golden Rocket

4. HANK WILLIAMS: Cold Cold Heart

5. JOHNNIE & JACK AND THEIR TENNESSEE MOUNTAIN BOYS: Poison Love

6. EDDY ARNOLD: I Wanna Play House With You

7. LEFTY FRIZZELL: Mom And Dad's Waltz

8. CARL SMITH: Let's Live A Little

9. THE PINETOPPERS (Vocal by the BEAVER VALLEY SWEETHEARTS): Mockin' Bird Hill

10. JOHNNY BOND: Sick, Sober And Sorry

11. MOON MULLICAN: I Was Sorta Wonderin'

12. BIG JEFF: Step It Up And Go

13. LEFTY FRIZZELL: Always Late (With Your Kisses)

14. THE CARLISLES: Too Old To Cut The Mustard

15. EDDIE HILL: The Hot Guitar

16. CURLEY WILLIAMS: Half As Much

17. BILL HALEY AND THE SADDLEMEN: Rocket '88'

18. PEE WEE KING AND HIS GOLDEN WEST COWBOYS: Slow Poke

19. HANK SNOW (THE SINGING RANGER) AND HIS RAINBOW RANCH BOYS: The Rhumba Boogie

20. THE STEWART FAMILY: Just Out Of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)

See all 29 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

For many years, we'd received requests to do a truly definitive country series, but it wasn't until the success of our year-by-year R&B/Soul series, Blowin' The Fuse (now Sweet Soul Music) that we decided we needed to do something comparable for country music. The first six volumes of Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music, took us from 1945 - 1950, and were released in 2008. Now the story continues, and will eventually end in 1970. The series has been compiled with today's fans in mind. Yes, the big hits are there, but so are the classic performances that weren't necessarily big hits at the time, but became influential in the years ahead. Every volume has incredibly detailed behind-the-scenes stories, fabulously rare photos, and an ongoing history of country music set against the backdrop of the broader American music business. The booklets alone are 72 pages! Definitive? You bet!

Superlatives are often overplayed - although the many superlatives used in connection with the unrivalled BEAR FAMILY releases over the years are more than well justified - but such words of praise reach new heights with Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music which spotlights the Country & Western Hit Parade. We pick up the story in 1951.

1951: The hits include Tennessee Ernie's Shotgun Boogie, Hank Snow's Golden Rocket, Hank Williams' Cold, Cold Heart, and Lefty Frizzell's Always Late. Rarities include the Pinetoppers' original version of Mockin' Bird Hill, Bill Haley's Rocket 88, and the Stewart Family's fabulously rare original version of the country and soul hit Just Out Of Reach (Of My Two Empty Arms). 29 songs in all!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hillbilly Music 1951, January 26, 2010

By 

Mark Krassa - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke & Hillbilly Music: Country & Western Hit Parade 1951 (Audio CD)

This is a great collection series from Bear Family. You only get the best quality and the most music for the money.