Five different versions of the same song, by Joe And Blanche Lewis, The Smith Trio, The Ritchie And Shepherd Gospel Singers, The Looper Trio, The McCreary Gospel Singers and a field recording of an Unknown Singer from Berea, KY. 1.Preaching by the roadside, under a tree;Folks come along and make a mock of me.They say…
Amazing documentation about the music and the people of the Southern Appalachians. An exploration of the religious music of the southern Appalachian mountains, and the conflict between the sacred, political, and profane. Religious music of the South Appalachians covers a wide panorama. At one extreme, the fundamentalist Baptists regard any music as “the devil’s work,”…
Ivan Massar, From the Selma to Montgomery, 1965 Like photo-essayist James Karales, photojournalist Ivan Massar documented the fifty-four-mile voting-rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Like Karales, Massar took a picture of Harrison Mayes iconic roadside marker in the foreground and the marchers on US-80 in the background. Elliott Erwitt, Alabama, 1955 French-American photographer Elliott…
While I’ve rarely seen signs by Henry Harrison Mayes in snapshots, his work and that of other, even more anonymous sign makers is often documented by professional photographers (see With Signs Following, by Joe York). Here is a list of photographers with an interest in vernacular religious signs in the US. Meryl Truett Meryl Truett…
A reader of the blog notified me about a “GET RIGHT WITH GOD” cross on I-65, Wolcott, Indiana. He noted that this might be a copycat marker and according to Google Street View it does look indeed newer, and it’s not Mayes style, and it’s on an Interstate instead of an older highway. Certainly, whoever…
High-lonesome gospel esoterica from West Virginia on Salem Records. The group started in 1948, and this seems to be their first album, released in 1964. A little bit of an odd mix, with the guitars in the foreground, as if they were too close to the microphone. Nonetheless, a handful of good songs, beautiful mountain…
Last time I drove by the Mayes sign in Conway, AR. 2024-03-11
Check out photographer Roger May’s newsletter “The Ground at My Feet”. In issue number 10 he talks about how he first encountered Harrison Mayes roadside markers.
A fellow record collector and contributor to this blog (thanks Devon) gifted me a stack of gospel records. In my attempt to digitize as many records as possible, I went on and transferred a bunch of them, cleaned them up a little (the click removal these days is so much better than 15 or so…
A few updates on Henry Harrison Mayes roadside markers. Devon Tuttle and Roger May provided me with the exact locations and photos of two corrugated metal crosses that were listed here with an approximate location. One outside Rutherfordton, NC and the other outside Steele, AL. Also, it appears that the Montgomery, AL concrete cross was…
While Walter Brown and Son Floyd’s 45 on Melody Records is raw country gospel, this album by Brown with his daughter is much more calm and piano based. Theda Brown became a gospel singer herself. What’s the proper sub-genre to describe this kind of gospel music, just gospel? Quite a rare album, I believe. Enjoy!…
This Kingsport, TN trio consists of William E. Osborne on lead vocals and guitar, his wife Marlyn Jean on alto, and Ronnie East handling tenor and occasional bass parts. There is an self-titled album out there on the Jayla Records label out of Georgia, which might be their debut, this one on the Bibletone Record…
A decent bluegrass gospel album on the Crusade Enterprise/Records label out of Illinois. The Country Valley Singers Leonard Smith, Pete Price, Mary Martin, Bob Martin, and Gene Weeks Bluegrass gospel music (often referred to as country or mountain music) is one of the most popular genres today. During the recording session, The Country Valley Singers…
Beautiful debut album by The Singing Burke Family from Bypro, Kentucky. The Singing Burke Family – Clinging To A Saving Hand By Faith I Believe by The Singing Burke Family Today, we are beset with fad religions, false prophets, fake gurus, and complicated religious doctrines that are confusing, and often, misleading. There are so many…
I love making mixes for myself and, while I’m at it, for others as well. Over the years I tried several formats for digital mixtapes. There was 8tracks (dead), mixcloud (wants money), a zip with mp3 files (only nerds download music files) and YouTube (advertising hell and bad UX). I now ended up with a…
Harlan Co., KY born, Detroit, MI implant Byon F. Smiddy on Tommy Crank’s IRMA label. On this record, Bro. Byon sings and plays many of his own songs in the Bluegrass Gospel style. Byon F. Smiddy – Jesus Said To Pray He Called My Name by BYON F. SMIDDY IRMA Records – Compatible Stereo ILP-107…
This gospel quartet, out of Indiana, had ties to both Russell County and Pulaski County in Kentucky and the Separate Baptist Church denomination. “Sing his praises” was written by the mother of two of the band members. The Springtime Gospel Quartet proudly presents this first album of songs which have been the most requested since…
Joe Bussard‘s gospel group Sunny Side Sacred Singers, released on the Fonotone Records compilation on Dust to Digital.
A wonderful singing, indeed. Links
Apparently, Conway’s Harrison Mayes Marker, that I documented here and that kicked off my interest in Mayes’ work which resulted in this website, is nominated for the National Register of Historic Places. The Arkansas properties that will be considered by the State Review Board come from all over the state and illustrate the rich and…