averyfineline

A friend of mine sent this to me a week or so ago and I’ve been pretty much captivated by it ever since. It’s The Singing Cookes from a live album in 1977 covering “I’ll Fly Away,” though covering barely begins to capture what’s going on here. Listen:

KC, who posted the clip on youtube and […]

I refer, of course, to the group about which we’ve been having a discussion below. A reader offers a compelling answer to the question:
The Ruppe girls are not conceited in that high school definition of the word that means “stuck up.” However, they do not possess that effusive personality (individually or as a group) that […]

Thus David Bruce Murray:
Sisters is a trio with remarkable singing abilities. It fascinates me that 800-1000 people in my region will buy a ticket and pack out an auditorium to see a group like the Chuck Wagon Gang or the Inspirations, but only 150-200 will come to a love offering concert to hear Sisters.
The comment […]

A reader has written to request help with the lyrics for the Blackwood Brothers rendition of “Rolling, Riding, Rocking” (see here for a sound file; as you’ll discover, the lyrics turn into a sonic blur pretty quickly).  Anyone who can provide a reliable transcription, or alternatively, anyone who has lyrics available from liner or […]

Apropos the discussion below in re Harold Lane and the Speer legacy, I draw your attention to an upcoming Speer family tribute event keyed off the 90th anniversary of the group’s formation. More information here (h/t, SS).
Meanwhile, this:

As you probably already know by now, Harold Lane died yesterday.
Lane was of course both a songwriter and performer.  Here he is, featured on “Palms of Victory” with the Speers in what looks like the late 60s:

Lane also composed several now-standard songs in the sg canon - most notably, “Touring that City” (which really would […]

A trove of what appear to be new Stamps Baxter singing school videos have recently been uploaded to YouTube and will more than reward your time (h/t, KC; “new” insofar as very few people had viewed them as of this a.m. and I don’t recall having seen versions of them before; look for videos with […]