Message Board Archive: Thread Number 143

Ari and All,

I have two questions regarding Frank Hutchison. First, is there any
recorded material other than "Frank Hutchison Complete Recorded Works in
Chronological Order Volume I 1926-1929" and "Old Time Music From West
Virginia (which is Vol II)?"

I have two instrumental blues, "Cross Tie Blues" and "Pouring Down
Blues" on an unlabeled cassette. Are these songs by Frank Hutchison? It
sounds an awful lot like Hutch, but I'm not sure. The cassette
(homemade) lists titles but not the artist. If these two titles are
Hutch, I want to track down the CD. Any assistance would be greatly
appreciated.

By the way Ari, I really enjoy this page. I am a hardcore acoustic
player and fan and this page is right up my alley. Thanks for the great
site.

V/r Brad

Date: Sat, 2 Jan 1999 00:42:06 -0500 (EST)
From: zeppa@earthlink.net (Frank Basile)
Subject: Feedback: Re: Questions regarding Frank Hutchison
Message Number: 143.1

I can't answer your first question, but Cross Tie Blues and Pouring Down
Blues are performed by Buster and Jack. Both of these tunes appear on
Yazoo's Mister Charlie's Blues (Yazoo L-1024), now long out of print.
The following is reproduced from the liner notes:
"'Buster and Jack' was the 'race' recording pseudonym of Jack Cawley and
his Oklahoma Ridge Runners, a string band from Stillwater Oklahoma.
Despite the appearance of Cross Tie Blues on a 'race' series, the
performers' true colors are discernable in their conventional rhythm
approach. Cross Tie Blues, a twelve bar song in the key of E,
is...flatpicked and is similar in style to Pouring Down Blues. It
features a delayed chord change from B7 to E. Instead of the usual
cliched B7 position, the lead guitarist plays a full B, barring at the
fourth fret and making the seventh with his pinky. The tempo of Cross
Tie is typical of both contemporary Texas string band and later Western
swing music, but the use of a cello rather than a jug is unusual."
Yazoo seems to have no intention of re-releasing this LP on CD. If you
like this kind of stuff, you might want to check out:
Old Time Mountain Guitar - County 3512
if you don't already have it. Easily my favorite release this year.
Frank