1. "Chinese Breakdown" by Joe Bussard & Oscar Myers
2. "Power in the Blood" by Sunny Side Sacred Singers
3. "Wanda Russell's Blues" by Blind Thomas
4. "Foggy Bottom Shuffle" by Danville Dan
5. "I Love You Mama" by Tennessee Mess Arounders
6. "Soldier's Joy" by Happy Johnny and Family
7. "Carry Me Back to the Mountains" by Blue Ridge Partners
8. "Fox Chase" by W.R. Barnes and W.E. Barnes
9. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" by Lucky Chatman's Ozark Mountain Boys
10. "Baker's Breakdown" by The Adcock Family
11. "Alley Strut" by Back Alley Boys
12. "Boweavil" by Lee Moore
13. "Bugle Call Banjo" by Bluegrass Travelers
14. "Tator Patch Blues" by Tennessee Mess Arounders
15. "We Need More Rattle Snakes" by Milo Way
16. "Jug in the Shade" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
17. "Lost Indian" by Welch Brothers
18. "Love Old Memphis" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
19. "Old Country Rock" by B. Sam Firk
20. "The Death of John Kennedy" by Bob Coltman and Joe Bussard
21. "Onions" by Three Blues Boys
22. "Paint Brush Blues" by Blind Thomas
23. "Helter Skelter" by Welch Brothers
24. "Green Blues" by Mississippi Swampers
25. "Hannah Open the Door" by Georgia Jokers
26. "Wildwood Flower" by Hillbilly Boys
27. "Down on the Delaware" by Whitacre Family
28. "Crazy Arms" by Bill Hoffman and Joe Bussard
29. "Bluegrass" by Lucky Chatman's Ozark Mountain Boys
30. "Rome Georgia Bound" by Georgia Jokers
31. "Blind Blues" by Blind Thomas
32. "Bluegrass Shuffle" by Bluegrass Travelers
33. "Cider Time Rag" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
34. "Sugar Babe" by Happy Johnny and Family
35. "Tearing Down the Laurel" by Welch Brothers
36. "Up Jumped the Devil" by Possum Holler Boys
37. "Fox Chase" by Clarence Fross
38. "Virginia Ramble" by Virginia Ramblers
39. "Sow Good Seeds" by Joe Bussard
40. "Nobody's Darling but Mine" by Beachley Sisters
41. "Everlasting Joy" by Brother Smith and Brother Amos
42. "Backlander's Hornpipe" by The Backlanders
43. "Jokin' Georgia Rag" by Georgia Jokers
44. "Stir It Now" by Jackson Jug Jumpers
45. "Kid Future's Blues" by Kid Future
46. "R.G. Chimes" by Rocky Ridge Ramblers
47. "Back Alley Wiggle" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
48. "Pig Tail Fling" by Possum Holler Boys
49. "Down Where the River Bends" by Rocky Ridge Ramblers
50. "The Flight of Astronaut John Glenn" by Joe Bussard and Oscar Myers
51. "Hillbilly's Guitar" by Hillbilly Boys
52. "Memphis Hambone Blues" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
53. "Mandolin Blues" by Tennessee Mess Arounders
54. "Cheat Mountain" by Welch Brothers
55. "Shady Grove" by The Adcock Family
56. "Cumberland Gap" by Birmingham Bill
57. "Fisher's Hornpipe" by Coltman and Taylor
58. "Cackling Hen" by Joe Birchfield and Family
59. "Barefoot Mamlish Blues" by B. Sam Firk
60. "Black Jack Rag" by Two Black Jacks
61. "Hot Corn Cold Corn" by The Adcock Family
62. "Tear It Down" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
63. "Father Put the Cow Away" by Happy Johnny and Family
64. "Whitacre's Hornpipe" by Whitacre Family
65. "Banjo Stretch" by Bluegrass Travelers
66. "Coal Tipple Blues" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
67. "Some Summer Day No. 2" by Mississippi Swampers
68. "Hopalong Peter" by Mash Mountain Boys
69. "The Crowing Rooster" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
70. "Little Boy Stole My Jacket" by Whitacre Family
71. "Black Cat Blues" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
72. "Frankie" by Tennessee Joe
73. "Striped Stockings" by Whitacre Family
74. "Short String Strut" by Guitar Rascals
75. "The Voyage of Apollo 8" by Blind Robert Ward
76. "Black Jack Drag" by Two Black Jacks
77. "Rory Mae" by Kid Future
78. "Silver Bells" by Coltman and Taylor
79. "Weissman Blues" by Blind Thomas
80. "Sara Jane" by The Adcock Family
81. "What She's Got" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
82. "Susie" by Georgia Jokers
83. "Round Town Gals" by Robert H. Cubbage and Round Top Mountain Boys
84. "Ramblin' Blues" by W.E. Barnes
85. "Pretty Little Girl" by Sizemore and Smith
86. "Scattin' Rag" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
87. "Please Love Me" Bill Hoffman and Joe Bussard
88. "Delta Moodish Blues" by B. Sam Firk
89. "Busted Boiler Blues" by Oscar Myers
90. "Big Legged Mama" by Ted Kreh
91. "Leather Breeches" by Happy Johnny and Family
92. "Dark and Lonely Night Blues" by Mississippi Swampers
93. "Borrow Love and Go" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
94. "I Don't Love Nobody" by Blue Ridge Partners
95. "Hen Pecked Man" by Birmingham Bill
96. "Trestle Blues" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
97. "Train to Danville" by Danville Dan
98. "No Special Rider Blues" by B. Sam Firk
99. "Basement Blues" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
100. "Drunk Song No. 2" by Damien
101. "If You Don't Love Me Mama" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
102. "Stone Pony" by Mississippi Swampers
103. "The Pueblo's Crew" by Blind Robert Ward
104. "Confessin'" by Wild Mountain Boys
105. "Poor Boy Blues" by Blind Thomas
106. "Cripple Creek" by Bill Bailey & Frank Stuart
107. "Put My Little Shoes Away" by Lucky Chatman's Ozark Mountain Boys
108. "Hoppin' the Frets" by The Adcock Family
109. "John Henry take 1" by Mason O'Bavion
110. "Nine Pound Hammer" by The Adcock Family
111. "Birmingham Tickle" by Birmingham Bill
112. "Atlanta Rag" by Georgia Jokers
113. "Old Hypocrite" by Clarence Fross
114. "Sugar in the Gourd" by Bald Knob Chicken Snatchers
115. "I Hear Mother Calling" by Lee Moore
116. "It's Only the Wind" by Beachley Sisters
117. "Maple Sugar" by Whitacre Family
118. "Preach the Gospel" by Brother Smith and Brother Amos
119. "My Savior Died for Me" by W.R. Barnes and W.E. Barnes
120. "Sunflower Strut" by Danville Dan
121. "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane" by Joe Bussard & Oscar Myers
122. "Lay My Armor Down" by Gabriel's Holy Testifiers
123. "The Old Folks Started It" by Jolly Joe's Jug Band
124. "Done Gone" by Whitacre Family
125. "Got To Get a Little More" by Bob Coltman
126. "Wild Mountain Ramble" by Wild Mountain Boys
127. "Money Green No. 2" by B. Sam Firk
128. "Didn't They Crucify My Lord" by Sunny Side Sacred Singers
129. "I'm Rollin' On" by Carolina Pine Knots
130. "Delta Crapation" by Kid Future
131. "Sugar Tree Stomp " by Possum Holler Boys
Album Description
Massive 5CD set of American Primitive music unearthed for the first time (in various styles: Jug Band, Country, Old Time, Blues and Bluegrass), recorded and documented by Joe Bussard's 78-RPM Fonotone label, 1956-1969 -- not one track previously on CD before. Incredible package featuring 131 tracks over 5 discs, 160-page perfect-bound book, 17 full-color postcards, 3 record label reproductions in souvenir folder and a nickel-plated Fonotone Records bottle opener(!) -- all packaged in a deluxe cigar box. The label that gave us one of the most elaborate packaging presentations of the modern era (Goodbye Babylon, DTD's first release from 2004). What started as a conversation about Fonotone Records metamorphasized into this 5CD box set, for which no stone went unturned. Master reel-to-reel tapes, unplayed for decades but still pristine, were painstakingly remastered; forgotten Kodak slides in old cigar boxes were dusted off and retouched; and musicians! of all stripes who had disappeared more than 35 years ago were tracked down. Their stories, and the story of Fonotone, the last 78-RPM record label in the land, are told here with words, pictures and music. Take a look-see, give it a listen, and get a rare portrait of a long-gone America.
|
Fonotone Records 1956-1969
- Audio CD: 0 pages (2005-12-06)
- Publisher: Dust to Digital
- Label: Dust to Digital
- Studio: Dust to Digital
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 5 reviews
- Sales Rank in Music: #159527
Avg. Customer Review:
12 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Cute -- but the packaging is better than the music 2007-01-03
Comment: A lot of the performances are horrid, some of the arrangements are insipid. There ended up being about 30 tunes and songs here that were of interest--and over 100 that I'll never listen to again. In many ways, it's a beautifully packaged vanity project of limited interest musically.
48 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Excited about the Fonotone set! 2006-01-22
Comment: I was lucky enough to get to attend the release party for the Fonotone Records box set last Thursday in Atlanta. I got to meet Joe Bussard and hear a band from Tennessee whose family is on the set. I couldn't have had a better time. I bought a copy of the Fonotone set at the show and have been listening to it non-stop all weekend. What a great job Dust-to-Digital did in presenting this music, and what a great job Joe Bussard did in recording it.
33 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Weak Effort Of A Box Set By Any Standard 2006-01-17
Comment: Being a fan of pre-war old-time music and post-war field sessions by Lomax and other, I thought that this box, even though pricey, would certainly be worth it. I was, unfortunately, wrong. Though there are some mighty good tracks to be had with this set, it really could be boiled down to one or possibly two discs. Most of the material is tepid and folky and very affected sounding, completely unlike the pre-war material and and authentic field-sessions. Some of the guitar performances by Blind Thomas (Fahey) and B. Sam Firk (Stewart) are inspired but those with vocals by them are downright awful. Plus, adding to the unnecessary cost is the hard-to-read notes and the mysterious bottle-opener...
48 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Hee Haw ain't got nothin' on this! 2006-01-14
Comment: The Fonotone Records box takes me back to a time in music history I never had the chance to experience. So glad Dust-to-Digital has offered such a diverse sampling of a truly influential era in Southern music history; a chance to connect even further with my Southern roots.
This cleverly assembled boxed set is as pleasing to the eyes as it is to the ears! Joe Bussard and his crew were truly "pickin' and grinnin"!
94 of 99 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Thanks Joe, you took me back to my Grandmother's front porch! 2005-12-17
Comment: The Fonotone boxed set is outstanding. The quality and selection of the music and the packaging were done with great respect to the artists.
When I listened to the music it took me back to my earliest childhood memories. The cigar box with the book, postcards and pictures, and even the bottle opener placed me back into that era of time. I believe Joe Bussard and the artists would be proud of their legacy "living on". I know my experience with the set created a greater sense of appreciation of their efforts and their contribution to my life.
Thanks again Joe and the people at Dust to Digital!
|
Fonotone Records 1956-1969
Enlarge View