Happy Halloween! I’m looking forward to sharing some music history with you on Acousticult. For my first write-up I thought I’d list some of my favourite “Hillbilly” Halloween songs to get you in the mood.

Since before the needle first dropped on shellac, people have been diggin’ spooky songs and this list is a fun one full of Western Swing, Honky-tonk, Hillbilly and Ragtime horrors. Enjoy!

Yours in music,

Stu

Cecil Campbell’s Tennessee Ramblers – Spookie Boogie

Happy Wilson – Haunted House Boogie

Hank Thompson – I Cast A Lonesome Shadow

Fairley Holden – Graveyard Light

Billy Strange – Hell Train

Pee Wee King – Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off Of Me

Phil Morgan – Tennessee Hill-billy Ghost

Hank Snow – Ghost Trains

Merle Kilgore – The Bell Witch 

New Dixie Demons – ‘Taint A Fit Night Out For Man Or Beast

The post Top 10 Haunted “Hillbilly” Halloween Tunes appeared first on AcoustiCult.

Tired of touring, Johnson and Burch left the band and were promptly replaced by Bela Fleck and Pat Flynn. Pat Flynn, an experienced singer-songwriter whose resume included work with the Beatles and other known talents pushed New Grass Revival into their peak performance throughout the 1980’s and became the brand name band associated with progressive bluegrass. Through this decade of transformation, the group produced an additional four studio albums and one live album. The last album, Friday Night in America debuted the group’s first Billboard Top 40 hit “Callin’ Baton Rouge” which hit number thirty-seven on the list. When it appeared as though New Grass Revival was at its peak, Bush made the decision to separate himself and form his own group which ultimately led to the breakup of the band.

As New Grass Revival matured so too did the subgenre of progressive bluegrass. Progressive bluegrass, known differently from its parent genre of bluegrass differs in the fact that it incorporates electrical instruments and songs or styles from other music genres. New Grass Revival played a major role in the evolutionary explosion of progressive bluegrass by incorporating first the electric bass and giving a progressive bluegrass taste of covered songs such as “One Love” by Bob Marley, and “Great Balls of Fire” by Jerry Lee Lewis. Across the entirety of their discography it is easy to see the many instances in which New Grass Revival borrowed and covered songs from music styles such as country, jazz, reggae, and rock.

Although progressive bluegrass is not as widely followed as other popular music genres, New Grass Revival made a niche for themselves and are well known as the premiere progressive bluegrass band by many in the music world. During its eighteen-year existence, the band produced a total of nine studio albums and two live albums, they received both Best Band and Best Album awards in 1988 from Fret Magazine and placed on the Billboard Top 100 six times and the Top 40 one time.

Although time has passed since New Grass Revival has performed or recorded anything their influence on progressive bluegrass, and to an extent on bluegrass remains profound. For anyone seeking a unique style of music that incorporates a multitude of genres and subgenres, New Grass Revival is certainly worth giving a listen to.

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The name “The Seldom Scene” came about when a friend of a band member jokingly suggested that they call themselves “the seldom seen” as he didn’t believe the band would establish any successful following. The band leader liked the name and it stuck, and the band is attributed with applying being “seldom seen” as a philosophy by having a light touring schedule. Regardless, the world came to know The Seldom Scene as one of the best examples of quality bluegrass music.

The band plays bluegrass versions of popular country, pop, and rock songs and each performance has a certain laid-back vibe, representing the band’s easy-going atmosphere. They are also praised for their pioneering role in the ‘new grass’ bluegrass movement which blended the original bluegrass sounds with more urban music genres.

Among the twenty one albums in their discography (many of which were produced under either the labels Sugar Hill or Rebel), “Little Georgia Rose” and “Wait a Minute” stand out as fan favorites. For 25 years, The Seldom Scene was one of the most famous bands in bluegrass until the death of John Duffey in 1996. Though the band seemed destined to split, Seldom Scene was too popular to disband. The band had experienced the arrival and departure of many members during its lifespan and while Duffey’s death was a hard blow, they forged on.

In more recent years the band has received two awards. Both of these awards were received in 2015, one being the Independent Music Award for Best Album in Bluegrass and the other being the Independent Music Award for Best Song in Bluegrass. They’ve also been nominated for 4 Grammy Awards. Despite such a long presence in the spotlight, Seldom Scene’s popularity is as strong as ever within the bluegrass circle.

Today, Seldom Scene is made up of none of its founding members but they still play all of the old favorites and continue to keep the band’s music and lifestyle alive for all to enjoy. The newest members of the band include Lou Reid as the lead vocalist, Dudley Connell on the guitar and vocals, Ronnie Simpkins playing the bass, dobro covered by Fred Travers, and Ron Stewart on the banjo and fiddle. The Seldom Scene recently released a new album called “Changes” in June of 2019 and they are currently on tour throughout the rest of 2019.

The 49-year old progressive bluegrass band still draws crowds and brings new listeners to the genre. Continuing to experiment with the genre, the band still tries to add new spins to their music by adding such influences as Jazz and Americana music. The Seldom Scene will go down in music history as innovators of the genre, sure to inspire the many bluegrass bands to follow.

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