Allerton & Alton Black, White And Bluegrass BCD 16559 AH

Allerton & Alton Black, White And Bluegrass BCD 16559 AH

FORMAT 1 CD digipac with booklet
GENRE Bluegrass / Folk
TRACKS 27
PLAYING TIME 70:51



Historic Country Music Discovery!
Recordings of Interracial Duet Located After 60 Years
Sometimes people who make music history have no idea they're doing so at the time. BEAR FAMILY RECORDS has uncovered
just such a case and will proudly be releasing this rare and previously undocumented piece of country
music history in November 2010.

INFORMATION
You can count on one hand the number of African American country music performers who recorded prior to the mid-1950s. Early Grand Ole Opry star Deford Bailey comes to mind because of his unique status as an instrumentalist. Indeed, the Country Music Foundation treats him as the historical oddity that he was. Jimmie Rodgers used Louis Armstrong's cornet on a 1930 session, but it's a cinch the two men never sang together. Black country singers and interracial duets during this period were as rare as hen's teeth. In fact, they may be altogether unknown.
Now BEAR FAMILY RECORDS has found one. In several months we will proudly release the historical recordings of Allerton & Alton, The Cumberland Ridge Runners. They are perhaps the first interracial country music duet. Their performances dating from the late 1940s/early 1950s were broadcast over radio station WLAM in Lisbon, Maine and heard throughout the Northeast and parts of southern Ontario, Canada. The story of how these two country music fans met while browsing old 78s is as fascinating as their recordings. Perhaps the most amazing part of their story is the utterly unself-conscious way with which they approached the racial aspect of who they were and what they were doing. Equally compelling is the story of how the Korean War put an end to this interracial duet, after Alton returned "a changed man," having experienced the cruel realities of a segregated U.S. Army.
This release will present their music in typical BEAR FAMILY style: lavishly illustrated with vintage photos, full historical notes and as many digitally restored recordings as we can fit on a CD. In order to



SHOW 1:
Keep On The Sunny Side (Theme Song)
Orange Blossom Special
Kentucky
I'll Get Along Somehow
Twelfth Street Rag
SHOW 2:
Keep On The Sunny Side (Theme Song)
Memory Lane
Don't This Road Look Rough And Rocky
Drifting Too Far From The Shore
SHOW 3:
Keep On The Sunny Side (Theme Song)
Three Ways Of Knowing
I'll Sign My Heart Away
Every Day Is Mother's Day To Me
BONUS TRACKS:
Standing Somewhere In The Shadows (radio show) • Somehow Tonight
(off-the-air) • Branded Wherever I Go • Raining On The Mountain • Kentucky
(studio practice) • That Little Face - Take 1 (studio practice, slow) •
That Little Face - Take 2 (studio practice, fast) •WhatWould The Profit Be
(studio practice) • Salty Dog Blues (studio practice) • Branded Wherever I
Go (promotion disc) • Can't Feel At Home In This World Anymore • Cabin
In Caroline • Rambler's Call • Keep On The Sunny Side (short version)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Allerton & Alton Black