Columbia Country Caravan - Audition Show


(4.2 stars; 4 reviews)


This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.

Chapters

510504 Audition Show 28:07

Reviews

Prime-time Lefty Frizell, plus Ray Price, Light Crust Doughboys, and others


(4 stars)

There is some great honky-tonk and straight country music on this show. The highlights are undoubtedly the two Lefty Frizell spots, though the whole half-hour is entertaining. As the title implies, this show featured only Columbia Records artists, and the records and Columbia were mentioned frequently (as I assume was normal during this era of sponsored radio--I'm no expert on old time radio). The format is mostly music with a comedy interlude in the middle, and it's fascinating as a time-capsule piece as well as a document of a couple of honky tonk greats. Here's the show's segments: 1) Lefty sings "If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time", and afterwards sings a "special new verse" about the Columbia Country Caravan on CBS. 2) Billy Walker sings "Beautiful Brown Eyes" with some cowboy harmonizing behind him. 3) Leroy Jenkins (obviously not the avant-garde jazz violinist Leroy Jenkins) sings "I'm Crying but Nobody Cares". 4) Toby Toliver does some corn-pone comedy. 5) The Light-Crust Doughboys do an instrumental with fiddle and mandolin breaks (plus atmospheric pedal steel in the background the whole time, except when the steel takes a solo). 6) Lefty comes back and sings "I Want to Be with You Always" (as good as his Columbia studio version!) 7) Ray Price sings Frizell's "If You're Ever Lonely Darlin'" 8) Betty Johnson takes it out with the hymn "An Evening Prayer". For fans of country that has pedal steel and fiddles front and center, this will be a treat. Lefty Frisell was at the hight of his game at this point, and the stripped down, dry sound of the early 1950s (both here and on his studio recordings) really gave him the best backdrop for his unique vocals. Too bad this wasn't "The Lefty Frisell Show"--he's like Hank Williams and Billie Holiday--a true stylist who sounds like nobody else that came before. (And like Hank, a great songwriter in his early years.) Edit: I found a brief bio of Billy Walker, who was unknown to me (I'm a casual fan of classic country). From the allmusic.com: "A native of west Texas who was active on The Grand Ole Opry, Billy Walker emerged from the talent-rich Dallas scene of the late '40s and early '50s. After a brief stint on Capitol, he was signed to Columbia in 1951 at almost exactly the same time as Ray Price. For a while, Walker, Price, and Lefty Frizzell were all recording at the legendary Jim Beck studio in Dallas, which did for '50s honky tonk what Sun Studio in Memphis did for rockabilly. Nevertheless, Walker enjoyed his greatest success ten years later in Nashville, where the studio sound was perhaps more suited to his smooth tenor voice." Here's something on Leroy Jenkins: "Leroy Jenkins was a blind Hillbilly singer from Texas with a great voice. He wrote over 100 songs, recorded for Talent, Dude and Columbia." (http://www.dagmar-anita-binge.de/ccd307-310.htm) Thanks to the gentleman who this file

Re Billy Walker, a Columbia recording artist


(0 stars)

Probably most casual fans of country music from the 40s, 50s and 60s did know of Billy Walker, who died in May 2006 when a van he was driving went off the interstate, killing him, his wife, and band members. His music was often of the smooth country style, similar to what Ray Price did in latter years, Jim Reeves and George Morgan. A member of the Grand Ole Opry for more than 40 years, at one point in his career he and Elvis Presley shared the same stages.

Betty Johnson


(5 stars)

Betty is better remembered as a "pop" artist who had the 1958 hit "Little Blue Man" on Atlantic Records.

Top class Music.


(4 stars)

Let it swing. Brings me back in time.

good country music


(4 stars)

i dig it deep. such good rhythm within.