Look at us! 100 episodes of The Old Fashioned, done and dusted. And as we approached this self-congratulatory landmark and thought about how to mark it, we got struck by the idea of celebrating bluegrass and old-time in an even more focused way – by spinning selections from the GOATs of the string band genres – or at least one impulsive stab at the greatest of all time. We start of course with Bill Monroe and then we check out the first great fiddler of the Grand Ole Opry, Arthur Smith. Flatt & Scruggs and the Stanley Brothers had to be here, as did Jimmy Martin and the Osborne Brothers. Amy pulled in Hazel and Alice, and Ola Belle Reed and John Hartford. I needed to play Bela Fleck’s “Whitewater” as a way to get into the era of bluegrass that seduced me. And we end with Ricky Skaggs, the dominant bluegrass patriarch of our time. Of course we missed other legends and another attempt at an hour of GOATs might look quite different. But that’s the beauty of it. We’re back next week with all the latest releases!
Goat Rodeo - Fiddle Medley
The Monroe Brothers - Rolling In My Sweet Baby's Arms
Bill Monroe and Blue Grass Boys - Mighty Dark For Me to Travel
Fiddlin' Arthur Smith - Dickson County Blues No. 2
Flatt & Scruggs - I Know What It Means To Be Lonesome
Stanley Brothers - How Mountain Girls Can Love
Ola Belle Reed - High On A Mountain
Osborne Brothers - Once More
Kenny Baker - Gold Rush
Jimmy Martin - Sunny Side of the Mountain
Benny Martin - fiddle In The Bluegrass
New Lost City Ramblers - Little Satchel
Hazel and Alice - Custom Made Woman Blues
John Hartford - Back in the Goodle Days
Johnson Mountain Boys - Black Eyed Suzie
Hot Rize - Shadows In My Room
Bela Fleck - Whitewater
Carolina Chocolate Drops - Ruby
Foghorn Stringband - Lost Girl
Ricky Skaggs - Going Back To Old Kentucky
Michael Cleveland – Lee Highway Blues
