Dorothy Matar

Artist: Dorothy Matar

LP: Golden Bells

Song: "Sweet Hour of Prayer" 
[ listen ]
Song: "Tell Jesus"
[ listen ]
Song: "The Prayer Perfect"
[ listen ]

Song: "In the Garden" 
[ listen ]

Aahhh. It's been a hectic week so I'm spending the evening in tonight, running a bubble bath and relaxing to the sounds of Dorothy Matar and her Swiss Bells & Vibraharp. This 1972 thrift store find also features Dorothy's daughter, Dorothy Jr., and son-in-law, Gerald, on piano and organ accompaniment. Carol Ann Retzer handles the marimba and that's Walter Heiser on sax. I love that Dorothy and her crew, who are perhaps the squarest people on earth, have inadvertently created a wonderfully bizarre, exotic Christian-themed Martin Denny record. All that's missing are the exotic bird calls.

[ Dorothy Matar with Swiss Bells ]

The Walker Brothers

Artist: The Walker Brothers

LP: 7" single

Song: "In My Room" 
[ listen ]

Maybe I haven't been paying attention, but I just found out that none of The Walker Brothers are named Walker—and in fact they aren't even related! They only look related because they all have the same hair. You can read more about the group on Wikipedia here. Anyway, this 1966 Japan-only release by John Maus, Gary Leeds and Scott Engel is one of a handful of neat rare 45s I picked up at Georgetown Records earlier this week while visiting the Square Knot Diner with my good friend Carrie.

[ Neither Walkers, Nor Brothers — The Walker Brothers ]

The Maddox Brothers and Rose

Artist: The Maddox Brothers and Rose

LP: Christmas Time

Song: "Silent Night" 
[ listen ]

I was excited to stumble upon this old collection of country Christmas tunes at Golden Oldies a few years ago, especially since it features The Maddox Brothers and Rose doing a rendition of "Silent Night." But when I got home, I discovered that I'd accidentally left this record in the bins! I immediately drove back to the store to snatch it up, and it's been a favorite for holiday listening ever since. Originally from Boaz, Alabama, the Maddox family rode the rails and hitchhiked westward in 1933 to find work in California during the Great Depression. They picked fruit and worked in vegetable fields for several years while working on their music, which was called "hillbilly music" then, since country music hadn't yet been invented. The family performed on a radio show sponsored by a furniture store in 1937, then won wider acclaim when they performed "Sally Let Your Bangs Hang Down" in a hillbilly band competition at the centennial Sacramento State Fair in 1939. You can read more about The Maddox Brothers and Rose here and here. The bass that belonged to Fred Maddox is currently part of the museum collection at the Experience Music Project here in Seattle, since some folks believe Fred may have used it to play the very first note of rock 'n roll. Don Maddox is the only surviving member of the original family group. He lives in Ashland, Oregon and, currently enjoying a career resurgence, he's been performing pretty regularly around the country (in October Don was at Rockabilly Rockout at the Gold Coast Casino in Las Vegas). Coincidentally, Don turns 92 years old today. Happy Birthday, Don!

[ The Maddox Brothers and Rose ]

The Camp Family

Artist: The Camp Family
LP: Putting the Western Back In the Country

Song: "Saddle Up"

[ listen ]

Song: "El Rancho Grande"

[ listen ]

Song: "Texas Plains"

[ listen ]

With the release of this 1981 album, the Camp Family of Tucson, Arizona decided to put the western back in the country. But after hearing just a few bars of the LP opener, "Saddle Up," I wanted the Camps to take the western out again. In fact, I started circulating a petition to see if I could have the entire family taken out of the country. I don't remember where I found this record or how much I paid for it, but I tossed it into my "discard" pile after suffering through just a few tracks. But after giving it another listen a few days later, the record actually began to grow on me. I found myself rooting for the Camps to hit the right notes and was thrilled each time they came close. And now I can't stop listening to it. You can read a little about the Camps and their Triple C Chuckwagon Suppers below, where you will also learn the difference between "country" and "western" music. Though no one in the Camp Family entirely resembles either, there are reportedly both males and females in the group. I've put together a little game below where you can try matching the Camp Family member's photo with the correct corresponding name. The first person to get them all right wins a prize!

 

Kroeze Brothers

 

Artist: Kroeze Brothers

LP: Especially For You

Song: "Glorybound Train"

[ listen ]

The photo on the record cover is somewhat misleading, since in reality there are only two Kroeze Brothers—Johnny (banjo) and Billy (guitar), they're the ones wearing brown suits and ties. The two figures in pink are not Kroeze Brothers, but are actually the brothers' wives—Kowanda (bass) and Sandra (versatile talent and arrangement ability). If you look carefully, you'll see two additional figures tucked away in the corner over by the chimney. That's Clement and Priscilla Humbard, who handle harp and Hawaiian accompaniment, respectively, and who also wrote the LP liner notes, included below. The Kroezes are a lively and talented local musical ministering family that's been preaching God's word from their homestead up in Everett, Washington for over 50 years. You can read all about the Kroezes and see what they're up to nowadays on their website here. I think it's high time I paid them a visit.

Pete and Sheila Escovedo

Artist: Pete and Sheila Escovedo

LP: Happy Together

Song: "Hello Like Before"
[ listen ]

A son of Mexican immigrants, Pete Escovedo has been a major force in the American Latin Jazz scene, as you can read here. The oldest of Pete's six children, Sheila Escovedo was just 16 in 1973 when she was invited to tour South America with her father's band, Azteca, filling in for the group's conga player who wasn't able to make the trip. Sheila continued to play in her father's group until meeting Prince at a concert in the 1980s, after which she dropped the "scovedo," then sang and purcussionized her way to international stardom with hits like "The Glamorous Life," "The Belle of St. Mark" and "A Love Bizarre."

Mike, Else and Mari

Artist: Mike, Else and Mari

LP: Scandinavian Smørgåsbord
Song: "Menu In Review (Matvise)"
[ listen ]

Here's one (here are two, actually) for my Grandma Bea [1919-2001] . She was a wonderful, warm Norwegian woman who regularly made delicious lefse for my brother, sister and me when we were kids. I'm also especially grateful to Grandma Bea for not carrying the "horse-teeth" gene that afflicts so many Scandinavians, as can be seen in the photo below.

Artist: Mike, Else and Mari

LP: Scandinavian Smørgåsbord
Song: "Just a Little Lefse"
[ listen ]

Mike and Else gave up the recording studio mic just long enough for little Mari to express her passion for lefse on this nearly unbearable ditty.