Wilf Carter

Artist: Wilf Carter

LP: Wilf Carter "Montana Slim"
Song: "Two Little Girls In Blue"

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Song: "Grandad's Yodelling Song"

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Anyone with two ears and a brain should know that mixing yodeling, the Hammond organ, and a dash of Western twang would be a recipe for country music bliss. Still, this delectable dessert wasn't served up nearly often enough on vinyl 12" platters. But this Canadian fella, Wilf Carter, aka. "The Yodeling Cowboy," aka. "Montana Slim," aka. "The Father of Canadian Country Music," makes an entire meal of it. 

Originally from Nova Scotia, Wilf was a genuine cowboy on the plains of Alberta in the early 1930s before a couple of his records hit the jackpot and he began working the rodeo circuit with his guitar over the next 30-odd years. You can read more about Mr. Carter's life and career here, and in the LP liner notes included below. Right now there's nowhere on earth I'd rather eat breakfast than at the Wilf Carter Motor Lodge in Orlando, Florida. I bet it was like this. 

[ Two Little Girls In Blue ]

[ Wilf Carter, aka. "Montana Slim": December 18, 1904 — December 5, 1996 ]

Franzl Lang

Artist: Franzl Lang

LP: Freunde der Berge

Song: "Der Hochzeitsjodler von St. Kathrein"
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It's been way too long since I put any yodeling up on this blog. Autumn is a perfect time to listen to yodeling, isn't it? Especially in the evening? While drinking beer? I don't know when this LP was released, but my guess is the mid-1970s. You can read all about the Bavarian Yodelking Franzl Lang on Wikipedia here. I miss the days when a person could have crooked teeth and still be famous.

[ Franzl Lang: December 28, 1930 — December 6, 2015 ]

Trio Shmeed

Artist: Trio Shmeed

LP: Trio Shmeed

Song: "Yodel Cha Cha"

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One of the best things about going through my LPs to weed out the stuff I don't want anymore is that I also always find things I had totally forgotten about or that I didn't even know I had! It's hard to imagine forgetting about something as exciting as "Yodel Cha Cha" (authentic sounds from the Swiss Alps cleverly blended with the music of aliens!), but there you have it. Singing siblings Willy, Werner, and Claire have been yodeling together since they were youngsters, when they began performing in their father's restaurant. It wasn't long before they were yodeling alongside other European superstars like Edith Piaf, Maurice Chevalier, and the Nicholas Brothers. (I've got to learn more about the Brothers Nicholas. They look amazing!) If you understand German you can read more about Trio Shmeed here, and the liner notes from the trio's 1955 self-titled American debut LP are included below. 

[ Geschwister Schmid - aka. Trio Shmeed ]

Frankie Yankovic and his Yanks

Artist: Frankie Yankovic and his Yanks

LP: It's Polka Night

Song: "Alpine Climber's Ball"

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Song: "Three Yanks Polka"

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Friday's finally here, and you know what that means—Polka Night! Though "America's Polka King" Frankie Yankovic (no relation to Weird Al) was born in West Virginia, his family moved him to Cleveland when he was just a tot and it's there that he rose to polka fame—as I learned during my visit last summer to the city's Polka Museum, where I laid eyes on Yankovic's accordion and some of his stage outfits. Frankie began "fooling around" with the accordion at the tender age of six, eventually even learning to play the thing. He nearly lost his fingers to frostbite during his service in WWII, but fortunately for polka-lovers everywhere the fingers stayed on. This 1957 Columbia LP offers a collection of Yankovic favorites, both waltzes and polkas, both with vocals and without. And one of them has yodeling! You can read about the life and career of Frankie Yankovic on Wikipedia here and in the liner notes below. And as you go twirling around the house tonight, take care not to polka your eye out!

[ Frankie Yankovic: July 28, 1915 — October 14, 1998 ]

The Camp Family

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

Song: "Saddle Up"

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Song: "El Rancho Grande"

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Song: "Texas Plains"

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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!