old time
music, new and vintage, with early Red Clay Ramblers favorites
CRAVER HICKS WATSON NEWBERRY
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Look
here for... **FLASH!**Upcoming
performances and CD releases: Jim Watson ‡
Bill Hicks ‡
Mike Craver ‡
Craver, Hicks, Watson, Newberry
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Bill Hicks 1943 - 2018 Please see our Facebook
page for information.
You've
Been A Friend To Me
Craver Hicks Watson Newberry now on CD!
CDs are available at CHWN
shows or from Jim Watson (132 Justice St., Chapel Hill, NC 27516 with
check for $17.50) or from Mike's
store!
"gloriously
revives the spirit and sound of the Ramblers’ early years" ... Jack Bernhardt,
Raleigh News & Observer (full
review)
"There
is great singing, great fiddling, great banjo playing, and great everything
else. Have you figured out yet that I give my highest recommendation to
this recording? If you like old-time music, if you like music period, find
this recording and play it over and over again, and you will see what I
mean." ...Bluegrass Unlimited. (full
review)
"in
terms of elan and verve and all those other words that point to the all-important
spirit, You've Been a Friend to Me ranks right near the top." ...Bill Wagner,
The Old Time Herald (full review)
"if
the kids ever ask, What was old time music like?-- give 'em this." ...Randy
Pitts (full review)
Finally! 26 years
in the making! Jim
Watson's "Christmas at the Cave" on CD!
Jim's
26th annual Christmas at the Cave show (December 22, 2011) was recorded
by Jerry Brown of the Rubber Room and is now available from Jim at live
shows or by mail. Bonus: 2 videos of Chapel Hill's official Christmas
kickoff are included on the CD. (MORE
INFO | N&O review) Send a
check for $17.50 to:
Jim
Watson
132
Justice St.
Chapel
Hill, NC 27516
New! Songs
from Mike's Musicals!
"For the past four years
I have been writing and performing musicals for the Northwestern Illinois
Theatre Coalition. These shows (BOSH AND MOONSHINE, THE BELLE OF THE WABASH,
SARAH BERNHARDT IN TEXAS, and OKLAHOMA HALE & DAMNATION) follow a motley
band of 19th century music hall entertainers as they wander through the
Midwest. The troupe includes a saloon singer, a Shakespearean tragedian,
a love-struck young couple, a gunslinger, and an undertaker. I have picked
17 of my favorites from these shows and put them on this cd. I hope you
might like it!" ------ Mike
Jim
Watson and Alan Jabbour recorded Hollow Rock String Band LPs and have teamed
up again in 2015!
You
Can’t Beat the Classics is a compact-disc (CD) collection of twenty-two
distinctive settings of oldtime music classics and rarities from Appalachia
and beyond. It is performed by three artists: Alan Jabbour on fiddle, Ken
Perlman on clawhammer banjo, and Jim Watson on guitar and vocals. Classic
tunes are inherently worthwhile musically, or they would not have become
classics. Certain tunes also seemed worth revisiting because fresh versions
might stir up renewed interest. "We hope that the musicality of our settings
stirs fresh enthusiasm for these grand old classics. For good measure,
we’ve also included a number of wonderful tunes never released before."
$17.50
- order from Jim Watson
132
Justice St.
Chapel
Hill, NC 27516
This
picture turned up on the No
Depression The Roots Music Authority website. In a post by newsgirlstacy
on August 6, 2013, the writer described participating in Danny Gotham's
Picknbow Folk Music Retreat Weekend in Durham, NC. Here's a quote from
newsgirlstacy's post: "On Saturday night, when the students' fingers are
aching from a full day of playing, the instructors give a performance to
show the wide range of their talents. This year's headliner, so to speak,
was Craver Hicks Watson Newberry, a real-deal old-time quartet that can
make you guffaw or sob from song to song. The group's Joe Newberry was
an instructor at this year's Picknbow, one who made everyone there feel
like a million bucks and sound better than they ever thought they could."
Those who've listened to our guys being introduced will get the humor in
how newsgirlstacy named the picture, "picnbowlawfirm."
Congratulations
to JOE NEWBERRY! 2013 IBMA AWARDS "They Called It Music" cowritten
by Eric Gibson and Joe Newberry won SONG OF THE YEAR! This song is
found on the CD of the same name (nominated for Album of the Year) recorded
by the Gibson Brothers. The winners were announced on September 26.
2012 IBMA AWARDS Joe Newberry's
song "Singing As We Rise" won IBMA GOSPEL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR!
This pic was taken at the ceremony on 9/27/12 by Chris Finan, and that's
Joe on the left. Song info: The Gibson Brothers with Ricky Skaggs
(artists); Joe Newberry (songwriter); Eric Gibson, Mike Barber & Leigh
Gibson (producers); Compass Records. Listen
to Joe Newberry and Mike Compton's performance of the song thanks to our
friends at YouTube. And here's David Morris's interview with Joe
on Bluegrass
Today's website just before the awards show.
The program starts with Lelly
Mae Ledford (Pretty Polly). Second on the program is Tommy Jarrell
with Barry and Sharon Poss (Soldier's Joy, Drunken Hiccups). The
Red Clay Ramblers close the show with Hobo's Last Letter, Where the Twisted
Laurel Grows The latter song was chosen to be the title of the new TV show
and is an early example of a music video with scenes of the band mixed
in with a story scenes set West Virginia.
More '70s news that reappeared,
this time in 2014 on Facebook. Bill Hicks wrote about these two pictures
in his blog
on 3/9/14: "Someone sent me the following uncredited pictures, which
they'd found on a facebook page which focused on photos from many of the
Union Grove Fiddler's Conventions. The man playing is the great, even legendary
you might say, fiddler Tommy Jarrell. The year is probably 1970, give or
take a year either way. The young man studying Mr. Jarrell's left hand
with some intensity is... me! And what you are observing, and indeed what
I'm observing in this photo, is pretty close to the moment when Mr. Jarrell's
incredible playing captured me, the very match which is in this moment
lighting one of the fuses of my subsequent life. How bout that!"
The
year is 2003. June Carter Cash passed away in May. Joe Newberry
was about to play his first gig with Red Clay Ramblers founders Craver,
Hicks, and Watson at the Carter Family Fold in June. The band received
a call that Johnny Cash would be performing a few songs at the Fold that
night in memory of his beloved wife. Photographer Daniel Coston was
there to photograph Johnny as he sang with son and daughter-in-law in what
turned out to be Johnny's next-to-last public performance. Daniel continued
to snap pictures and caught this shot of Craver, Hicks, Watson, Newberry
taking the stage. John Carter Cash is in the doorway on the left,
Janette Carter is seated behind Mike Craver, and her son Dale Jett is at
the right side of the stage. Daniel told more of this story in his
book
North Carolina Musicians: Photographs and Conversations (2013).Craver,
Hicks, Watson, Newberry used this photo in their CD You've Been A Friend
To Me (2012) but credited the wrong photographer. So sorry, Daniel!
Bill
noticed this item at the local market and thought of our Mike
Bill's
friends at Bish Scrap Metal Co. in Siler City are going green in more ways
than one this Christmas!
Click
pics for larger versions of
"Can
Tree" and "Forklift Tree"
Return
to Wheatlands! Craver, Hicks, Watson, Newberry returned to the
Wheatland Music Festival in September 2011. Bill, Mike, and Jim performed
there many times beginning back in the 70s and appeared on at least 3 Wheatland
recordings. See the
pics and read Bill's
review of the years in "Happy Wheatlands" that begins "It
was a real treat to return to Wheatlands, where we all had many fond memories
from our visits there in the late '70s with the band that shall not be
named. In the intervening generations the old site has more or less
grown up in woods, like an abandoned field or a famous battle site that
didn't turn into a national shrine. In its place we found a wonderful
main stage with magically good acoustics, sited on a hill facing a wide
field where fans in the thousands ..."
Click
on Jim to see the PICS, VIDEOS and special Mike Craver review of Jim's
24th annual Cave Christmas Show! Thanks to Stan Lewis for the pics
and Tom and Gail Watts for the videos.
---------->
A
pic so good it's named:
"The
Church of Jim Watson"
"Shroud
of Touring"
<----
David's spooky picture
The
whole show ---->
Was
lost but now am found. We misplaced David Eustice's capture of
Craver, Hicks, Watson, Newberry at Southern Village 2009 for awhile, but
now it's here on the left for your contemplation. Be sure to click
on the picture for a full-sized version. Or visit the page honoring
the show by clicking on the group in the sunset on the right. Thank
you, Joe and Mike, for wearing white.
"The
Bible Salesman" story
and song by Clyde Edgerton and Mike Craver
Clyde
narrates his novel THE BIBLE SALESMAN and does most of the character parts.
Mike takes the part of Henry Dampier and one of the talking cats. Clyde
and Mike do a variety of songs that set up and comment on the scenes and
story. Most of the songs have been written especially for THE BIBLE SALESMAN,
although the CD contains some old country chestnuts and hymn-tunes as well.
The CD comes in a 4 panel eco-friendly digipak designed by Chris Baker
with cover paintings by Clyde. Check
Mike's site for reading/concert dates.
Jim's
latest solo CD!
"This
World Would be All Sunshine" (A
Portrait of Home Sweet Home)
Get
your own copy by writing Jim
(or
catching
him at a show)
Jim
Watson 132
Justice St., Chapel Hill, NC 27516 $17.50
(includes shipping) (more
info)
click on pics for larger
view
EVEN MORE CD NEWS!
STOLEN
LOVE IS AVAILABLE ON CD!
How long has it been since
you heard this rip-roaring old time celebration by the founding members
of the Red Clay Ramblers? The wait is over. With the availability
of the Red Clay Ramblers' second LP on CD-R, their entire catalog is now
on CD. Replace your LPs and cassettes with CDs from Mike's
Store - free US shipping!
From
the Indy.... 26
NOV 2008 Chapel Hill
The
Cave—If you're lucky enough to squeeze underground and into The Cave tonight,
you'll witness perhaps the state's most beloved and long-lasting musical
institution as it continues to chart an unlikely chapter in our collective
history. Young string band veterans Tommy Thompson, Jim Watson and Bill
Hicks inaugurated their run as Red Clay Ramblers in 1972, adding Mike Craver
a year later. The intervening 35 years have brought multiple lineup changes,
multimedia experiments, solo albums, duo albums, three international tours
sponsored by the State Department, several off-Broadway hits, the revival
of one such hit for a new generation, performances at the 1st and 25th
Eno festivals, two Carter family funerals, and the death of co-founder
Thompson in 2003. Watson, Hicks and Craver roll on several times a year,
their preservation of old-time tunes and their own material assisted now
by Joe Newberry. —Grayson Currin
David
Eustice used the Red Clay Ramblers "Aragon Mill" from Chuckin the Frizz
to create a tribute to dad-in-law Tommy Thompson using Bobby Thompson's
drawings, period photos of mills and workers, and Ramblers pics from back
in the day. Click the pic to stream from YouTube.
Or
click on the YouTube button to view the clip there and leave your comments.
Hard
Times and Chuckin' the Frizz CDs are here!
Rounder re-issued the Red
Clay Ramblers HARD TIMES and CHUCKIN' THE FRIZZ albums as limited edition
CDs as part of their Rounder
Archive series this summer.
CHUCKIN' THE FRIZZ, recorded
live at the Cat's Cradle in 1979, is considered by many to be the original
line-up's finest release. We have a special page for the honors,
accolades, reviews and souvenirs for Frizz. Read
it and get excited with us!
"Red Clay Ramblers,
Chuckin' the Frizz -- Any true Ramblers fan knows that this all-too-rare
release marks the band's finest hour on record, a well-produced live recording
of the rollicking 1979 lineup performing at the old, tinier Cat's Cradle.
This is a superior string band at the height of its powers, spinning out
traditionals and originals with inspired, infectious fervor." [more]
...Durham Independent
2003
"This is a superbly produced
set with a superior recorded sound, fully capturing the rich overtones
in the blend of stringed instruments and piano. Craver has never sounded
better, and neither has Tommy Thompson, whose voice and banjo playing are
adept and gorgeous. His ballad "Hot Buttered Rum" is wonderful, and this
moving performance is one of the Red Clay Ramblers' best recorded moments."
[more]
...Eugene Chadbourne,
All Music Guide.
The
Dairy Queen pig proclaims the starting point of the Crooked Road in Rocky
Mount, VA, also home of the Red Clay Restaurant. (Click on the pics
for larger views.)
WUNC's
"The State of Things" interviewed our Jim Watson, Bill Hicks, Mike Craver,
and Joe Newberry live on Friday, June 15, 2007. The
podcast,
which includes "Sugar Hill," "The Schoolhouse on the Hill," and "Hobo's
Last Letter," is available
on the WUNC website.
Jim
Watson! Hometown Hero!
Congratulations
to Jim Watson, recently named a "Hometown Hero" by WCHL AM radio. The station
chooses folks who make the community special. Jim was honored for
his Christmas shows at the Cave in Chapel Hill, the recent show being his
21st annual kickoff of the holiday season. By popular demand, Jim
has expanded the tradition to a second night in Hillsborough.
Joe
Newberry is featured in the February 2007 edition of the MelBay "Banjo
Sessions" Webzine. Read Joe's interview by Fred Huffnam HERE.
Joe Newberryand
his Two Hands make all the music on
his new solo CD, recorded in a day and a half and with live takes (no overdubbing
or effects), just like they used to do it. We especially liked his
original songs (highlighted by "I Know Whose Tears") and the Christmas
Trilogy finale ("Christmas Eve, "On This Christmas Day," and "Breaking
Up Christmas." Click on the cover to be swept over to Joe's website
to get your own copy straight from the source.
Craver, Hicks, Watson, Newberry
perform at the Charles House Tribute held at the Friday Center, Chapel
Hill NC, September 10, 2006. Charles
House was part of Tommy Thompson's care during his illness. (Pics
by Anne Berry)
CD
VERSION IS HERE! Meeting
in the Air Songs
of the Carter Family
performed
by Jim Watson, Mike Craver, & Tommy Thompson
Meeting in the Air
on CD is here! Fans can retire their well-worn LPs and get a new CD copy
directly from Mike Craver's website. Mike is posting all the details
of the release on his Meeting
in the Air page.
Dirty
Linen, August/September 2005 reviewed by Duck Baker, London, England
One of the best of the many
tributes to the Carters that have appeared over the years was recorded
in l980 by three members of that unique and wonderful outfit known as the
Red Clay Ramblers. It's interesting neither Jim Watson, Tommy Thompson,
nor Mike Craver play very much on mandolin, banjo, or piano here, though
Thompson does pick up the five-string at times. The main instrument is
the guitar, which both Watson and Craver handle nicely in the appropriate
Carter style. The main focus is on the vocals, and they are just gorgeous.
The leads are heartfelt, the harmonies just right, and the blend reflects
all the years these guys had worked together. A variety of approaches is
used, and all reflect a deep understanding of and feeling for the music.
Can 25 years really have
passed since this record was made? Has Tommy Thompson really, truly gone
on, perhaps to sing his parts with Sara, Maybelle and A.P.? Well, we have
to believe it, apparently, which makes the reissue of Meeting in the Air
that much more welcome. When it first appeared, everyone agreed that this
was a great record. Now it seems something more that that, a classic.
*
* * * 4 Stars!
Meeting
in the Air reviewed by Jack Bernhardt, RALEIGH NEWS AND OBSERVER,
8/15/04
In 1980, Jim Watson, Tommy
Thompson, and Mike Craver – original members of Chapel Hill’s Red Clay
Ramblers - made a critically-acclaimed, 14-song collection of Carter Family
standards. Called “Meeting in the Air,” this splendid recording has long
been out of print. Now comes a newly released CD version that sounds as
fresh and inviting as the vinyl did.
Greenman
Review by Gary Whitehouse (scroll down to the second half of the
link)
"Beautiful harmonies
abound...The Ramblers give the music an extra note of authenticity by maintaining
the rhythmic hooks the Carters wove into their songs."
And check Mike's great News
page on his site for the latest happenings!
LUNCH
AT THE PICCADILLY
Mike Craver's update:
Clyde Edgerton adapted this staging from his 2004 novel LUNCH AT THE
PICCADILLY, and Clyde and I have written 23 songs for it. We are calling
it a "play with music". The poster at right says "based on the novel by
Clyde Edgerton, with lyrics and music by Mike Craver" -- that is true but
Clyde did the adaptation and also wrote and/or inspired many of the lyrics
and some of the music, too. At this point three of his songs from the novel
will be in the show: "Safety Patrol", "Ain't Got No Problems", and "Baloney
Bacon and Beer". Clyde and I have recorded ten of the songs from the show
which is now available on CD.
Janette
Carter and Jim Watson, August 2005 - photo by Anne Berry
Sunday, January 22, 2006
-- Sad news this day for fans of acoustic music in general. Janette
Carter, the last child of the original Carter Family, has died at the age
of 82. It's been a hard year for Janette, with numerous medical problems
and the death of her oldest child over the summer, but in her typical fashion
went ahead with her life as best she could, attending shows
and occasionally performing at the Carter Family Fold on Saturday nights.
I got to know Janette about 30 years ago when the Ramblers first played
at the Fold and she was always warm, welcoming and unfailing honest, with
a great sense of humor. Her daughter Rita Forrester and son Dale
Jett will be carrying on with old time and bluegrass shows every Saturday
night as part of the promise Janette made to her Dad, A. P. Carter, before
he died. So let's send good thoughts to Rita and Dale and the rest
of the Carters as an era ends and another page is turned. ---Jim
Watson
Thursday, January 26 -- Mike
Craver, Bill Hicks, Jim Watson, and Joe Newberry were honored to sing at
Janette's funeral. For those of us who weren't able to be there, Mike has
written a touching account of the service and the friends attending, and
we've posted it in our Carter Family collection.
On
the afternoon of July 4, 2001, at the Festival
of the Eno in Durham, NC, founding Ramblers Bill
Hicks, Jim
Watson, and Mike
Craver were reunited for a rare set of
RCR music. This magic look at the past was preceded by a set from
Bill
& Libby Hicks with songs from their
new CD and a set from Robin & Linda Williams and Their Fine Group (which
includes Jim Watson).
Hope we saw you there for this focus on the music and legacy of the Original
Red Clay Ramblers! more pics!
Jim!
Mike!
Bill!
Together
again July
4,
2001-
Festival
for the Eno Bill
& Libby - Robin & Linda
Blurred
Time, Bill Hicks' witty mix of short stories and history of
the Red Clay Ramblers from 1972-1981
click,
read, enjoy!
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July 31, 2021