During the heyday of field recording in the late 1920s and 1930s, Charlotte ranked among the most-visited locations. In fact, in the late 1930s it hosted more recording sessions than Nashville! The combination of good radio and lots of nearby places to play drew musicians from all over the South to perform live on WBT, making Charlotte an attractive stop for record labels seeking talent. Eventually record companies would establish permanent Southern studios in Nashville in order to be close to radio powerhouse WSM and its Grand Ole Opry, and Charlotte would fade from the spotlight. But recording never stopped in the Queen City. Hometown Bluesmen Wilbert Harrison and Nappy Brown had national hits in the 1950s. James Brown cut 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag' in 1965, credited with launching funk music. REM made their first LP, 'Murmur', at Charlotte's Reflections Studio in the early 1980s, launching the 'alternative' rock wave.
TRACKS:
LUKE JORDAN - Church Bells Blues
GEORGIA YELLOW HAMMERS - G Rag
BEANS HAMBONE - Beans
PEG LEG ABNEY - Ev'rything I Got Belongs To You
JACK GOWDLOCK - Poor Jane
ROOSEVELT ANTRIM - Complaint To Make
SCOTTIE NESBITT - Troubled And Blue
LUKE JORDAN - Pick Poor Robin Clean
CEDAR CREEK SHEIK - Ford V-8
CURTIS HENRY - County Jail Blues
EDDIE KELLY's WASHBOARD BAND - Poole County Blues
ANDREW & JIM BAXTER - Bamalong Blues
ROOSEVELT ANTRIM - I Guess You're Satisfied
PEG LEG ABNEY - Dirty Double Crosser
LUKE JORDAN - Cocaine Blues
VIRGIL CHILDERS - Travellin' Man
EDDIE KELLY's WASHBOARD BAND - Goin' Back To Alabama
JACK GOWDLOCK - Rollin' Dough Blues
SCOTTIE NESBITT - Sundown Blues
CEDAR CREEK SHEIK - Jimmy Shut His Store Doors
ANDREW & JIM BAXTER - K. C. Railroad Blues
BEANS HAMBONE - Tippin' Out
LUKE JORDAN - Travelling Coon
VIRGIL CHILDERS - Preacher And The Bear
CURTIS HENRY - The Worried Blues
ANDREW & JIM BAXTER - The Moore Girl.
