Opening new music is like unwrapping a present—you never know what delights await, but in bluegrass, it’s often a blend of tradition and fresh energy. Two recent projects exemplify this: Junior Sisk’s lively It’s All Fun and Games and Shawn Camp’s upcoming tribute The Ghost of Sis Draper. Both honor the genre’s roots while delivering something new for today’s listeners. Out now since July 18, It’s All Fun and Games is the latest from award-winning bluegrass artist Junior Sisk, available on all major digital platforms via Turnberry Records. It showcases his signature traditional voice with powerful vocals, tight instrumentation, and a mix of humor, heartbreak, and heritage. The 11 tracks feature talents like Heather Berry Mabe, Tony Mabe, Johnathan Dillon, and Curt Love, building on the success of pre-release singles “Sweeter Than Tupelo Honey” and “Where Love Goes to Die.” This album is poised to be one of Sisk’s most acclaimed yet.
“Creating a new recording is always a challenge, and naturally, it starts with the songs,” says Sisk. “I’ve been blessed through the years to have some very talented songwriters to call on. As always, I try to stick to my traditional bluegrass roots while making a song sound new and current for today’s listeners. I’ve recently been interested in finding old country tunes and reviving them in my own voice.
“I’m excited to have been able to co-write several original tunes with songwriting greats such as my dad, David Stewart, and Jerry Salley,” he adds. “I have some extremely talented musicians by my side who always take the songs to the next level with their creative work. The goal is to create a project that makes us happy as artists—and hopefully, the fans enjoy what we’ve created as well. Happy listening, folks.”
Grab a CD atjuniorsisk.com.
Meanwhile, another bluegrass torchbearer, GRAMMY-winning producer and songwriter Shawn Camp—of The Earls of Leicester fame—is set to releaseThe Ghost of Sis Draperon September 12 via Truly Handmade Records. This concept album features 10 songs co-written with the late Guy Clark and one solo Clark composition. “This is as much Guy Clark’s album as it is mine,” Camp says.
The project stems from Camp’s childhood legend: At age seven, he met traveling fiddle player Sis Draper at a pickin’ party in Arkansas’ Perry County hills. Years later, while songwriting with Clark in Nashville, Camp shared the story, sparking “Sis Draper” and subsequent tunes like “Magnolia Wind.”
For years, they’d revisit the “Sis” theme when stuck on other ideas.The Ghost of Sis Draper weaves songs tied by characters, narratives, and old-time fiddle tunes. Arkansas fiddle great Tim Crouch revives Draper’s spirit, backed by Mike Bub on bass, Chris Henry on mandolin, Jimmy Stewart on dobro, Cory Walker on banjo, and Camp on guitar and vocals. Recorded in one day at Nashville’s Clement House (formerly The Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa), it immerses listeners in a sharply drawn world.”
We intentionally wrote songs that fit together,” Camp explains. It’s the definitive close to the Sis Draper saga and a tribute to his friend Clark. “That’s part of my passion for putting it out—to try and keep him alive!” Check it out atshawncamp.com. Whether it’s Sisk’s fun-loving revival or Camp’s ghostly homage, these albums prove bluegrass remains a gift that keeps giving. Unwrap them soon.
https://randallfranks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Southern-Style-e1731470363325.jpg500358Randall Frankshttps://randallfranks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/r-franks-logo-1.pngRandall Franks2025-08-20 06:00:192025-08-13 11:49:23New music is like opening a present
As I glanced up from the worn linoleum floor, the air thrummed with the pulse of strings. Three fiddlers, two guitarists, and a banjo player surrounded me in their ladder back chairs, their notes weaving a spell that held me captive. I was a young fiddler then, hanging on every phrase from Gordon Tanner, Paul Jordan, and Dallas Burrell, desperate to steal a lick or two to spark my own playing.
In my North Georgia hills, these men were more than musicians—they were torchbearers of a fiddle tradition that helped birth hillbilly music, a sound that echoed from porch swings to the world’s stages. Gordon Tanner’s legacy loomed largest. As a teenager in 1934, he recorded the million-selling “Down Yonder” with his father, Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers, a band whose raw, joyful energy defined early country music. Their records, cut in makeshift studios and broadcast through crackling radios, carried Georgia’s red clay soul to listeners far beyond the Appalachians. Gordon’s Gold Record was proof of their reach, a testament to a family that turned fiddles into time machines.
The Skillet Lickers and Paul Puckett add their historic flair with Randall Franks
Last week, I stepped into that history, recording with Gordon’s son, Phil, and grandson, Russ, alongside Paul Puckett in Dacula, Georgia—the Skillet Lickers’ hometown. Our studio was no polished soundstage but the Tanners’ old chicken house, transformed into a shrine of musical heritage. Faded photographs, yellowed posters, and framed 78s lined the walls, each artifact whispering of Tanner legends and others like Fiddlin’ John Carson, Riley Puckett, Clayton McMichen, Lowe Stokes, and Anita Sorrells Mathis. These pioneers dominated Georgia’s music scene in the early 20th century, their bow strokes and guitar runs shaping a sound that flowed through my mentors into my own fingers, like a river carving its path through time.
Though the Skillet Lickers’ commercial peak faded by mid-century, their music never dimmed. It lived on in the hollers and hamlets of the South—at raucous fiddle contests, folk and bluegrass festivals, weathered pickin’ barns, and late-night living room jams where players swapped tunes until dawn.
As a boy, I’d sit cross-legged at these gatherings, my fiddle resting on my knee, watching weathered hands coax magic from strings. Those moments forged my love for the music, passed down not through sheet music but through calloused fingers and shared stories, generation to generation.
Recording in that chicken house felt like stepping into a dream. As Phil, Russ, Paul and I traded notes, our music became a bridge across decades, blending the Skillet Lickers’ fire with a band I fiddled for, Doodle and the Golden River Grass. We were laying tracks for “A Zippedy Doodle Day,” a charity album to fund Appalachian music scholarships, uniting Georgia’s first fiddle band with its last. Each pluck and bow stroke was a brushstroke on a rhythmic canvas, painting a sound we hope will resonate for years, just as the Skillet Lickers’ records still stir my soul. The Tanners’ keepsakes—framed record sleeves, a worn fiddles, a concert poster —surrounded us, grounding our work in their legacy. I thought of my younger self, a boy mesmerized by flying bows and rosin dust swirling in the air, dreaming of touching the magic of my heroes. Now, here I was, not just chasing their sound but adding my own notes to their story. It’s a humbling honor, one that carries a responsibility to keep this music alive for the next generation.
The Skillet Lickers’ spirit reminds us that music is more than sound—it’s a living thread, connecting past to present, heart to heart. Our project aims to ensure that thread endures, supporting young musicians who’ll carry the fiddle’s voice forward. In that chicken house, we weren’t just recording; we were keeping a promise to the music that raised us and the people who inspired us. Learn more about the Skillet Lickers at www.SkilletLickers.org. For a preview of our charity project, visit www.RandallFranks.com/A-Zippedy-Doodle-Day.
Doodle and the Golden River Grass Georgia Music Hall of Fame Exhibit in 2003. (Photo: Peach Picked Publishing)
A Zippedy Doodle Day: An Appalachian Musical Legacy
Welcome to A Zippedy Doodle Day: An Appalachian Musical Legacy, a historic string band album and documentary, led by Randall Franks, who honors Doodle Thrower and the Golden River Grass. Additionally, funds support scholarships via the Share America Foundation and Appalachian historical preservation. Therefore, join us in this effort!
About the Project
Project Overview
Bluegrass and Americana artist/producer Randall Franks is spearheading A Zippedy Doodle Day, a historic string band album and documentary to support Appalachian music scholarships through the Share America Foundation, Inc. and the West Georgia Museum in Tallapoosa, Georgia, the hometown of John “Doodle” Thrower.
Legacy Preservation
The project builds on unreleased tracks from the late 1980s by Doodle and the Golden River Grass, featuring traditional folk recordings. This album, paired with a re-release of the band’s entire catalog, aims to preserve and share their legacy while raising funds for aspiring musicians.
“When we lost Doodle Thrower, we lost one of the cornerstones of original country music. He and his band were truly what country music is all about.” — Marty Stuart, Country Music Hall of Famer
Doodle and the Golden River Grass in the 1970s
Doodle and the Golden River Grass
Formed in 1963 as a square dance band in Tallapoosa, Georgia, Doodle and the Golden River Grass became a beloved folk act, known for their comedy, Appalachian folk songs, and upbeat tunes. Recognized as the last of the old-time Georgia fiddle bands, they were a unique part of country music history.
The band featured John “Doodle” Thrower (1929-1994) on harmonica, alongside fiddlers Seals Hicks, Bill Kee, Paul Wallace, Randall Franks, and Jerry Wesley. From the 1970s, James Watson (1935-2017) added clawhammer banjo, with long-running members including C.J. Clackum (guitar), Wesley Clackum (guitar and mandolin), the late Lynn Elliott (guitar), the late Gene Daniell (bass/sound engineer), and Steve Hesterlee (three-finger banjo).
Doodle and the Golden River Grass perform in 1990.
Cultural historian Alan Lomax described Thrower as “a little bit different from anyone we’ve met. He’s of Cornish descent, and he’s not uptight at all,” and the band as “a sort of five-piece Dixieland string band certainly as virtuosic as any gypsy orchestra. And they are playing what I’ve called ‘mountain music in overdrive’.”
Appalachian scholar Loyal Jones acknowledged Thrower in his work Country Music Humorists and Comedians. American folklorist, educator and artist Art Rosenbaum featured him in his visual art and documented the group in several recorded mediums.
A Collaborative Effort
Randall Franks (right) joins The Skillet Lickers (Phil & Russ Tanner), center, and Paul Puckett in the studio.
Randall Franks is inviting specific artists from country, bluegrass, and Americana to donate their time to record on these historic tracks, collaborating with studios near the artists for convenience.
Contributors
Bruce Boxleitner adds his voice bringing a western flair to the project.
Western icon Bruce Boxleitner, a National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s Hall of Great Western Performers inductee and two-time Wrangler Award winner, is saddling up for A Zippedy Doodle Day! Bruce captivated audiences as Luke Macahan in How the West Was Won alongside James Arness to his iconic turn as Alan Bradley/Tron in Disney’s groundbreaking Tron and Tron: Legacy, Bruce has been a household name for decades. He’s battled spies as Lee Stetson in Scarecrow and Mrs. King, commanded the stars as Captain John Sheridan in Babylon 5, and brought comic charm as Billy Montana in The Gambler with Kenny Rogers. Recently, he starred as Ben Watkins in the western Far Haven (2023), proving he’s still a trailblazer.
Banjo star Gena Britt adds her talents at Buck’s Place Recording in Hendersonville.
8-time IBMA Award winner Gena Britt – powerhouse banjo player, vocalist, and founding member of GRAMMY-nominated Sister Sadie (Mountain Home Music Company) – has joined the star-studded lineup.
Fresh off the release of her acclaimed new solo album Streets, Rivers, Dreams & Heartaches (Mountain Home Music Company), her latest accolade includes sharing the 2025 IBMA Instrumental Recording of the Year for “Ralph’s Banjo Special” with Kristin Scott Benson & Alison Brown.
Youth Dante Flores adds three-finger banjo at the Tempermill in Michigan.
Marty Hays, a veteran vocalist and bassist who shined on Rounder and Rebel Records over three decades with David Davis and the Warrior River Boys brings his soulful sound to the project enriching this folk endeavor.
Marty Hays adds vocals at Buck’s Place Recording in Hendersonville near Nashville.
Anthony Howell goes full speed with a bit of banjo at Noxubee Hills Music Group Recording Studio in Mississippi.
As the 2023 National Banjo Champion Anthony Howell and a four-time IBMA Momentum Award nominee for Instrumentalist of the Year, Anthony brings his unique stylings on banjo and come vocals to this Appalachian musical legacy project. He has performed with notable bands including Williamson Branch, the Edgar Loudermilk Band, and most recently joined Seth Mulder & Midnight Run. Follow Anthony for more updates on his music journey at www.facebook.com/p/Anthony-Howell-Music-100048065487181/.
Dale Houston add his vocal stylings at Buck’s Place Recording in Hendersonville
Trevor Holder adds his rolls at Witt Studio in Lafayette.
Banjo virtuoso Trevor Holder joins the stellar lineup. With Trevor’s Reno-style flair and bluegrass chops from The Price Sisters, Cutter & Cash and The Kentucky Grass, and Five Mile Mountain Road, this album and documentary are set to preserve timeless folk tunes like never before. Bluegrass Unlimited heralded him in 2025 as a “Modern Banjo Master” underscoring his rising prominence in the genre.
Country singer Dale Houston heartfelt vocals and traditional country style add a touch of timeless Americana to this collection of folk classics. Fresh off his 2024 album “That’s The Way I Am,” featuring standout tracks and recent nominations for awards like the Josie Music Awards, Dale continues to honor the roots of country music. He has collaborated with country artists such as Lee Newton on “Burning Boats” and David Frizzell on “Lefty, Merle, and Me,” and grew up immersed in the music of legends like Merle Haggard, Vern Gosdin, George Jones, and Conway Twitty. Discover more about Dale at his website: www.dalehouston.com
Jim Lauderdale and Randall Franks work in the studio adding his unique vocals to the project.
Adding his amazing vocal talents, two-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale, host of the Americana Music Awards, has penned hits for icons like George Strait, Patty Loveless, and Vince Gill and was recently inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. His illustrious career spans over 30 studio albums since 1986, blending country, bluegrass, Americana, soul, and R&B including his latest “Country Super Hits Vol. 2.” Visit his official website: https://www.jimlauderdalemusic.com/
Alex Miller records at Buck’s Place Recording near Nashville.
Traditional country singer Alex Miller, Billy Jam Records artist, who skyrocketed to fame on American Idol in 2021 at just 17, brings his soulful voice and masterful guitar pickin’ to the album. With hits like “I’m Over You, So Get Over Me,” “She Makes Dirt Look Good,” and his recent songs “Oh Odessa,” “Secondhand Smoke,” and “My Appalachian Home.” Alex has proven he’s a force in traditional country.
At Buck’s Place Recording, Robert Montgomery frails his way in A Zippedy Doodle Day.
The 2004 Old-Time Banjo National Champion Robert Montgomery is renowned for his excellent singing and banjo playing, performing with groups like David Davis & the Warrior River Boys and Alan Sibley & The Magnolia Ramblers. His latest release is Ol’ Times Not Forgotten. He joins other top artists to support Appalachian music scholarships and historical preservation. Follow Robert on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertmontgomerymusic .
Kody Norris makes his vocal and musical additions at Buck’s Place Recording in Hendersonville.
Fresh off dominating the awards circuit — including 2024 SPBGMA Entertainer of the Year, 7 total SPBGMA wins, 2025 IBMA Music Video of the Year for “The Auctioneer,” Kody’s personal Guitar Performer of the Year honors, and guest starring appearances on the iconic Grand Ole Opry stage — Rebel Records artist Kody Norris of The Kody Norris Show brings his powerhouse vocals and blistering guitar picking to this collaboration is pure mountain magic in the making! His 2025 album Highfalutin Hillbilly and current single ‘Waitress, Waitress’ — continue to shine in traditional bluegrass!
Ronnie & Justin Reno record at Buck’s Place Recording in Hendersonville.
Bluegrass legend Ronnie Reno, 2016 SPBGMA Preservation Hall of Greats, and his talented son Justin Reno add their authentic Appalachian vibes to our whimsical journey. The son of Don Reno, from Ronnie’s early days performing on The Old Dominion Barndance at age seven to collaborating with giants like Merle Haggard, The Osborne Brothers, and his hit TV show Reno’s Old Time Music (now streaming on Country Road TV), the 2013 IBMA Broadcaster of the Year’s legacy is woven into the heart of American roots music. Joining him is Justin Reno, a gifted guitarist who’s been stepping into the spotlight alongside his dad and with other Nashville bands.
Mike Scott adds his licks at Buck’s Place Recording in Hendersonville near Nashville.
Legendary banjo stylist Mike Scott brings his unmistakable hard-driving three-finger style and vocals to the project, bringing a 50+ year career of entertaining in every state in the US except Hawaii and 54 countries, 450 Grand Ole Opry performances, and playing with Jim & Jesse McReynolds, Carl Story, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent and more.
Opry Star Ketch Secor records for A Zippedy Doodle Day with Morgan Jahnig at Hartland Studios, Nashville, TN.
Grammy-winning Grand Ole Opry star Ketch Secor from the Old Crow Medicine Show brought his flair to a special performance alongside the Skillet Lickers with Paul Puckett! Secor penned the iconic hit “Wagon Wheel” and in 2025, he released his solo album ‘Story the Crow Told Me.’ He is currently hosting the PBS series “Tennessee Crossroads.”
The project includes contributions from the Skillet Lickers (Phil and Russ Tanner) and Paul Puckett, blending the legacies of Georgia’s first and last fiddle bands. Learn more at https://SkilletLickers.org/
Ralph Stanley II adds his artistry for engineer Jim Price at Hat Creek Recording – Jonesborough, TN.
Grammy-winning Ralph Stanley II, an acclaimed Appalachian performer from Virginia also enriches the project with his artistry. Learn more at https://ralph2.com/
Larry Stephenson, a five-time SPBGMA Contemporary Male Vocalist of the Year, Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, and acclaimed mandolin virtuoso adds his voice to the songbook. Learn more at https://larrystephensonband.com/LSB/
Bluegrass stalwart Larry Stephenson tunes up before adding his special touch at Buck’s Place Recording in Hendersonville.
Derek Stone brings an enthusiastic traditional style at Witt Studio in Lafayette.
Youth banjo stylist Derek Stone, 15, adds his approach to the album bringing a Reno style approach to one of the tunes. Derek has racked up impressive wins, including First Place Beginning Banjo, Third Place Adult Banjo (twice), and Third Place in the Bluegrass Band Competition at the Smithville Fiddler’s Jamboree, plus First Place in the Kids’ Band Competition at the Mountain City Fiddler’s Convention. Currently in 10th grade at McCallie School, he’s the banjo player for Carl Towns & Upward Road.
With Conner Vlietstra‘s fiddle, guitar, and banjo expertise from The Price Sisters, Five Mile Mountain Road, and The Tennessee Hillbuddies,helps preserve timeless folk tunes like never before. The ETSU graduate is a 2021 Grand Master Fiddle Traditional Champion whohas built a reputation for his technical skill and deep roots in Appalachian traditions. Follow Conner on Instagram @connerbullwheatstraw
Conner Vlietstra creates hot licks for A Zippedy Doodle Day at Tim Witt’s Studio in LaFayette.
Other artists working on their additions include Mary Rachel Nalley-Norris, celebrated as Entertainer of the Year and Instrumental Group of the Year wins with The Kody Norris Show, Dale Ann Bradley, a six-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year and two-time Grammy nominee, and #1 Billboard teen mandolin phenom Wyatt Ellis.
A diverse array of talented artists is lined up, each bringing additional richness and depth to the A Zippedy Doodle Day project. Some among those planning to join the effort are Tim Atwood, Dom Flemons, Noah Goebel, Daniel Grindstaff, Trevor Holder, Lee Newton, Marty Raybon, Alan Sibley, Margie Singleton, Smith & Wesley, and Mark Wheeler.
The Songs
We will share details of these classic folk songs as each is completed. Stay tuned for updates on this growing American Songbook contribution!
The FIRST SINGLE RELEASE IS COMING APRIL 10 on AirPlay Direct for Radio and for consumers on Amazon and Itunes. Stay Tuned ….
Support the Project
Your support can bring A Zippedy Doodle Day to life, preserving Appalachian music and empowering musicians through scholarships. Donate to the Share America Foundation, Inc.
Use this QR Code to Donate!
We are working on a CD, DVD, and digital releases. Stay tuned for updates on t-shirts and other merchandise!
You may also send tax-deductible donations via mail to Share America Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 42, Tunnel Hill, Ga. 30755.
The Documentary
A Zippedy Doodle Day : An Appalachian Musical Legacy
Randall Franks, C.J. Clackum and Wesley Clackum film interviews.
Director Randall Franks began collecting interviews for “A Zippedy Doodle Day” documentary in 2017 when he recorded audio from banjo stylist James Watson. It was at this point the surviving band members developed the idea of an anthology of their music for charity. Shortly thereafter, he began video interviews to accompany this release. Among those collected so far are band members Wesley Clackum, C.J. Clackum, Steve Hesterlee and promoter Chuck Langley.
Others who worked with or saw the band are being sought. Some album participants are also contributing significant memories. The University of Georgia Special Collections Library is working with him to include Doodle and the Golden River Grass materials from the Georgia Folklore Collection archive collected by Art Rosenbaum and other historians. The National Council of Traditional Arts and The American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress assists with materials from their archives.
James Watson and Randall Franks in 2017 in Roanoke, Ala.
Randall Franks and 1970s GRG Member Steve Hesterlee
Armuchee Bluegrass Festival Founder Chuck Langley and Randall Franks
Supporting the Future of Music
Proceeds from A Zippedy Doodle Day will benefit the Share America Foundation, Inc., founded by Randall Franks in 2006, and the West Georgia Museum. These organizations preserve Appalachian legacy and support young musicians through scholarships.
Join us in celebrating this rich musical heritage and introducing a new generation to Doodle and the Golden River Grass!
Tim Witt Studio, LaFayette, Georgia; Buck Jarrell, Buck’s Place Recording – Hendersonville, Tenn.; Engineer Jim Price, Hat Creek Recording – Jonesborough, TN; Morgan Jahnig at Hartland Studios, Nashville, TN; Engineer Erik Maluchnik at Michigan’s The Tempermill;
When available to radio in 2026 you will find us on
More Doodling
Tallapoosa dedicates its Amphitheater honoring Doodle with his widow Ezell and members of the Golden River Grass present in 1999.
The holidays always bring a sense to me within my soul. It’s a desire to go home and spend time with the family and old friends in familiar environs.
For me a peace comes over me when open horizons turn to mountain hillsides and tight roads winding between them back into the hollers. The farm houses stand upon the high points leaving what bit of flat there is for growing crops.
Smoke rises from the chimneys as I wind up through the valley to reach the old home place that sheltered our family for nearly two hundred years.
On the porch as I reach the drive are my grandmother and grandfather finishing the hanging of the greens to decorate the outside of the house.
The interior will already be filled with the smells and the vision of hundreds of Christmases – stockings on the mantle, a fresh cut tree with all types of handmade decorations hanging from the limbs.
Sadly, the vision I see today is only in my mind’s eye as the old home place is now someone else’s and the older generations that once gathered at it’s hearth are now resting beneath the family sod.
This year I chose to make my journey to my musical home place. So much of my life and mentoring came from the musical lineage of the Father of Bluegrass Music – Bill Monroe and his Uncle Pen Vandiver. The lineage is sort of mine as they both were my mother’s cousins. I was so blessed as a teen when Bill took me on to mentor my fiddling and my band leading.
So, I decided to go back to his hometown of Rosine, Ky. To visit. I was blessed in that my old friend Marty Hays and his wife Robin hosted my visit at the Bill Monroe Homeplace. The restored home has many of the aspects of the home that Bill knew as a boy. Each room offers a unique look into the warm fires that once burned in the fireplaces.
In one of his songs “I’m On My Way Back to the Old Home,” he tells a story of the Homeplace.
That today also hosts the annual Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Festival. I hope that you will take the time to add it to your plans for 2025. It’s a wonderful show with many of the top talents of bluegrass being there.
During my visit, I was blessed to also take in the Uncle Pen’s Cabin – owned by James Monroe, and the Bill Monroe Museum. I went to the Rosine Cemetery and paid my respects to Bill, Uncle Pen and all the Monroe clan.
To help make the visit a musical connection back to my time touring with his Blue Grass Boys, I celebrated my 40thAnniversary with a concert at the Rosine Barn Jamboree accompanied by the talents of The Rosine Sound. This talented group includes Marty Hays, Jasper Dale Beatty, Larry Hill and Dylan Lunsford. It was an uplifting show and with their help I played many of the tunes that I had shared with Bill.
Meeting the people of Rosine and enjoying the warm welcome they offered was similar to the mind’s eye vision I described at the beginning of my piece. I may not be able to recreate those days that stand in my memory, but I sure can make them over in news ways.
https://randallfranks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Southern-Style-e1731470363325.jpg500358Randall Frankshttps://randallfranks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/r-franks-logo-1.pngRandall Franks2024-12-05 06:00:212024-12-11 20:23:52I’m on my way back to the old home
So as best I recall, it was 1984 at Raccoon Creek Bluegrass Festival in Dallas, Ga., I took it into my head that the Marksmen Quartet needed a fiddle player, so I crawled up on stage fiddle in hand from the audience and joined in. I was surprised Earle Wheeler didn’t kick me right back off.
Already a legendary American music singer Dr. Earle Wheeler, of Murrayville, Ga. whose appearances on “The Gospel Singing Jubilee,” J.G. Whitfield’s “All Nite Sings,” and “The Warren Roberts Show” greatly impacted Southern gospel and now he was making strides in bluegrass music. He would go on to add country music as another musical genre among his conquests.
Dr. Earle Wheeler (Marksmen Media: Leslie Laurendeau Abby-J Photography)
He contributed over 500 career recordings to American music and amassed over 20 career award wins across the three musical genres plus three Dove Award nominations for “God’s Masterpiece” and “Blue Ridge Mountain Memories” and “This My Crowd” in 2008, 2010, and 2013. He attained numerous chart songs including several #1 songs, some of those were “Sound the Battle Cry,” “He’s Still Setting My Place at The Table,” “Potter’s Wheel,” and “Preach the Cross.”
Earle left this world doing what he loved while on tour in Texas at the age of 84, (1940- 2024). An accidental fall caused a broken second vertebra requiring his hospitalization prior to his passing from heart failure on Oct. 31.
Earle had led the Hall of Fame and multiple-award–winning Marksmen Quartet since 1967, a re-branding from his group The Gospel Hearts that he began in 1961.
My intervening in their performance 40 years ago, began friendships and musical collaborations that remain to this day.
My early years in music, I spent countless nights in their home. I slept in a bunk pulled out from under guitarist and vocalist Mark Wheeler’s bed when we were youth. Mark is Earle’s only son and a mainstay of the quartet. I ate many meals prepared by his wife Shirley at their dining room table.
When I graduated, Earle helped me get my first record company job. Of course, they would soon sign with that label and I promoted their music. While there I played on my first chart record for Earle “Meet Me in Heaven” which featured a fiddle solo in it.
That was one of a long list of chart songs in the three genres Earle would bring to music fans.
I stood on stage beside Earle for many years watching him move an audience with his master level skills of emceeing a show. His performances often brought explosive response from audiences was when he led “Get Away Jordan” and “I Want to Go There.” I saw long-time stars express their frustrations to follow Earle on stage because he would wear out an audience through his ability to move them emotionally.
The Marksmen joined me in my performance for the Grand Ole Opry’s 63rd Birthday Celebration in 1987 electrifying the audience. Within a year, they were included in a performance for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Legends of Bluegrass Concert in 1988 alongside Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, Jim and Jesse, The Lewis Family, and the Osborne Brothers.Their efforts garnered them nine Gospel Bluegrass Band of the Year Awards once such an award was created.
I was honored to be there for many of those great achievements with Earle and appear with them on shows such as “The Huff Cook Gospel Sing” from Bristol, Va.
Beginning in 1988, I joined the castof “In the Heat of the Night,” and when the opportunity arose, I included Earle and the group to sing on “In the Heat of the Night” “Christmas Time’s A Comin’” CD with Anne-Marie Johnson and featured them with Carroll O’Connor, the cast and country hall of famers.
In later years, when ever I appeared Earle used to joke I left the Marksmen because Carroll O’Connor paid me more than he did.
His acceptance in bluegrass also yielded his transition and acceptance into the country genre performing side by side with that genre’s biggest stars. Still performing in the same fashion, just finding new audiences for four voices and their unique songs. The group would win Five Country Gospel Group of the Year Awards. They won Two Country Music Video Awards for “Grandpa Was a Farmer” and “Wagon Tracks.”
From our first concert to raise funds for the Pearl and Floyd Franks Appalachian Music Scholarships for the Share America Foundation, Inc., Earle and the Marksmen Quartet were there and made our efforts a success each year joining us for the last time in 2023 on the Hollywood Hillbilly Jamboree.
Earle and his wife Shirley were an extra set of parents who have checked in on me throughout my life. Earle was there supporting me when I lost both my dad and mom. He is survived by his wife Shirley, his son Mark (Joy), and his grandchildren Will, Sarah Grace, and Cana and current and former members of The Marksmen Quartet.
Rest in Peace Earle… Well done good and faithful servant!
The Marksmen – 1987
https://randallfranks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Southern-Style-e1731470363325.jpg500358Randall Frankshttps://randallfranks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/r-franks-logo-1.pngRandall Franks2024-11-13 06:00:012024-11-12 22:43:50Legendary American singer Earle Wheeler is called home
When the sounds ofSoutherngospel music fill Pigeon Forge, Tenn., it must be time for the National Quartet Convention.
The LeConte Center hosts the annual event each September providing an opportunity for fans of all ages to hear and meet their very favorite traveling gospel singers since 1957.
I was able to attend this year and enjoy some of the most talented stars and up and coming performers on the main stage and on showcases at the event.
Jeff & Sheri Easter, the Troy Burns Family, the Inspirations, Jeff Tolbert and Primitive Road, the Kingsmen, the Down East Boys, the Dixie Echoes, the Perrys, Gold City and many others that play a part in Bill Gaither’s Homecoming Friends kept the attendees smiling, laughing, tapping their toes and praising the Lord for show after show.
Radio and television personalities catch them for special interviews and they spend hours around their merchandise tables talking with friends.
The Singing News Fan Awards – seeing groups such as the Inspirations sweep many categories, Ray Dean Reese honored for Lifetime Achievement and Karen Peck Gooch as Favorite Soprano and theSouthernGospel Music Hall of Fame inductionshonoringHerb Henry, Mike Holcomb, Kelly Nelon Clark and Jeff Sticeare major highlights of the week.
I remember the earliest conventions I attended in Nashville, then Louisville and now Pigeon Forge. The genre still allows for the personal touch between the music stars and the fans, much as it has been done throughout its history. Don’t miss your chance to be part of the tradition in 2025, visithttps://www.natqc.com/to watch for future events.
Another destination of my recent travels was to participate in the IBMA World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, N.C. where I was enthusiastically impressed with the large number of youth I found smiling and jamming in corners around the convention center between special conference events, concerts, the annual awards and exhibition hall where current performers share their latest and talk with fans. I was honored to direct segments of the award show this year working with my talented hosts Mike Compton and Joe Newberry. Compton’s work is well known for his many associations in numerous genres and for the hit film and recording “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
The annual IBMA Awards saw the Del McCoury Band win Entertainer of the Year; Deanie Richardson as Fiddle Player of the Year; Album of the Year by Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway; Vocal Group of the Year is Authentic Unlimited; among other award winners and Laurie Lewis received a Distinguished Achievement Award; Wyatt Ellis received the Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year and Dobroist Jerry Douglas, banjo player Alan Munde and Radio Host Katy Daley were inductees into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame. For 2025, the IBMA World of Bluegrass will move to Chattanooga, Tenn. Watchwww.IBMA.orgfor future news.
On the heels of both these amazing events, many of the musical participants and attendees returned to their homes across the Appalachians and the South finding devastation in their communities brought on my Hurricane Helene. I encourage any of you reading these words to seek out local organizations across Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida in the affected areas. Send monies to those that are closest to the victims that can make the greatest difference in the recoveries and eventually rebuilding of these communities. I pray for all affected. I fear the story to be told in the future will be one of greatest loss and sadness seen across these regions since the Civil War. That sadness will likely be recorded as not only from the impact of the storm but also from the lack of early response from authorities and others outside the region after the fact.
https://randallfranks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/r-franks-logo-1.png00Randall Frankshttps://randallfranks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/r-franks-logo-1.pngRandall Franks2024-10-09 06:00:042024-10-15 21:45:24American music brings smiles
The rained poured down on the fairgrounds at the Cedartown Georgia fairgrounds. It was the site of a new bluegrass festival including many talented acts. I was there with my youth group, the Peachtree Pickers. We were dodging mud puddles from the rain that had already come in to get to the stage.
When another storm front came through, my father and I sought refuge in a cattle barn on the grounds. Inside, we found David Davis of the Warrior River Boys (www.DavidDavisandWRB.com) and his father also dodging the bad weather. They were also on the bill that day.
This deluge created an opportunity for us to meet and talk. That day began a four-decade long friendship that led David and I into an unusual musical creative partnership.
As we both plotted the course for our future careers in Bluegrass and beyond, we saw the opportunity to be cheerleaders, counselors, and sounding boards for ideas and opportunities as they came to us. Our talents and ourstyleswere different, so we didn’t see each other as competing for the same ground and jobs, however we believed in each of our strengths we could compliment what was ahead.
Doors opened for both of us as David landed on Rounder Records and created critically acclaimed albums and a widening festival audiences with his Monroe-infused Appalachian roots sounds.
I shifted to guest starring for the Grand Ole Opry and crossed over to acting in network TV reaching large country music audiences.
Whenever David needed a musician, all he had to do was call and went to help. When I began mounting my country variety shows – The Hollywood Hillbilly Jamboree, I asked David to join me and provide the bluegrass portion and do some songs with me as I moved from country, to bluegrass, to gospel on my shows.
He moved along to Wango and Rebel Records and even had some Time-Life recordings as the years ticked off before returning again to Rounder.
As I was focusing more closely on my Appalachian roots, I asked David to record a brother-duet album with me called “God’s Children.” He didn’t hesitate and we created some eclectic sounds with pioneers “Doc” Tommy Scott, Cotton and Jane Carrier, and my television friend Sonny Shroyer “Enos” from “The Dukes of Hazzard” as special guests.
Through much of what we considered the ups and downs of the music industry, we held on, grew, learned, and tried to remain relevant, reinventing and creating opportunities to leave a mark. There was not much that either of us did in the music business, that the other didn’t chime in his thoughts.
I know these memories are probably not of much interest, but I received the sad news before writing today that my friend David died due to injuries sustained in an auto accident Sept. 15 in his home state of Alabama. His wife Cindy was injured but is recovering.
The news has rocked the worldwide Americana and bluegrass music community as he was widely respected and admired. He had also become a mentor to many talented young artists now finding their place in the larger music scene such as Wyatt Ellis, The Price Sisters,Jeremy and Corrina Rose Logston StephensofHigh Fidelity, Kody Norris of the Kody Norris Show and RFD-TV star Alan Sibley and so many more.
I helped his family prepare a press release about the Alabama Bluegrass Music and National Old Time Country Music Hall of Famer’s amazing life and his extensive musical catalog that has touched millions through performances, television and radio.
We will soon gather in Cullman, Ala. to remember and celebrate the life of a trueSoutherngentleman whose mandolin playing and vocal stylings have touched two generations of music fans.
I hope you will celebrate his talents by finding his music, download or buy an album, or listen on YouTube and share it with friends. You may also donate to support Appalachian music scholarships in memory of David Davis atwww.ShareAmericaFoundation.orgor by sending to Share America Foundation, P.O. Box 42, Tunnel Hill, Ga. 30755. Rest in peace David. You are missed.
https://randallfranks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/r-franks-logo-1.png00Randall Frankshttps://randallfranks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/r-franks-logo-1.pngRandall Franks2024-09-25 06:00:582024-10-15 21:35:36David Davis, a bluegrass mandolin stilled
When I reflect upon my life, some of my greatest joy came upon the grounds and on stages of bluegrass festivals across the country.
My youthful days brought a desire to throw an instrument in the car, a tent, sleeping bag and enough clothes and food to get by while I took in day and evening shows and late night jam sessions.
The people attending, the performers became my family. I once compared the experience to living in Mayberry. We had a small town that each weekend moved to a new location with many of the same lovable characters making up our world.
All we did circled around a group of established and much loved performers whose talents surpassed all we knew and who could keep us mesmerized again and again as they flowed onto the stage and sang the songs that touched our hearts. The first generation of those performers were the kings and queens of our world. As fans we shared their lives in ways no other music industry ever afforded. We actually came to know them, their families, we often shared meals and laughed around the record tables to endless stories.
Most of that first generation has stepped off the stage. In recent weeks, the heavenly bluegrass band expanded by two more mandolin players and lead singers whose sound and songs were known around the world. First, Jesse McReynolds of Jim & Jesse and the Virginia Boys. His career spanned from 1947 until 2023. He and his late brother Jim joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1964. Their career was infused by breaking musical barriers and taking their unique bluegrass style across genres. They turned heads in the 1960s dedicating an entire album to the songs of Chuck Berry in bluegrass style. Johnny B. Goode became a career-long fan favorite. Jesse could as easily play with a Rock and Roll star as a Jazz virtuoso innovating his instrument with two distinct approaches including split-stringing and cross-picking. Both of which made him the envy of every player and an inspiration for generations.
He and his brother created bluegrass hits such as “Cotton Mill Man,” “Paradise,” “Sweet Little Miss Blue Eyes,” “Hard Hearted,” “Pardon Me,” “Border Ride” while adding hundreds of songs to America’s music catalog.
Of course, with their distinguished career came International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame induction, America’s highest musical award – National Heritage Fellowship, Grammy nominations, and countless other awards. I first saw them as a youth at one of those festivals, and I was blessed to have them both a mentors in my life and career. I appeared both as a Virginia Boy and as a guest star on the Jim and Jesse Show. I slept in their bus and Jesse’s house many times. No bluegrass legend invested more in my life than Jesse. He and Jim were my family, so with Jesse’s passing I lost an adopted father in many respects. But the world lost a vital link to a generation of music performance which will never be again.
Another legendary figure, who I was also blessed to be friends with who died four days after Jesse was Bobby Osborne. Beginning as part of the Hall of Fame Lonesome Pine Fiddlers in 1949, he and his brother Sonny – The Osborne Brothers, also joined the Opry in 1964. Before that they performed with the Stanley Brothers, Red Allen, Jimmy Martin and others. Their vocal blends combined with the coordination of their banjo and mandolin talents endeared them to worldwide audiences. Their albums were an annual feast of what was going to be the next hot song heard in jam sessions. On stage, they were unmatched in their ability to entertain. If you are from America, you probably heard their big hit “Rocky Top,” which they popularized. Bobby could sing “Ruby, Are You Made At Your Man” with a voice so high he could catch the birds in flight above the stage he was singing upon. They also added hundreds of stylistic performances to the American songbook – “Big Spike Hammer,” “I’ll Be Alright Tomorrow,” “Up This Heal and Down,” “Pain In My Heart,” “Me and My Old Banjo” and others.
They also were International Bluegrass Hall of Fame inductees. Among their awards were major ones in both country and bluegrass. And they also received the National Heritage Fellowship Award. I was honored to feature The Osborne Brothers on shows I produced. I will add my sorrow among the many fans who will miss Bobby. There are only a handful of the first generation performers remaining. These were the last two among the Opry family, which added to their legacy. I wish I could once again throw my fiddle in the back of the station wagon and head down some old dirt road to a pasture by a creek where in front of a stage thousands were gathered around to hear Jim & Jesse and the Osborne Brothers and so many other legends once more. We sure were blessed to know them!
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I pulled into the gates of the festival grounds and before I pulled even a few feet beyond the entrance, I could hear the musical notes flowing on the wind from the distance of the trees.
I could see people carrying their guitars, banjos and other instruments along the dirt road as I slowly made my way through the parking field and into the campground.
I passed jam session after jam session in the campground, “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” emanated from one, “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” from another. Folks smiled and waved as I went by, as I neared the artist parking area. Those greetings made me feel right at home.
For years, this experience is one which I looked forward to almost every weekend once Spring arrived and throughout the year until the fall.
Bluegrass Festivals became a way of life and the people who attended week after week became extended family as we shared laughs, meals, talks, jam sessions and shows.
I once compared the experience like visiting Mayberry – we had our Aunt Beas, our Opies, Andys, Barneys, Gomers and Goobers.
I grew up performing at these types of events across the United States. It didn’t matter where we came from, what we believed, we were all part of the bluegrass family. We either played it or loved to listen to it and as long as we treated each other with respect, helped one another when needed, we were welcomed with smiles and usually an offer of hospitality where ever we went.
It was in this environment that I learned so much about music around campfires, listening and playing with pickers who just loved to play and occasionally the professionals who joined in the fun. As my stage opportunities grew and I performed at more and more events, I learned so much about performing and entertaining audiences. Those lessons only come by standing in front of an audience and learning what makes them smile, applaud, laugh or move to any variety of emotions.
This time of year always gets my feet to itching wanting to return to these type of environs. While these types of events are fewer and farther between than in my youth, they are still scattered across the United States. There are dozens of talented bluegrass artists entertaining audiences traveling across the country which fill the stages at these events.
If you have never attended a bluegrass festival, I encourage you to go outside your comfort zone and take one in. One you might try is the 51stDr. Ralph Stanley Hills of Home Festival in McClure, Va.https://drralphstanleyfestival.com/ or check outhttps://ibma.org/for other bluegrass info.
Bring your lawn chairs, pay your admission and a little money to buy something to eat from the concession stand, and enjoy the music. If you play, bring your instrument and find a jam session. Be friendly while there and you may just make some new friends. Bluegrass blessings!
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Reaching lifetime goals often means it is time to reformulate your life and create new goals. As time passes, these goals seem to race by like fence posts but each one is a marker I look on fondly. I reached a career goal in 1993 that I had pursued since I was a little child.
Since the first time I watched Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs sing “Little Girl of Mine In Tennessee” to “Granny” and “Uncle Jed” on “The Beverly Hillbillies;” since the first time I saw Wayne Newton play a down homecountryboy who could really saw the fiddle; or since the first time I watched Doug Dillard and all the Dillards entertain “Sheriff Andy Taylor” as “The Darlings” on the “Andy Griffith Show” with his up tempo banjo tunes; I dreamed of walking on network television to pick and grin.
I always figured that such national exposure for a young boy from Georgia had to come through music. There were just not that many other avenues at that time. So I worked and studied to improve my music, working to create and market our youth group, The Peachtree Pickers®, by working flea markets, churches and schools. We began competing at fiddler’s conventions and then moved up to entertaining larger and larger audiences at bluegrass festivals and fairs. The support of my late parents Pearl and Floyd Franks and those of the other group members helped to move our joint goals forward. We reached network cable in its infancy with a children’s show called “TheCountryKids TV Series,” essentially a children’s “Hee Haw” which aired in the United States and abroad. Our growth would eventually lead us to performances for the Grand Old Opry ® and some acceptance by the more mainstream music industry.
In 1987, members of our youth act decided to go their separate ways, partially due to new college obligations. I was at a new point in my life, trying to decide what is next. I had not yet reached my childhood goal, but without a group, which was still the foundation of bluegrass andsoutherngospel music at that time, I did not know what my next step would be. I decided to make some solo appearances pulling together musicians when needed and continued appearing with other acts such as The Marksmen Quartet and Doodle and the Golden River Grass.
I began work at the Atlanta-based MBM records in 1987 helping to guide the careers of several artists signed with the label while still performing every opportunity I had. In 1988, the label changed hands and my job was eliminated. So, once again, I found myself searching. While I had enjoyed doing some minor acting in school, I decided in order to reach my television goal, I would have to begin a more intensive study of acting and take any opportunity, which were not many at the time, I could to get to be on screen in Georgia.
But God seemed to immediately open the doors, giving me opportunity after opportunity. The music talents God gave me seemed to put me where I needed to be. It would not be music that landed me my role as “Officer Randy Goode” on “In the Heat of the Night,” but it would be the many friends I developed from years of touring and recording that would share their exuberance about my presence on the show. After countless requests from those who cared about my music asking for me to perform on the show, Carroll O’Connor wrote a uniquely designed scene in an episode entitled “Random’s Child” which would set up a reason and purpose for “Officer Randy” to be pickin’ and grinnin’ just to frustrate the bad guys in that episode. One of those bad guys was Robert O’Reilly, “Gowron,” leader of the Klingons, from “Star Trek, Deep Space Nine.” I bet that is the only time in my life I will get to aggravate a Klingon.
Anyway, Carroll wrote a little piece entitled the “Sparta Blues” for actor Thomas Byrd and I to perform at the Sparta Police impound yard when the bad guys came to claim their car.
I have always jokingly called it my biggest hit since millions saw and heard it on CBS and millions more around the world have heard it since. I’ve often wondered what it sounded like when translated into Chinese or Italian. Recently, one of our Italian fans actually sent me some Italian performances, they were interesting. I didn’t know I spoke Italian so well.
It took years but the childhood dream was reached, and the goal I had chased for years was accomplished.
Then I had to decide what was next. Life is a constant re-evaluation of where you are and where you are going. We can’t just simply drift or what service will that be to God and our fellow man? He has a purpose for everyone’s life. It is up to us to make His vision for us happen. He will open the doors; we must simply study and be prepared to walk through. But at the same time, as we walk with the confidence He gave us we must always be mindful of whether what we are reaching for is His will or one we have created. Only time will tell.
https://randallfranks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Southern-Style-by-Randall-Franks-200x200.jpg200200Randall Frankshttps://randallfranks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/r-franks-logo-1.pngRandall Franks2022-05-29 06:00:222022-06-02 21:47:59Reaching and creating goals
Doodle and the Golden River Grass Georgia Music Hall of Fame Exhibit in 2003. (Photo: Peach Picked Publishing)
As we both plotted the course for our future careers in Bluegrass and beyond, we saw the opportunity to be cheerleaders, counselors, and sounding boards for ideas and opportunities as they came to us. Our talents and our
I first saw them as a youth at one of those festivals, and I was blessed to have them both a mentors in my life and career. I appeared both as a Virginia Boy and as a guest star on the Jim and Jesse Show. I slept in their bus and Jesse’s house many times. No bluegrass legend invested more in my life than Jesse. He and Jim were my family, so with Jesse’s passing I lost an adopted father in many respects. But the world lost a vital link to a generation of music performance which will never be again.
he was singing upon. They also added hundreds of stylistic performances to the American songbook – “Big Spike Hammer,” “I’ll Be Alright Tomorrow,” “Up This Heal and Down,” “Pain In My Heart,” “Me and My Old Banjo” and others.
