Located in Mount Airy, North Carolina, radio station WPAQ has been broadcasting bluegrass, gospel and old-time mountain music for more than 50 years. Although the cover art states that the tracks, broadcast during the station’s infancy, are from 1947–1950, liner notes indicate that most were probably made between 1948–1952.
Legendary WPAQ is revered by listeners because it has stayed true to its original mission: To serve the community by featuring local talent and by reflecting regional values. Thus, the station still acts as a pulpit for preachers. There are plenty of banjo and fiddle instrumentals on the disc, but the most inspired performances are gospel tunes.
The Draughn Trio’s close harmony singing and a bouncing piano melody make “Feed Me Jesus” a definite highlight. The stellar gospel-bluegrass number “A Mansion Will Be Mine” is credited to the Johnson Brothers accompanied by Ray Myers, an armless musician who played a mean slide guitar with his toes. The vast majority of these local artists were white, but the Silvertone Gospel Harmonizers, an African-American quartet, were also featured regularly on WPAQ. The Harmonizers’ a cappella version of “I’m Living Down Here On Borrowed Land” is simply heavenly.
More a cautionary tale than a gospel song, “Story Of The Drunken Driver” (by Uncle Joe Johnson & the Blue Mountain Boys) climaxes with a drunken, wayward father accidentally killing his two children. It has the morose, fire-and-brimstone vibe of a Louvin Brothers classic.
Like WPAQ’s daily broadcasts, this disc gloriously illustrates the interconnecting currents in the great river of American music. Juanita Moore’s phrasing and plaintive vocals on “Man Of Constant Sorrow” — a traditional tune included on Bob Dylan’s debut and still a staple of Ralph Stanley’s concerts — echo Kitty Wells’ style. The Carolina Sunshine Trio’s “Cornbread & Butterbeans” has a melody reminiscent of Bob Wills’ “Take Me Back To Tulsa”.
This collection serves as a nice companion piece to The Bristol Sessions (Country Music Foundation), which chronicle Ralph Peer’s discovery of both the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers. Those monumentally important recordings were made in 1927; it’s fascinating to hear how these sides, recorded 25 years later in the same region, have a similar flavor.
