SURFACES IN THE GARDEN SPOT PROGRAMS, 1950
On May 20, Omnivore Recordings will issue 24 songs and jingles
recorded in Nashville, and last heard generations ago
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (April 17, 2014) — Omnivore Recordings will soon release the full-length version of The Garden Spot Programs, 1950,
featuring 24 performances, unheard for 64 years, from country music
legend Hank Williams. Rescued from obscurity, these shows originally
aired more than six decades ago; The Garden Spot Programs, 1950 collects
material from the four episodes now known to exist. Due out May 20,
2014, the set follows the release of Omnivore’s collectible 10” vinyl
Record Store Day EP sampler.
From hits to standards to songs rarely (if ever) performed, this is
pure Hank Williams, including playful between-song banter. Featuring
fully restored audio, The Garden Spot Programs, 1950 is an
exceptional listening experience. Painstakingly transferred, restored
and mastered from original transcription discs by Grammy Award winning
engineer Michael Graves. Williams’ daughter, Jett, is excited that her
father’s lost material is not only seeing the light of day decades
later, but will be available on CD, digital and LP.
The CD packaging contains rare photos and liner notes from the
collection of set co-producer and Williams biographer Colin Escott. Also
available on LP, the first pressing will be on limited edition,
translucent red vinyl (with black vinyl to follow), containing Escott’s
informative notes and a download card.
Escott writes in his notes: “Set the time machine for early morning
on KSIB-AM, Creston, Iowa. February 1950. Country radio was beginning
its slow transition from live music to DJ shows. Live music and DJ shows
were augmented by transcribed shows. After buying 15 minutes of airtime
on small-market stations, sponsors would prerecord shows with well
known artists, duplicate them, and ship them out on 12 or 16-inch
transcribed discs.”
“That’s how Hank Williams came to be on KSIB in February 1950.
Sandwiched between the local ‘live’ acts, it was almost as if he were
visiting with Skeets and those Radio Rascals. His sponsor was one of the
nation’s largest plant nurseries, Naughton Farms, seven hundred miles
south in Waxahachie, Texas. Given that Naughton was a big player in the
nursery business, Hank’s shows were almost certainly shipped to many
small stations, but only KSIB’s copies survived. Those of us who have
studied Hank’s life and career had no idea that these recordings
existed.”
Any music from Hank Williams is worth celebrating. Discovering material that has been unheard for generations is monumental.
“It’s incredible to me that we’re still finding new recordings by my
dad — great ones at that,” says Jett Williams. “No one even suspected
that these recordings existed. We partnered with Omnivore Recordings for
this release, and I especially love it that they’re taking my dad back
to vinyl.”
Track Listing:
1. The Garden Spot Jingle
2. Lovesick Blues
3. A Mansion On The Hill
4. Fiddle Tune
5. I’ve Just Told Mama Goodbye
6. Closing/Oh! Susanna
7. The Garden Spot Jingle
8. Mind Your Own Business
9. Lovesick Blues
10. Fiddle Tune
11. At The First Fall Of Snow
12. Closing/Oh! Susanna
13. The Garden Spot Jingle
14. I Can’t Get You Off Of My Mind
15. I Don’t Care (If Tomorrow Never Comes)
16. Fiddle Tune
17. Farther Along
18. Closing/Oh! Susanna
19. The Garden Spot Jingle
20. I’ll Be A Bachelor ’Til I Die
21. Wedding Bells
22. Fiddle Tune
23. Jesus Remembered Me
24. Closing/Oh! Susanna
Tracks 1 – 6 taken from Naughton Farms Garden Spot Show #4
Tracks 7 – 12 taken from Naughton Farms Garden Spot Show #9
Tracks 13 – 18 taken from Naughton Farms Garden Spot Show #10
Tracks 19 – 24 taken from Naughton Farms Garden Spot Show #11