Album Description

Earning Their White Stripes. "But what I'm listening to most of the time at present is an album called Good For What Ails You, which is an album of songs that people used to listen to at medicine shows all over the States. It's quite an interesting album and I think that people would be well advised to pick it up." Jack White - Sunday Mail (Australia) Dec 18, 2005

Five Stars. Groundbreaking. "Fans of Nick Tosches' Where Dead Voices Gather will lap up this extraordinary snapshot of an America that is still shrouded in shadow. Good For What Ails You supplants the Harry Smith collections by surveying the people's music of the day, some of which sounds like nothing you have heard before." Jon Savage - MOJO Dec 2005

Before motion pictures, before radio, before television, the traveling Medicine Shows brought entertainment to America! Flamboyant pitch doctors roamed the land, hawking their tonics, elixirs, and miracle cures, and with them came a host of singers, dancers, comedians, banjo pickers, blues shouters, jug blowers, string ticklers, and minstrel men. The shows died out by mid-20th century, but not before a handful of seasoned veterans left their musical legacy on phonograph records. Here are classic performances by such colorful names as Pink Anderson, Daddy Stovepipe, Gid Tanner, Blind Sammie, Bogus Ben Covington, Fiddlin' John Carson, Banjo Joe, Shorty Godwin, Beans Hambone, Emmett Miller & His Georgia Crackers, the Three Tobacco Tags, and many more!

Two-CD Set / 48 Songs Digitally Remastered / Over 2 Hours of Music / Six-Panel Digipak with 72-page Full Color Booklet

A Profusely Illustrated History of the Medicine Shows, many Rare Photographs and Firsthand Accounts never before published, plus full discography and song descriptions.

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Discs and Tracks

Disc 1
  1 - The Spasm - Daddy Stovepipe & Mississippi Sarah
  2 - Tanner's Boarding House - Gid Tanner & Riley Puckett
  3 - Don't Think I'm Santa Claus - Lil McClintock
  4 - Hokum Blues - Dallas String Band with Coley Jones
  5 - Jimbo Jambo Land - Shorty Godwin
  6 - Gonna Swing On The Golden Gate - Fiddlin' John Carson & His Virginia Reelers
  7 - Papa's 'Bout To Get Mad - Pink Anderson & Simmie Dooley
  8 - The Man Who Wrote Home Sweet Home Never Was A Married Man - Charlie Parker & Mack Woolbright
  9 - Bye, Bye, Policeman - Jim Jackson
  10 - The Bald-Headed End Of A Broom - Walter Smith
  11 - Bow Wow Blues - Allen Brothers
  12 - Beans - Beans Hambone & El Morrow
  13 - A Chicken Can Waltz The Gravy Around - Stovepipe # 1 and David Crockett
  14 - Tell It To Me - Grant Brothers & Their Music
  15 - Ain't No Use Working So Hard - Carolina Tar Heels
  16 - Mama Keep Your Yes Ma'am Clean - Walter Cole
  17 - C-H-I-C-K-E-N Spells Chicken - Kirk McGee & Blythe Poteet
  18 - My Money Never Runs Out - Banjo Joe
  19 - Railroadin' Some - Henry Thomas "Ragtime Texas"
  20 - Traveling Man - Prince Albert Hunt's Texas Ramblers
  21 - G. Burns Is Gonna Rise Again - Johnson-Nelson-Porkchop
  22 - Baby All Night Long - Blue Ridge Mountain Entertainers
  23 - Born In Hard Luck - Chris Bouchillon
  24 - He's In The Jailhouse Now - Memphis Sheiks

Disc 2
  1 - Gonna Tip Out Tonight - Pink Anderson & Simmie Dooley
  2 - Chevrolet Car - Sam McGee
  3 - It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo' - Gid Tanner & His Skillet-Lickers
  4 - Bring It With You When You Come - Cannon's Jug Stompers
  5 - Atlanta Strut - Blind Sammie
  6 - Go Along Mule - Uncle Dave Macon & His Fruit Jar Drinkers
  7 - Casey Bill - Earl McDonald's Original Louisville Jug Band
  8 - I Got Mine - Frank Stokes
  9 - Hannah - Chris Bouchillon
  10 - Adam & Eve In The Garden - Bogus Ben Covington
  11 - Mysterious Coon - Alec Johnson & His Band
  12 - Her Name Was Hula Lou - Carolina Tar Heels
  13 - Reno Blues - Three Tobacco Tags
  14 - Scoodle Um Skoo - Papa Charlie Jackson
  15 - Stackalee - Frank Hutchison
  16 - The Cat's Got The Measles, The Dog's Got The Whooping Cough - Walter Smith
  17 - Shout You Cats - Hezekiah Jenkins
  18 - Nobody's Business If I Do - Tommie Bradley
  19 - Sweet Sixteen - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers
  20 - Ticklish Reuben - Charlie Parker & Mack Woolbright
  21 - I Heard The Voice Of A Porkchop - Jim Jackson
  22 - Shine - Dallas String Band with Coley Jones
  23 - The Gypsy - Emmett Miller & His Georgia Crackers
  24 - Kiss Me Cindy - J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers

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Bad Cover, Great CD        Rating:

I resisted buying this CD for a long time because I didn't like the cover. I hope if they ever re-issue it, Old Hat
will choose a more compelling image. The booklet is full of fantastic photographs, any number of which might have been more appealing. It's a shame that the cover art is so crummy, because the music is full of humor, energy, and is grealy evocative of a strange time in our history. The sound is as good as you can expect from songs recorded in the 20's and 30's. I don't mind the scratchiness because there are some true gems--Jimbo Jambo Land, and I Got Mine are stand-outs.

like finding buried treasure        Rating:

what a great compilation of pre-war old-timey music, including an informative booklet withlots of pictures. You will not find any of these recordings anywhere else so snatch this one up while it is still available. I don't want to get into the particulars of any one artist or song, 'cause they're all great and listened together in context makes it all that much greater.

Old Time Music        Rating:

This gave us 50 tracks of original music. Along with it you get a nice booklet that tells the history of the medicine shows and individual descriptions of each track and it's performers.

You will feel so much better        Rating:

You just can't imagine what the life of a performer on the road in the 20, 30's (or earlier) must have been like. The ups of course was the freedom, and the fun at times. The downs include never knowing what was around the corner, the cold (or heat), some of the boarding houses I would imagine would have been dreadful amongst many others.

But at least we can listen to the music. I've only received this the other day and I've not taken it out of the player, it goes to work with me and takes me home again, it plays in the background when I'm busy about the house. Yes some of the sound quality is hissy, but they are old recordings and besides I would rather hear it like that, it adds to the feel. These are happy songs, even when they are talking about slashing someones throat. If you looking at this you obviously have an interest in this style of music and you would be doing yourself a favour by purchasing this wonderful collection. You get 2 CD's and a wonderful booklet that tells you a little history of the genre and pictures of some the the performers on the CD's as well as a little history on each of the songs.

The right medicine for the blahs! Outstanding fun!        Rating:

Step right up..ladies and gentlemen...Are you feeling blah listening to those same old CD's you've had for the last several years? Does today's music leave you cold? Well, you've come to the right place. Restore your enthusiasm...bring back the fun, with 50 recordings from the golden age of medicine shows. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Many of these fine artists are obscure names to most people of this generation...but alas...like an old ancient Indian cure...this box set will bring you back to life. Yes friends and neighbors...it also comes with a beautiful full-color booklet with all the songs, dates and stories of old. Uh..excuse me son, don't crowd the stage. IT'S A PANACEA FOR ALL BORING AILMENTS! Yes and considering how old these gems are (1925-36) they are all in remarkable shape...and your sense of humor will be too. So pick one up today. It;s more fun than a brand new Victrola!

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