Product Description

Gastonia Gallop provides a vivid portrait of the evolving musical traditions heard in the mill villages of Gaston County, North Carolina, during a period of swift social and cultural change. Amid this emerging modern world, with its factory whistles, clattering machines, and low-wage labor, local textile workers created a vibrant working-class music that provided the foundations for today's country music. These Gaston County string band musicians interpreted a wide range of American music, combining the fiddle tunes, minstrel songs, and ragtime numbers of their youth with the more contemporary sounds of blues, vaudeville, and Tin Pan Alley.

Here are 24 tracks by largely unsung musicians who left behind an enduring musical legacy on phonograph records between 1927 and 1931. You'll hear David McCarn's biting and witty critiques of cotton mill life; the virtuoso harmonica-and-guitar duets of Gwin Foster and Dave Fletcher; the upbeat hokum of the Three 'Baccer Tags; the soulful ballads of Wilmer Watts & The Lonely Eagles, and much more. The music of Gastonia Gallop has been expertly remastered for digital clarity, and the disc comes with a 24-page, full-color booklet with rare vintage photographs, complete discography, and a detailed historical essay by Patrick Huber, author of the award-winning book Linthead Stomp, The Creation of Country Music In The Piedmont South.

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Discs and Tracks

Disc 1
  1 - Gastonia Gallop - David McCarn
  2 - Get Your Head in Here - Three 'Baccer Tags
  3 - Gal of Mine Took My Licker from Me - Carolina Twins
  4 - Cotton Mill Colic - David McCarn
  5 - Been on the Job Too Long - Wilmer Watts & The Lonely Eagles
  6 - Southern Jack - Carolina Twins
  7 - Everyday Dirt - David McCarn
  8 - Bonnie Bess - Wilmer Watts & The Lonely Eagles
  9 - Think a Little - George Wade & Francum Braswell
  10 - Bay Rum Blues - Dave & Howard
  11 - Walk Right in Belmont - Watts & Wilson
  12 - Red Rose Rag - Fletcher & Foster
  13 - Poor Man, Rich Man [Cotton Mill Colic No. 2] - David McCarn
  14 - She's a Hard Boiled Rose - Wilmer Watts & The Lonely Eagles
  15 - I Want My Black Baby Back - Carolina Twins
  16 - Ain't Gonna Do It No More - Three 'Baccer Tags
  17 - Sleepy Desert - Wilmer Watts & The Lonely Eagles
  18 - Take Them for a Ride - David McCarn
  19 - Charlotte Hot Step - Fletcher & Foster
  20 - Cotton Mill Blues - Wilmer Watts & The Lonely Eagles
  21 - When You Go a Courtin - George Wade & Francum Braswell
  22 - A Change in Business All Around - Carolina Twins
  23 - Working for My Sally - Wilmer Watts & The Lonely Eagles
  24 - Serves 'Em Fine - Dave & Howard

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Priceless historical recordings        Rating:

Various Artists
"Gastonia Gallop: 1927-1931"
(Old Hat Records, 2009)
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Another great release from one of the finest independent reissue labels in the U.S. of A. This disc focusses on the Southern folk and blues traditions of the towns and villages in Gaston County, North Carolina, a center for cotton production and textile mills. Topical songs, fiddle tunes, harmonica blues and vaudeville and minstrel show oldies -- all these traditions were alive and well when these Depression-era recordings were made, and in this diverse, boisterous mix, we hear the roots of modern country and rock'n'roll. Although some of these artists were professional or semi-preofessional performers, most of them were mainly mill workers and villagers, and their authenticity and earnestness shines through these ancient, obscure recordings. Great stuff if you like old-timey country and rural blues rarities! A perfect companion to the book-length ethnomusicalogical study, "Linthead Stomp," by Patrick Huber, who also contributes liner notes to this collection. (DJ Joe Sixpack, Slipcue Guide To Country Music)

Gosh, It's the Gastonia Gallop! And it is Great!        Rating:

I had earlier read (and actually reviewed) Patrick Huber's book "Linthead Stomp" in which we are introduced to the climate and characters in this compliation and so awaited this relase. It is every bit as good as I hoped and meets the same standards previously set by all the other Old Hat CD releases. Pick up another from their catalog when you purchase this, you will be pleased.
Jim Linderman
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