My guest this week is Ted Olson, professor of Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee State University.
Ted joins me to celebrate the Rich-R-Tone record label and it's offshoot Folk Star. Rich-R-Tone was founded in 1946 by James Hobart Stanton who, in Ted's words, “was probably single-handedly the most important documentarian of Appalachian music.”
Ted has extensively researched Stanton and the Rich_R-Tone label for a project he co-produced for Bear Family Records – The Rich-R-Tone/Folk Star Story: Appalachia On Record, 1946-1954. Featuring 317 expertly remastered recordings spread over 12 CDs and including a 144-page hardcover book, this set, produced by Ted Olson, Matteo Ringressi, and Richard Weize, features newly researched liner notes and a complete discography. Many of these recordings are incredibly rare and are taken from 78 rpm discs held in private collections.
We talk about Stanton's background in jukebox repair and distribution and how that helped shape his vision for the label; why both place and time are so vital in this particular story; the importance of Rich-R-Tone being a label based in Appalachia, rather than being a major label coming to the region just to record local talent and how Stanton played an important role in The Stanley Brothers' career. It's a fascinating story and one I knew very little about before my conversation with Ted, who was a pleasure to chat with as always.
During the conversationĀ we play excerpts of three tracks from the box set. You'll hear (in order):
- The Stanley Brothers – Molly and Tenbrooks
- Wilma Lee Cooper – The Tramp on the Street
- The Caudill Family – Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down
For more info on the box set visit Bear Family Records
To hear my previous interviews with Ted, check out the two episodes below:
- The Bristol Sessions and Beyond
- Doc Watson's 100th Birthday Celebration (featuring Happy Traum, John McEuen from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, T. Michael Coleman, Jack Lawrence, Lindsay Craven of MerleFest and Ted Olson)
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Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)
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