Bear Family Records Press Archive

Presse Archives - Roy Orbison - The Sun Years - Hifi Vision
Roy Orbison: The Sun Years 1956-58'The Big 0', as his friends called him, who died in December 1988, left behind a current hit album (see issue 5/1989) and recorded many a classic in pop history during the three decades of his career.

Presse Archiv - Roy Orbison - The Sun Years - The Memphis Magazine
Roy Orbison never quite fit into Sam Phillips' rockabilly vision, and Phillips has admitted that he really didn't know what to do with him. Orbison had always wanted to do ballads, even though he was initially inspired by the rocking sounds of Bob Wills, Elvis Presley, and Buddy Holly

Press Archive - Roy Orbison 1955-1965 (7-CD Deluxe Box Set) - Country Music People
The package reproduces lots of memorabilia but couldn't any of Bear Family's researchers identify the "British comedian" in one photograph as Les Dawson? There are very few photos of Roy with his first wife, Claudette, and hardly any with his children. Did he really wear sunglasses when he went for a swim and have a dog run alongside when he rode a scooter? When Roy left Moument for MGM in 1965, it was with the promise of a film career. Looking at all these photos, I'm amazed to think he could make it as a film star.

Press Archive - Roy Orbison - Rocks - Now Dig This
I'll never forget how flabbergasted I was when I first heard 'Domino', albeit in overdubbed form, in the mid-'60s. When we eventually got the undubbed version in 1973, on the original 'Sun Rockabillys - Put Your Cat Clothes On LP, it sounded even better. Pure Sun rockabilly in alt its glory. But then in more recent times we've been introduced to the Clovis recording of the song - full title 'Cat Called Domino' - and that one's even better! Probably the toughest rocker Orbison ever laid down, it opens this new Bear Family collection of his finest uptempo rockin material in sparkling style

Press Archive- Tennessee Ernie Ford - Portrait Of An American Singer - CMP
With A Recent Lavish Boxed Set From Bear Family Focusing On The Sixteen Tons Singer's Early Years, Jack Watkins Thinks Tennessee Ernie Should Be Remembered More Fondly - And Especially For His Many 'boogies'

Presse - Various Artists - Meet The Pearls - Jukebox Pearls - Ugly Things

It has to be said upfront that this 'reissue series is built on a foundation so weak the concrete could have been mixed with quicksand. Out-side of committing to a single gender, nothing really makes sense. We are told that 'Jukebox Pearls' are girl singers from the Fifties (or some-times Sixties) recording rockabilly (or sometimes country...or even pop) who are pearlesque because they're 'shiny, smooth, and pleas-ing, but surprisingly tough,' and also because when you play one of these obscurities on the (oyster-esque?) jukebox you find a precious, hidden treasure.

Press Archive - Margie Singleton - Pledging My Love - Juke Box Pearls - Blue Suede News

You probably know Margie's husband much better, but Shelby Singleton only got involved in the music business because his wife was in it. He just happened to be very good at it, working his way up through labels like Mercury and eventually buying Sam Phillips out of Sun.

Press Archive - Laura Lee Perkins - Don't Wait Up - Juke Box Pearls - Western Mail

Die beiden IMPERIAL-Singles von Laura Lee Perkins galten als die besten und seltensten Rockabilly-Auf-nahmen von Frauen überhaupt! Produziert wurden sie von Ricky Nelsons Arrangeur.

Presse Archiv - Carl Perkins - The Classic Carl Perkins (5-CD) - Philadelphia Inquirer

A revelation: If all you know about Carl Perkins is "Blue Suede Shoes," "Honey Don't" and maybe the great "Dixie Fried," you may have Perkins pegged as a limited artist, the least interesting of the first generation of Sun Records rockers.


Right at the outset of the liner notes to Bear Family's five-CD boxed set The Classic Carl Perkins, writer Colin Escott sets one long-standing myth straight: Carl Perkins would not have become as successful as Elvis Presley, he says, even if his career had not been inter-rupted by an auto accident just as Perkins began to take off.

Presse Archiv - Carl Perkins - The Classic Carl Perkins (5-CD) - Hank Davis

Although he really enjoyed only one major hit record, and that a distant S4 years ago, Carl Perkins is a seminal figure in the evolution of rock & roll. It is easy and misleading to reduce Perkins, the originator of Blue Suede Shoes, to a footnote in R&R history. However, unlike most proverbial "one hit wonders", Carl Perkins has recorded literally hundreds of different titles (there are over 100 on this 5 CD collection, and it stops 26 years ago!)

Presse Archiv - Carl Perkins - The Classic Carl Perkins (5-CD) - ARSC

Dear Mr. Weize:
On behalf of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, I am pleased to officially notify you that your publication, the notes to "The Classic Carl Perkins" by Colin Escott, has been selected as the winner of the 1991 ARSC Award for Excellence in the field of Rock, Rhythm and Blues or Soul.

Press Archive - Carl Perkins - Carl Rocks - Now Dig This
Single volume career overviews from a variety of labels are usually a rare commodity. Fortunately, Bear Family have no qualms about this and have issued this superb Carl Perkins set in their 'Rocks' series, compiled by the NDT editor. The Rockin' Guitar Man recorded for many companies during ms illustrious career. Sun Records of Memphis may be for many the only label to look at for Perkins, but he laid down good material throughout his life.

Press Archive - Carl Perkins - The Sun Era Outtakes - Now Dig This
I still get goosebumps recalling how exciting it was when Charly issued their 3xLP Carl Perkins
box-set, 'The Sun Years' (SUN BOX 101), back n 1982. A handful of The Rockin' Guitar Man's
unissued-at-the-time Sun recordings had sneaked out prior to that ('Her Love Rubbed Off', 'You
Can Do No Wrong', 'Put Your Cat Clothes On' etc.), but this was the first comprehensive
collection of his career-defining sides ever assembled. And boy was it good! For the very first time
we got to hear alternative takes of gems such as 'Honey Don't', 'Boppin' The Blues', 'Matchbox'
and, of course, 'Blue Suede Shoes' - with its unfamiliar "Go, BOY, Go!" refrain! The Charly set
was later repackaged as a 3xCD set with the addition of some home-recorded demos (CD SUN
BOX 2).

Press Archive - Carl Perkins - The Sun Era Outtakes - Country Music People
When Carl Perkins auditioned for Sun he took with him a drummer, WS Holland, who until two days before had not so much as thought of picking up a drumstick; he'd never even seen a drum kit set up and subsequently arranged his borrowed kit the wrong way round. That was the extent to which the hayseed rockabillies of the 1950s made things up as they went along.

Press Archive - Carl Perkins - The Sun Era Outtakes - Jukebox Magazine
Carl Perkins (1932-1998) de Jackson, Mississippi, est incontestablement l'un des rois du rock'n'roll, du rockabilly, du hill-billy bop, etc. Il démarre sa carrière à Memphis grâce au label Sun de Sam P,hillips. Ayant été accepté après audition, le Perkins Brothers Band - Carl Perkins (chant, guitare), James Buck Perkins (guitare ryth-mique), Lloyd Clayton Perkins (basse), WS Holland (batterie) - effectue une première séance fin octobre ou début novembre 1954. Pendant la durée du contrat avec Sun, 21 chansons sont publiées, réparties sur un album et huit 45 tours.

Press Archive - Carl Perkins - Carl Rocks - Rock'n'Roll Musikmagazin
Shortly before the editorial deadline, a whole series of new CDs from Bear Family have arrived, of which I would like to present the new Carl Perkins CD here. The series"...Rocks" comes with a Digi-Pac gatefold cover and an excellent book-let. In this case Colin Escott wrote the text and he also wrote the discography.

Presse Archiv - Carl Perkins - The Classic Carl Perkins (5-CD) - Goldmine

Hey! Look what I found .. .
CDs CARL PERKINS The Classic (Bear Family BCD 15494)

My favorite thing (in theory, mind you) about boxed sets is that there's a finality to them. Ostensibly, what you're plunking down all that hard earned cash for is the ultimate collection, all the good stuff in one place, one frame of reference that you reach for every single time when that's the sound you're looking for. Yeah, that boxed set.

Presse Archiv - Carl Perkins - The Classic Carl Perkins (5-CD) - Tower Magazine


Right at the outset of the liner notes to Bear Family's five-CD boxed set The Classic Carl Perkins, writer Colin Escott sets one long-standing myth straight: Carl Perkins would not have become as successful as Elvis Presley, he says, even if his career had not been inter-rupted by an auto accident just as Perkins began to take off.

Press Archive - Jerry Lee Lewis At Sun Records: The Collected Works - Rock Classic Italia
LAST MAN STANDING: This was the title of one of the most significant records by Ferriday's artist, Louisiana, released about ten years ago. He proclaimed in a brazen way like the Killer, this is the name that already, as a rage, they drowned him because of his reckless and overpowering character, he was the only survivor of that generation of pioneers who, in the 50s

Press Archive - Boom! Boom! Deluxe (LP, 10inch Vinyl) - Ambient Light
This EP does a great job of conveying the energy of the band – clearly one that thrives on live performance. They pack a pretty lively punch aurally, delivering a rollicking sound dripping with double-bass, electric guitar reverb, harmonica, and a thumping up-tempo drum-beat. Llead-vocals duties shared by D.D. Deluxe quite Elvis-esque at times; and the delectable Double-Bass pin-up, Hettie La Bombe. Whether you grab the vinyl or the CD, make sure you catch these guys live – they’ll knock your (bobby) socks off!

Press Archive - Johnny Burnette - Train Kept A-Rollin (9-CD) - Blue Suede News
Johnny Burnette The Complete Recordings 1955 — 1964 Bear Family BCD 16438
Well, Johnny Burnette's work with the Rock'n'Roll Trio (the first disc here) is absolutely essential. In fact we bought Bear Family's single disc of them for our-selves for Christmas! If you're one of those vehemently anti teen idol types perhaps you make exceptions for certain artists like Johnny Burnette because of their earlier contributions. Even still, will you want to listen to 5 CDs of "Dreamin'", "Your Sixteen" and remakes of nearly every other similar hit from other artists

Press Archive - Johnny Burnette - Train Kept A-Rollin (9-CD) - Now Dig This
Boxed sets in 2003: Right about now, a casual glance at the 'body of work. section in any sizable neighbourhood record emporium would reveal an abundance of blues biographies, folk forums, country concepts and jazz junkets. Various labels are bound to be represented, including the likes of Chess, Vanguard. Mercury and Blue Note. With respect to these power brands, it will come as no surprise to the discerning rock n roll fan that the imprint dominating the racks is likely to be Bear Family. Given that they have over twenty years experience in this field, the German company pretty much sets the standards by which the medium is currently governed. New that the hour has come to vent chapter and verse on the entire recorded works of Johnny Burnette, its Richard Weize's team who are behind the diamond-studded. nine CD overview that has transpired.

Press Archive - Johnny Burnette - Johnny Rocks - Now dig this
Along with all these 'regular' items there are eleven of Johnny and Dorsey's vocal / guitar demos which are quite interesting and its nice to try imagining how they might have sounded had someone like Ricky Nelson picked up on them. Personally. I'd have preferred to have had finished masters like love Kept A' Rollin" and 'That's All I Care' included here, but if you really enjoy these demos you'd best start saving for the 9xCD 'Memphis To Hollywood' box-set (BCD 16438) which contains a further couple of CDs' worth! In the meantime. this fine addition to the highly collectable 'Rocks series will do nicely.

Press Archive - Bob Luman - Bob Rocks - Now dig this
Bob Luman was a cool cat, of that there is no doubt. And Bear Family have served his fans well over the years with a steady stream of releases going back to the vinyl days and culminating in his entire recorded output being encapsulated in two Bear Family box-sets. This chunky 36-tracker serves up his finest rockin' sides spanning the years 1955 - 1974 and is a great introduction to this talented late great who recorded our kind of music throughout his career. He may well be better known in certain circies for his tater country hits, but Bob Luman was always a rocker at heart

Press Archive - Champion Jack Dupree - Rocks - Vintage Rock
The last of the Barrelhouse piano pounders, Champion Jack ventured into uptempo rock'n'roll on a fairly regular basis in his long career, and now the compilers at this German label have isolated the rockers from the straight blues and boogie to superb effect. There's the obvious, like Shake Baby Shake, and Shim Sham Shimmy, and plenty of similar material that equals those to attract jivers to the dancefloor. Jack always attacked a song with unequalled vibrancy, and this is yet one more excellent collection to add to his legacy.

Press Archive - Various - That'll Flat Git It! Vol.28 - Vintage Rock
Rock'n'roll was pioneered for the most part by independent labels, and Warner-Reprise was a major. However, it got its slice of the pie by buying rocking tracks from indies, and using its marketing power to produce hits.

Press Archive - Ricky Nelson Sing, Ricky, Sing! (10inch Vinyl) - Vintage Rock
Rather than repress Ricky Nelson's inconsistent 1960 Imperial LP More Songs By Ricky, the imaginative folks at Bear Family have opted to reissue the teen idol's incredibly rare 1960 Japanese 10" Sing Ricky Sing! It's a limited edition: only 1,000 copies have been pressed on coloured vinyl.

Press Archive - Various At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight (20-CD) - Vintage Rock
Then there's no better way to spend £200 plus than on this magnificent 20CD boxset celebrating the history of The Louisiana Hayride radio show, with a 25 hour run time and no less than 559 tracks. Staged live in Shreveport, the Hayride featured national country music stars, soon-to-be legends, regional break-outs, and talented newcomers. This fine box includes previously unknown recordings by Hank Williams, the earliest recordings by Elvis Presley, and a who's who of country music from the 50s to the 60s,

Press Archive - Various - That'll Flat Git It! Vol.28 - Vive Le Rock
It's 25 years since the first of this series and seven years since number 27. That's quite an achievement, considering rockabilly lasted the blink of an eye in the bigger musical scheme of things. This one is slightly different and could auger the continuation of the series, veering into what happened next.

Press Archive - Battleground Korea - Songs and Sounds of America’s Forgotten War - innocentwords.com
There has never been a box set quite like Battleground Korea: Songs and Sounds of America’s Forgotten War, due out in the U.S. on March 23, 2018. The award-winning folks at Bear Family Records have assembled an impressive four-CD anthology that is part ’50s American soundtrack and part historical document, representing the most comprehensive examination ever assembled of songs inspired by the Korean War. While the music of the World War II and Vietnam War eras garnered a lot of attention, far less is known about the sounds of the Korea War period, even though it stands as a significant time in American society, from the post-WWII boom years to dawning of the ’60s.

Press Archive - Battleground Korea - Songs and Sounds of America’s Forgotten War - billboard.com
After its epic Next Stop Is Vietnam collection, Germany's Bear Family Records and producer Hugo A. Keesing quickly came up with their next collection of war music.

Battleground Korea: Songs And Sounds Of America's Forgotten War comes out March 23, with its four CDs offering a genre-spanning gathering of 121 tracks about or inspired by the war, ranging from the likes of blues and R&B stalwarts John Lee Hooker, Fats Domino. Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Lightnin' Hopkins to country artists such as Ernest Tubb, Gene Autry, Merle Travis and Jimmie Osborne, whose 1953 song "The Korean Story," which Keesing calls "a three-minute summary of the war," is below.

Press Archive - Woody Guthrie - The Tribute Concerts - country standard time
These historical concerts honoring one of America's greatest musical treasures are worthy of the Bear Family treatment, and the label did not disappoint when assembling this fantastic box.

Press - Clive Zanda - Clive Zanda Is Here With 'Dat Kinda Ting - Mojo March 2018Recorded at Trinidad's KH studios in 1975 and originally issued as a limited edition 350-copy run on his own Gayap Production imprint, Is Here! With "Dat Kinda Ting" captures pianist/percussionist Clive Zanda Alexander with his trio, its line-up completed by drummer Toby Tobas and bassist Mike Georges, on a set of conscience jazz which mixes calypso with the New Thing! Songs are driven by frenzied percussion and thudding bass, with Zanda's piano vamps atop. The result is compelling, especially on s the album's opening and

Press - Sly & Robbie present Taxi Gang In Discomix Style - United Reggae
Top 10 Reggae Album Reissues in 2017.

Press - Arthur „Big Boy" Crudup - Rocks - Living Blues
Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup brought his blues up from the Mississippi Delta to Chicago, where he made his earliest recordings with RCA. His thrumming and banging guitar style, and his propulsive rhythms, have often earned him the title of “Father of Rock and Roll.”

Press - Woody Guthrie - The Tribute Concerts - Goldmine
We see from a 1940 draft that "This Land Is Your Land" started out titled "God Blessed America." Penned merely as an adver-tising jingle for hydroelectric power, "Roll On Columbia" has become a timeless anthem for the Pacific Northwest. And when, in "Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done (The Great Historical Bum)," Woody — himself a great historical bum — glided in just two lines from the Garden Of Eden to modern-day apple pickers unionizing, we witness how he wrote not only for his own time but for all time. — Bruce Sylvester

Press - Woody Guthrie - The Tribute Concerts - The Alternate Root
Will Geer introduces Woody by his full name, Woodrow Wilson Guthrie, and points to the instruments he played… ‘guitar, mouth harp, mountain fiddle, mandolin’. Robert Ryan shows the man’s commitment as he describes the guitar in Woody’s hands and its message of ‘this machine kills fascists’. The narrations are part of a recent triple-disc release from Bear Family Records, Woody Guthrie, The Tribute Concerts. Will Geer and Robert Ryan are on stage at the Carnegie Hall performance (January 20, 1968), with Will Geer and Peter Fonda at the microphone for the Hollywood Bowl tribute (September 12, 1970). After a fifteen-year battle with Huntington’s Disease, Woody Guthrie passed away on October 3, 1967. The outpouring of songs come from artists inspired by Woody Guthrie, the events a celebration as they remember the man. Musical backing for the shows was provided by The Band (Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson) at Carnegie Hall, and a cast of players at the Hollywood Bowl that included Ry Cooder along with then-current and future members of The Flying Burrito Brothers, Chris Etheridge, Gib Gilbeau, and John Beland among other west coast Folk and Roots music luminaries.

Presse - Various - That'll Flat Git It! Vol.28 - Jukebox
Le pionnier Charlie Gracie est également présent avec « Cool Baby » tiré de la B.O. du film Jamboree. Les obscurités sont sou-vent savoureuses comme « Shimmy Shake » par Billy Land, parfait exemple de rock teenager, « The Monster Twist » par Tyrone A Saurus & His Cro-Magnons (!), « I Wanna Rock » (Johnny Sardo), « Monster Movie Bail » (Spike Jones) et » Drum Twist » par le bat-teur de studio virtuose Buddy Harman. La sélection des titres est parfaite et plonge dans la Californie du début des années 60. Quant au livret, rédigé par Bill Dahl. il four-mille d'anecdotes sur cette période charnière. Tony MARLOW

Press - Various - At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight (20-CD) - relix

Press - Various - At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight (20-CD) - jambands
While the Grand Ole Opry—which both preceded it and continues into the present day—is better known, the Louisiana Hayride, broadcast from Shreveport in that state from 1948-60, has earned an indisputably vital place in the history of country music. Unlike the Opry, the Hayride demonstrated a willingness to showcase up-and-coming talent, like a kid from Tupelo with the odd name Elvis, who first appeared on the radio program in 1954 and then returned a year later for the Hayride’s television version. Presley sang 15 songs in all during his visits, all of them included on this massive boxed set from the German Bear Family label.

Press - Various - At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight (20-CD) - Rolling Stone
A 20-CD set perfectly captures the show where rock & roll began
On October 16th,1954, Elvis Presley made his first appearance on Loui-siana Hayride, performing "That's All Right," recorded weeks earlier. "They've been looking for some-thing new in the folk-music field for a long time," the radio show's host Frank Page told the 19-year-old.

Press - Various - At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight (20-CD) - Vive Le Rock, UK
20-CD mega-box of musical gold. 9/10 This is a huge box chronicling the weekly radio show 'Louisiana Hayride', broadcast live on Saturday nights spanning three decades. There's also a lavish 225-page hardback LP-sized book, rammed with info on the shows and artists. The show proved to be a cradle of stars, not least Hank Williams.

Press - Woody Guthrie - The Tribute Concerts - Vive Le Rock
A sumptuous boxset of a legendary gig. 011 When Woody Guthrie died in 1967, after a long battle with Huntington's Disease, his loss was mourned widely by fans and musicians alike. His friends organised a tribute gig that took place in Carnegie Hall in 1968 and two years later another huge re-enactment of sorts took place at Hollywood Bowl. 18,000 people were there to witness the likes of Bob Dylan pay their re-spects.

Press - Various - At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight (20-CD) - shreveport-bossier
New Louisiana Hayride Boxed Set Celebrates Shreveport Music History

Know someone who loves Louisiana music history? An expansive new boxed set from Bear Family Records, At the Louisiana Hayride Tonight, chronicles the lifespan of the Louisiana Hayride in a way that it has never been chronicled before. The release of this set has generated a wave of press coverage including articles in Rolling Stone and the New York Times. Spanning 20 (!!!) compact discs and 559 tracks, the set compiles 24 hours of live recordings from the legendary country music showcase that broadcast from Shreveport Municipal Auditorium and other locations, helping to launch the careers of artists like Elvis Presley, George Jones, Johnny Cash and more.

Press - Various - At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight (20-CD) - rollingstone.com
The Louisiana Hayride was one of dozens of syndicated radio broadcasts scattered across America in the wake of World War II. Most of these have been forgotten to all but historians, but the Louisiana Hayride endures, albeit not to the extent of its rival and role model, the Grand Ole Opry. Based out of Nashville and founded in 1925, the Opry embraced its role as a standard-bearer, whereas the Hayride was an upstart, happy to take a chance on unknowns.

Press - Woody Guthrie - The Tribute Concerts - Regenstreif
Here are my picks for the Top 17 folk-rooted or folk-branched albums of 2017. As in past years, I started with the list of hundreds of albums that landed on my desk over the past year and narrowed it down to a short list of about 30. I’ve been over the short list several times over the past couple of weeks and came up with several similar – not identical – Top 17 lists.

Press - Various - At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight (20-CD) - New York Times
In the 1950s, country singers made sure to visit the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium to appear on the Louisiana Hayride, a weekly three-hour broadcast featuring performers like Hank Williams, Kitty Wells, George Jones and, starting in 1954, a newcomer named Elvis Presley who got the crowd roaring. Famous names and local sensations mingle on this exhaustive, c

Press - Various - At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight (20-CD) - Wall Street Journal
Based in Shreveport, La.’s 3,800-seat Municipal Auditorium and broadcast by 50,000-watt KWKH radio from 1948-60, with some segments picked up for even wider audiences by CBS and Armed Forces Radio, “Louisiana Hayride” had a rambunctious style all its own. Chicago’s “National Barn Dance” and Nashville’s “Grand Ole Opry” had preceded it by decades, but this vaudeville-style show was born and thrived just as country music found mass acceptance, a commercial explosion it contributed to smashingly.

Press - Various - At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight (20-CD) - rolling stoneAmericana begins here. From 1948 to 1960, Louisiana Hayride was the rougher cousin, on radio and television, to Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, the show where the beginners and unknowns, the bad boys and strong women in country music, first came to make friends and become family. Produced at the Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport, the Hayride gave early exposure

Press - Various - At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight (20-CD) - mother jones
Prepare to Time Travel Through Louisiana’s Version of the Grand Ole Opry
Country music fans will find plenty to like in this massive music collection.

Press - Various - SUN Records Great Guitars At Sun - richieunterberger
Various Artists, Great Guitars at Sun (Bear Family). There were great piano players at Sun (Jerry Lee Lewis and Charlie Rich), and good performers on several instruments, but guitars are what first come to mind when you think of the Sun sound.

Press - Woody Guthrie - The Tribute Concerts - Holiday Gift Guide
There is truly something for every music lover on your holiday list this season. From enticing hardcover fully-illustrated books focusing on AC/DC and David Bowie to essential new audio and/or visual collections featuring Jeff Lynne's ELO, Neil Young, Alvin Lee and more,

Press - George Jones - Birth Of A Legend - The Truly Complete Starday And Mercury Recordings -
6 GEORGE JONES Birth Of A Legend (1954-61) I won't apologise for listing a second George Jones release in my "Best of the Year" especially as its the long awaited complete Starday/Mercury recordings, a catalogue that had been poorly represented over the years with haphazard compilations. Now it's all here, 195 tracks (including 20 previously unissued recordings) with a magnificent 172 page, hardcover book — a presentation that only Bear Family could create.
7 WILLIE NELSON God's Problem Child There seems no stopping Willie

Press - Various - At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight (20-CD) - elmoremagazine
When it comes to deluxe box sets, the Bear Family has long ago set the bar at the top. Lately it seems they are into topping even themselves with each new release. Consider the sheer size of what they have assembled here: 20 CDs containing a total of 529 live tracks, 30 live transcriptions and commercial records made at the mothership, radio station WKHW, 167

Press - Various - At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight (20-CD) - Hyperbolium

Press - Various - At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight (20-CD) - No Depression
In 1925, the Grand Ole Opry started up a radio program from Nashville that allowed the rural community access to some of their favorite string pullin', family harmonizin', good ol' boys and girls, filling the air waves with all the major league plunkin' and wailin' a body could want. All the big stars showed up and entertained the live audience as well as taking it to the fields via the airwaves.

Press - Woody Guthrie - The Tribute Concerts - Deccan Chronical
A more or less complete recording of both concerts, issued late last year by the German record label Bear Family.
In a year peppered with the 50th anniversaries of events that shaped, or distorted, late 20th-century history — from revolutionary upsurges to tragic assassinations and key moments in the Vietnam War — let us begin with a relatively innocuous event.

On January 20, 1968, an audience consisting largely of folk music aficionados packed New York’s Carnegie Hall for a memorial concert commemorating Woody Guthrie, who had died three months earlier at the age of 55 of Hunting-ton’s chorea.

Press - Woody Guthrie - The Tribute Concerts - hyperbolium
Bear Family’s lavish three CD, two book set collects material from two live tribute shows, featuring performances by Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, Bob Dylan (his first appearance after his motorcycle accident), Odetta, Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Jack Elliott, Country Joe McDonald, Tom Paxton and Earl Robinson, along with narration from actors Robert Ryan, Will Geer and Peter Fonda. The first tribute included an afternoon/evening pair of concerts staged at Carnegie Hall in 1968, the second tribute was staged at the Hollywood Bowl in 1970. Material from both tributes was released in edited, collated and resequenced form on a pair of 1972 LPs, Part 1 on Columbia and Part 2 on Warner Brothers, and eventually reissued on CD and MP3.

Press Archive - Gene Vincent - This Is Gene Vincent - Vintage Rock 11-12-2017
Gene Vincent And His Blue Caps
This Is Gene Vincent
Bear Family has reissued a repro of the rockabilly mauler's 1959 Japanese album as a collector's edition. Vincent's early classics are here in abundance: Be-Bop-A-Lula, Blue Jean Bop, Ain't She Sweet, and Jezebel all featuring the astonishing lead guitar of Cliff Gallup.

Press - Willie B. - Bad Mouthin‘ - This I Gotta See - Vintage Rock
Willie B. (Darrell McCall)
BAD MOUTHIN'/THIS I GOTTA SEE

Darrell McCall was a young country singer from Ohio in 1961 when he cut the two delightfully blues-soaked songs on this Bear Family single. After jamming with Jimmy Reed, McCall brought harpist Charlie McCoy and guitarist Wayne Moss into a studio and waxed both sides as demos, but he never did manage to hand them to the Chicago blues legend

Press - Various - Cree Records Doing Our Thing - More Soul From Jamdown - BLUES IN BRITAIN 12/17.Doing Our Thing: More Soul From Jamdown 1970 - 1982 Cree Although the influence of forties and fifties rhythm & blues on early Jamaican recorded music has been well researched over the last few decades, it is sometimes overlooked that as soul music became prominent in America, reggae was evolving in Jamaica and taking on a lot of soul influence. This set examines some of that process, every track connected w.th American soul in some way.

Press - Jerry Lee Lewis I Can't Seem To Say Goodby (LP, 180gram Vinyl) - Vintage Rock
Instead of reprising the same seminal Sun hits, the Bear Family dug deep into The Killer's middle and later years at Sun for this new comp, digging up 14 alternate takes never before transferred to vinyl. The Pumping Piano man rocks his way through the ancient Carry Me Back To Old Virginia, tries his best to wrest Sweet Little Sixteen aw

Press - Jerry Lee Lewis In The Beginning (LP, 180gram Vinyl) - Vintage Rock
JERRY LEE LEWIS In the beginning

Every one of the 14 performances that comprise this Bear Family LP are alternate takes on Jerry Lee's classics, and with the lone exception of 1 Could Never Be Ashamed Of You, raging rockers at that. They're all here: Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On, Great Balls Of Fire, Breathless, Down The Line, It'll Be Me — but each track is different from the smash version that we know so intimately

Press - Woody Guthrie - The Tribute Concerts - Colorado Springs Independent
One noteworthy exception is the Bear Family label’s meticulous new Woody Guthrie: The Tribute Concerts, which boasts three bona fide CDs and two hardcover books that chronicle the 1968 and 1970 concerts honoring Woody Guthrie in NYC and LA, respectively.

The books give us unique pictorial glimpses of concert production, and of Woody’s life from the 1920s until his death from Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1967.

While the remastering of the live recordings is exceptional, the real accomplishments here are twofold: acquiring rights to original releases that were split between Columbia and Warner Brothers, and adding a third disc of interviews with participants and family, including Arlo Guthrie. It may be tempting to skip to Bob Dylan’s or Joan Baez’s contributions first, but it’s the lesser lights like Odetta and Tom Paxton that make this definitive box such a tribute to Woody.

Press - Woody Guthrie - The Tribute Concerts - the devils music
Woody Guthrie is widely considered – and rightfully so – as the Grand Daddy of Americana music. Guthrie’s career was incredibly short, considering his accomplishments, spanning from the early ‘30s until the late ‘50s, when Huntington’s disease rendered him unable to perform until his too-young death in 1967 at the age of 55 years. S

Press - Woody Guthrie - The Tribute Concerts - mojo
Various ****
Woody Guthrie: The Tribute Concerts
BEAR FAMILY. CD Songs to Woody by his legendary "children". Two tributes to quintessential American troubadour Woody Guthrie were held in New York, in 1968, and Los Angeles in 1970. This handsome 3-CD box contains both concerts in their entirety for the first
time, accompanied by two books of essays, lyrics and ephemera.

At the heart of the collection is Woody's music performed by son Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Joan Baez, Odetta„ Judy Collins, Richie Havens, Tom Paxton, Country Joe McDonald and Earl Robinson The New York show was a!, Bob Dylan's first public appearance in 19 months performing with The Ban,. (the highlight of their eat three-song set was an emotional Dear Mrs Roosevelt), while Ry Cood, and others backed up LA singers.

Electricity opponent Seeger demurre. Some listeners will notice that Collins' and Baez's two renditions of Deportee -the story of "illegal" Mexicar, immigrants killed in an accident ring tragically true today. Michael Simmons

Press - Woody Guthrie - The Tribute Concerts - nodepression
Bear Family’s lavish three CD, two book set collects material from two live tribute shows, featuring performances by Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, Bob Dylan (his first appearance after his motorcycle accident), Odetta, Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Jack Elliott, Country Joe McDonald, Tom Paxton and Earl Robinson, along with narration from actors Robert Rya

Press - Sandy & The Wild Wombats Devoted To Rock 'n' Roll - UK Rock and Roll Magaziner Family Records of Germany have long since held the crown for the kings of quality re-issues. Their back catalogue of boxsets lavished on artists hardly household names has borne testament that they are a rare entity a label in it for the music and not just the money.

Press - Various - At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight (20-CD) - Grammy Award News
New "Louisiana Hayride" Box Set Celebrates Early Country & Rock Facebook Twitter Email With rare gems from Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, and more, new compilation shows depth of iconic radio show's catalog NATE HERTWECKGRAMMYS OCT 31, 2017 - 12:19 PM Long before YouTube channels, Spotify Discover Weekly playlists, "Louisiana Hayride" provided a springboard for many great country artists. Broadcast out of Shreveport, La., on KWKH AM 1130 from 1948 to 1960, the legendary radio show hosted blossoming talents such as Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and of course, Elvis Presley. In a massive new 20-disc, 559-song compilation titled At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight,

Press - Various - At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight (20-CD) - billboard.com
All in all, Hawkins is very proud that the set is available to music fans who might not be aware of other radio shows of the time besides the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. "This is the biggest project that I've been involved with. I did a 12-CD set on Sun Records, and some other country and blues boxes, but this one is twice the size of those, and we're very pleased to get these out. Bear Family has done a great job in presenting this audio as clearly as possible