Tut Taylor Archive Reel #197

The box containing Tut Taylor Archive Reel #197 is labeled "DJ Convention 1967" although side 1 of the reel is labeled "Ralph's", while side 2 is labeled "Ralph's Asheville".  Both sides feature Tut jamming with unknown others, although these don't sound like run-of-the-mill bluegrass jams as the musicians are quite tight and a number of rather obscure gems are played.  While only a guess, side 1 and the latter part of side 2 (starting with track #14) may be a circa-1967 recording of Tut playing with his friend and Bill Monroe Bluegrass Boy-to-be, Ralph Lewis, and perhaps Lewis' band at the time, The Piney Mountain Boys, who were based in the Asheville, NC area.  Lewis is still performing with his sons in a band called "The Sons of Ralph".  At several junctures the name "Curtis" is called out.  Given the twin Dobros on some of the tunes, especially on the latter half of side 2, this may be Curtis Burch, who was soon to be a member of the Newgrass Revival.  Side 2 seems to be a mixture of several pickin' sessions.  There's even a number of tunes influenced by Jimmy Martin's "Good 'N Country" sound; listen for the drums!

--Mitchell Wittenberg

	The tape is a 7.5 inch per second mono recording.  The reel was played on a modified Revox A77 reel-to-reel machine with a Reutelhuber custom designed and built tape head preamplifier incorporating 2003 era technology and components including all metal film resistors, polypropelene coupling capacitors, and low ESR electrolytic supply bypass capacitors.  The resulting analog signal was digitized by a Mytek Digital 8X96 analog to digital converter using Steinberg Nuendo as the recording software and saved as a 24 bit 48 kHz wave file.  

	Post processing and was done by David Avery with Nuendo using the following Waves Plugins: Q10, X-Hum, S1 Shuffler and L3.  The file was dithered down to a 16 bit/44.1kHz wave file.

Side 1 of the reel is labeled 'Ralph's'.
Side 2 of the reel is labeled 'Ralph's Asheville'.
The box is labeled DJ Convention 1967.

Transfer by David Avery

Tut Taylor Archive Reel #197 (Side One)
Bluegrass Jam
Tut Taylor with Ralph Lewis & Others (?)
Circa-1967:

1. Goin' Up Cripple Creek...
2. ...Goin' Up Cripple Creek
3. Just When I Needed You
4. Workin' It Out
5. ??
6. Hot Corn, cold Corn
7. Little Birdie
8. Earl's Breakdown
9. Home Sweet Home (take 1)
10. Home Sweet Home (take 2)
11. My Grandfather's Clock
12. Golden Slippers
13. Old Joe Clark
14. Bill Cheatum
15. Searching For a Soldier's Grave
16. Are You Coming Back to Me?
17. Banks of the Ohio
18. Dobro Instrumental (?)
19. I Wonder Where You Are Tonight?
20. My Grandfather's Clock
21. The Grass is Greener (In The Mountains)
22. Lonesome Dobro
23. Black Ridge Ramble
24. Panhandle Rag
25. What a Friend We Have in Jesus (x)

Tut Taylor Archive Reel #197 (Side Two)
Bluegrass Jam Sessions/Studio Cuts?
Tut Taylor with Ralph Lewis, Curtis Burch, & Others (?)
Circa-1967:

1. Westgate
2. Black Mountain Rag
3. Turnaround
4. Lonesome Dobro
5. Bugle Call Rag
6. Dobro Instrumental (?)
7. My Discovery of the Year (?)
8. Have You Lost All the Love?
9. Pig in a Pen
10. I'm Just Blue Enough to Do 'Most Anything 
11. Westgate (w/ drums!)
12. I'll Meet You at Church Sunday Morning
13. Lonesome Dobro (fragment) (x)
14. What a Friend We Have in Jesus
15. Don't Laugh
16. Freight Train
17. Kneel at the Cross
18. Black Ridge Ramble
19. Dobro Instrumental (?) (several takes)...
20. ...Dobro Instrumental (?)
21. Island March
22. Bluegrass Special
23. Stoney Creek
24. Old Joe Clark
25. Sally Goodin'
26. Down the Road
27. Turkey in the Straw (several takes)...Flint Hill Special (tease)
28. Devil's Dream