Here is another autographed record for the collection. That is why I bought this. $4. The inscription wishes a merry Christmas to a perhaps Lesa and Rick? Hard to tell, Anyway, they are thanked for everything. It is signed by the principle of this record, Oma Corder (technically signed Oma & Bob).
As much as I want to bring this month to a close, I suppose I should do some back story. Born in 1925 in Coatsvile, Missouri, we have Oma West Corder, who along with her sister May, formed the West Sisters, a venerable act who had their own radio show in Shenandoah, Iowa in the 40’s. At some point, she met and married Bob Corder (1946 to be exact) and formed a bluegrass act with him. Bob and his siblings also had an act dubbed The Black Hill Brothers. The act would later include daughters Sandy and Sue, who grew up to perform with mom and pops. The Corder Family act performed extensively around the area at State farms and festivals for a good period of time. I am not sure when Bob passed but Oma left this world in 2012.
Their daughter,Sandra also died tragically in a car accident in 1977. This event is referenced mentioned on the back sleeve. This record was dedicated to her memory . Two songs on the record feature the work of the sisters. The rest feature young musicians Bob Thompson and Russ May. Overall, pretty good stuff. Some traditional works. Some country hits such as Johnny Cash’s “I Still Miss Someone”. From an independent label, this is not bad. Some of the small label bluegrass records tend to appeal to purists only. I thought this record was really quite accessible. I believe it came out in 1977. For a sample, I really liked “Last Time I Saw Tennessee” which features Bob on vocals. I also wanted to include one of the two tracks from the sisters, “The Banks Of The Ohio”. I guess I also really liked “Second Fiddle to an Old Guitar” so I am going to make this a triple sample post.
Really good little record. I was really dreading listening to it as I thought it would only appeal to bluegrass junkies but it was quite enjoyable. Satisfactory.