Country Chat - June 2019

JUNE 2019. Here we are and a bit under half the year gone by already. Our three new releases brings to 18 the number of CDs we’ve produced so far this year – which means another 500 or so recordings of yesteryear dusted off and brought into the light of day for our friends and county music collectors around the world. This month’s has a nice mix of styles – something for everyone I think you’ll agree including some very rare tracks.

First I felt that it was time to acknowledge Eddy Arnold and bring you a selection from the hundreds of songs he recorded. Back in the 50s when he was number one in the country music field it seemed that he was singing hit after hit every day and this must have something of the truth in it as his name was always on top of the Country Music Hit Parade. This compilation has just a few of his many hits over the years but well worth a listen.

For our second release, a selection of songs recorded in the Dallas area during the pre war years. You’ll find a varied mixture here, bridging many of the styles that keep appearing in the music we love, everything from Blues to Hawaiian to Western Swing. Some of these recordings are so rare you’ll have look hard in any directory to even find a mentioned of their names, but I think you’ll agree it’s all of a fine standard and a really enjoyable hour’s listening. Our thanks go out to Kevin Coffey for a good job done for collectors.

Our third CD comes from Eddie Hazelwood and it doesn’t come much more country than this. Sadly there are virtually no photos available of him nor have we been able to find articles of his career in the hundreds or thousands of magazines that have been published over the years. So a big thanks to his son Hank and our research team, Al Turner, Phil Tricker and Kevin Coffey for the very informative liner notes. A very talented singer and I recommend this CD for fans of pure Country music.

I must report to you all that our partner Brian Golbey is unwell and is reporting to Nottingham hospital regularly due to abscess on both legs. He tells me that he is in a lot of pain but doing all he can to keep the ball rolling at BACM records. We all wish him well again.

If we do happen to run a little late in you getting your CDs, please give us a day or two regarding the situation with old father time and Amazon who have been less co-operative than they should be. We cannot get through to them that we are the originator of BACM Records and all other look a-likes are forgeries. We have no quarrel with another company using one or two of the songs that we have required restoration by us, but to use our cover, notes , tray details & track listing in the same order as us is just not playing fair. I can see why Bear Family Records had the same problem a few years back. How do we rectify this? Well, if anyone has any ideas we’d like to hear from them.

A nice little magazine entitled The Hillbilly Bopper has been on the market for a few weeks now and although it looks a little messy on the cover it provides a lot of information on Hillbilly stars of the 40s & 50s. Anything published on this period of Country Music is to be applauded. Unfortunately, as far as we can see, at the moment it’s only in French.

Well, we’ll be signing off yet again and wishing you all the good things that’s going on in today’s world – it’s not all terrorism and computer worms.

From the country-music addicted Hillbilly boys at BACM, keep on the good side of life!

DAVE, BARRY and BRIAN. And all our team

All Country Chat newsletters

July 2019