''Close Harmony'' is a box set of
The Louvin Brothers
The Louvin Brothers were an American musical duo composed of brothers Ira and Charlie Louvin (''né'' Loudermilk). The brothers are cousins to John D. Loudermilk, a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member.
The brothers wrote and performed ...
recordings. It is an eight-CD
box set
A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists ...
and was released in 1992.
History
''Close Harmony'' contains 219 songs from the duo's years with
Capitol
Capitol, capitols or The Capitol may refer to:
Places and buildings Legislative building
* United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C.
* National Capitol of Colombia, in Bogotá
* Palacio Federal Legislativo, in Caracas, Venezuela
* National Ca ...
,
Decca
Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label
* Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...
,
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
, and Apollo, presented in chronological order along with session notes.
The recordings include such artists as
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...
,
Grandpa Jones
Louis Marshall Jones (October 20, 1913 – February 19, 1998), known professionally as Grandpa Jones, was an American banjo player and Old-time music, old time/country music, country music singer. He was inducted as a member of the Country Musi ...
,
The Jordanaires
The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vo ...
,
Jerry Byrd
Gerald Lester Byrd (March 9, 1920 – April 11, 2005) was an American musician who played the lap steel guitar in country and Hawaiian music, as well as a singer-songwriter and the head of a music publishing firm. He appeared on numerous radio p ...
,
Pete Drake
Roddis Franklin "Pete" Drake (October 8, 1932 – July 29, 1988) was a Nashville-based American record producer and pedal steel guitar player. One of the most sought-after backup musicians of the 1960s, Drake played on such hits as Lynn Anders ...
,
Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "whole-step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signatur ...
,
Hank Garland
Walter Louis Garland (November 11, 1930 – December 27, 2004), known professionally as Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and release ...
and many others.
The annotations for the songs that accompanied the box set were expanded into a book titled ''In Close Harmony: The Story of the Louvin Brothers'' by Charles K. Wolfe.
Reception
In his
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
review, Thom Jurek describes the release, concluding " Charlie and Ira took harmony singing to a new level and the creation of full-length albums far out of the sphere of one or two singles and filler. It's true that this is mainly for the fanatics, but it's also for libraries and historians of the music... This set is a treasure. Period."
Personnel
*
Charlie Louvin
Charles Elzer Loudermilk (July 7, 1927 – January 26, 2011), known professionally as Charlie Louvin, was an American country music singer and songwriter. He is best known as one of the Louvin Brothers, and was a member of the Grand Ole Opry ...
– vocals, guitar
*
Ira Louvin
Ira Lonnie Loudermilk (April 21, 1924 – June 20, 1965), known professionally as Ira Louvin, was an American country music singer, mandolinist and songwriter. He was a cousin of songwriter John D. Loudermilk.
Biography
Ira Louvin was born in ...
– vocals, tenor guitar, mandolin
*
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...
– guitar
*
Grandpa Jones
Louis Marshall Jones (October 20, 1913 – February 19, 1998), known professionally as Grandpa Jones, was an American banjo player and Old-time music, old time/country music, country music singer. He was inducted as a member of the Country Musi ...
– banjo
*
The Jordanaires
The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vo ...
– vocals
*
Harold Bradley Harold Bradley may refer to:
Others
* Harold Bradley (guitarist) (1926–2019), American country and pop guitarist
* Harold Bradley (pianist) (1906–1984), Canadian pianist
* Harold Bradley (trade unionist) (1895–1979), British trade union leade ...
– guitar, bass
*
Owen Bradley
William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician, bandleader and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was a chief architect of the 1950s and 60s Nashville sou ...
– vibraphone
*Paul Buskirk – mandolin
*
Jerry Byrd
Gerald Lester Byrd (March 9, 1920 – April 11, 2005) was an American musician who played the lap steel guitar in country and Hawaiian music, as well as a singer-songwriter and the head of a music publishing firm. He appeared on numerous radio p ...
– pedal steel guitar
*Lightning Chance – bass
*Roy Madison "Junior" Huskey – bass
*
Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "whole-step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signatur ...
– piano
*Faye Cunningham – vocals
*
Pete Drake
Roddis Franklin "Pete" Drake (October 8, 1932 – July 29, 1988) was a Nashville-based American record producer and pedal steel guitar player. One of the most sought-after backup musicians of the 1960s, Drake played on such hits as Lynn Anders ...
– pedal steel guitar
*Ray Edenton – guitar, banjo
*
Hank Garland
Walter Louis Garland (November 11, 1930 – December 27, 2004), known professionally as Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and release ...
– guitar
*Smiley Wilson – guitar
*
Buddy Harman
Murrey Mizell "Buddy" Harman, Jr. (December 23, 1928 – August 21, 2008) was an American country music session musician.
Career
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Harman studied music at Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion. He returned to Nashville ...
– drums
*William Paul Ackerman – drums
*Don Helms – pedal steel guitar
*Eddie Hill – fiddle, guitar
*Jimmy Capps – guitar
*Paul Yandell – guitar
*Odell Martin – guitar
*George McCormick – guitar, baritone guitar, vocal harmony
*Marvin H. Hughes – piano, organ
*
Shot Jackson
Harold Bradley "Shot" Jackson (September 4, 1920-January 24, 1991) was an American country guitarist best known for playing Dobro and pedal steel guitar. He also designed and manufactured guitars under the name Sho-Bud.
Biography
Jackson moved t ...
– dobro
*Thomas Lee Jackson Jr. – fiddle
*Dale Potter – fiddle
*Jimmy Riddle – harmonica
Production notes:
*
Paul Cohen
Paul Joseph Cohen (April 2, 1934 – March 23, 2007) was an American mathematician, best known for his proofs that the continuum hypothesis and the axiom of choice are independent from Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory, for which he was awarded a F ...
– producer
*
Ken Nelson – producer
*
Fred Rose – producer
*Bob Jones – mastering
*Eddie Stubbs – discography
*Larry Walsh – mixing
*Richard Weize – reissue producer, research
*Mark Wilder – disc dub
*Hoffmann Nienburg – artwork
*Charles K. Wolfe – liner notes, photography, illustrations, discography
*Brad Benedict – photography, illustrations
*Manfred Bersebach – photography, illustrations
*David Freeman – photography, illustrations
See also
*
Close harmony
A chord is in close harmony (also called close position or close structure) if its notes are arranged within a narrow range, usually with no more than an octave between the top and bottom notes. In contrast, a chord is in open harmony (also ca ...
References
{{Authority control
The Louvin Brothers albums
1992 compilation albums
Bear Family Records compilation albums