Benny Thomasson - Hornpipes 1967 II

Merry Christmas to all! As promised, here is a second (shorter) tape from the Benny "Hornpipes 1967" session. The tape ends abruptly in the middle of Jack of Diamonds--a reminder of the perils of reel-to-reel technology. So, if you've been nice this year:

Download Link: Benny Thomasson - Hornpipes 1967 II (61 MB)

Benny Thomasson - Hornpipes 1967

In celebration of Benny Thomasson's induction into the National Fiddler Hall of Fame, here's a tape of Benny from 1967 which was simply labeled, "Hornpipes 1967". I believe that Dale Thomasson is on guitar. I also found a second cassette from the same session, which I'll post soon. One thing is clear--Benny knew a lot of great songs.

Download Link: Benny Thomasson - Hornpipes 1967 (134 MB)

Crockett 1976

From a tape recording of the original radio broadcast, courtesy of Bryan Jimmerson. Features a duel between Terry Morris and Ken Smith for Champion of the Day. The crowd was really into it that day!

Download Link: Crockett 1976 (104 MB)

Terry Morris - Pre-Touch of Texas

This is what real Texas fiddling sounds like. Words don't even do this justice. Judging from the title, it was recorded in preparation for the seminal album "A Touch of Texas...Fiddlin' That Is", which is available for sale at Dale Morris' web site. If you don't own that cd, you should buy it or your fiddle collection is not complete. Many consider "Touch of Texas" to be the finest Texas fiddle album ever. I would rank this right up there along with it, as an essential companion.

Download Link: Terry Morris Pre-Touch of Texas (118 MB)

Major Franklin with Omega Burden

Speaking of Major Franklin, here's something I found in a box of old tapes simply labeled, "Major with Omega". My favorite duo from any genre. Period. A lot of these recordings are copies of copies of copies, etc, etc. This one has some spots that are in pretty rough shape. Oh what I'd give to hear the original, clean recordings!

Download Link: Major Franklin with Omega Burden (45MB)

Benny Thomasson with Omega Burden

Push...push...push...Here is some incredible fiddling with Benny and Omega Burden. There are some labeling issues you'll want to fix. For instance, the swing tune isn't named. Tugboat is actually a medley of tunes in G. Oh, and the last track is a bunch of tunes strung together from a cassette. It includes a little bit of Benny with Jerry Thomasson on tenor and closes with Major Franklin playing fiddle for a few tunes. Anything with Major is worth sharing, too.

Download Link: Benny with Omega Burden (36 MB)

Terry Morris - Shelley, Idaho

Thank you Joe Sites for posting the videos of Terry Morris at Shelley, Idaho. This is the tape recording of that same jam session from 1987. It was recorded onto cassette by Chad Manning. Guitar players are Joey McKenzie, Darin Meeks, and Joe Sites. These guys overwhelm the cheap boombox mics at the beginning of a lot of the songs. But hey, that's kind of what it's like in real life when your awesome rhythm players jump in. I like how Terry closes the session (his last to the NW) with a simple, "I enjoyed it, fellas."

Download Link: Terry Morris at Shelley Idaho (188 MB)

Terry Morris - Jamming at Bobby's II

Cassettes were 90 minutes long and CD's can only hold around 70 minutes. So, you can't always fit a full jam tape onto a CD. The first part of this jam tape you should already own. If you don't have it, go to Dale Morris' site and buy the Terry Morris CD "Jamming at Bobby's". Consider this to be a supplement to the CD, since it's almost all of the B side material that didn't make the CD. I believe that the accompanists are Bobby Christman, Al Moledous, and Anthony Mature.

Download Link: Jamming at Bobby's II (121 MB)

Halletsville 1985

In honor of this week's Texas State Championship, first up is a tape of the finals at Hallettsville, 1985. This is the tape that got everyone in the Northwest so excited to start going to the annual Fiddlers' Frolics. Recorded on cassette by Tim Hodgson, this year featured an epic battle between Terry Morris, Jimmie Don Bates, and Carl Hopkins.

Download Link: Hallettsville 1985 (194 MB)