Here is an unusual little tune that I have found featuring Bob Roberts on vocals and Vess Ossman on banjo.

 

I have no idea of the date of this Colombia recording as it sounds quite an early cylinder and I believe that Ossman first recorded for Berliner and Victor.

I don’t know who Bob Roberts is either, but I don’t know much about anything. :-)

 

 Ossman has a couple of short flourishes, particularly at the end where he shows off a bit after a slow performance :-)

THE LITTLE OLD LOG CABIN IN THE LANE banjo. Vess Ossman

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Hi Ian, this wouldn't have sounded out of place on the Grand Old Opry back in the 1920s....Steve. 

Steve, it probably *was* sung on the Opry. One of the first country music recordings was John Carson's version (which, in contrast to his subsequent recordings, was pretty durn horrible) and in 1959 Jim Eanes recorded a fascinating version with Allen Shelton on the five-string banjo. Eanes sang the song in F and Shelton played banjo solos in G between each pair of verse and chorus. I remember hearing it on the radio as a teenager and noting the contrast of tone colors between the two keys and the thrilling sound of the banjo sounding like it was trying to kick its way out the little speaker of the car radio. 

Ian, according to "The Banjo On Record" Ossman recorded this song many times with a singer, usually Len Spencer. The two of them recorded it for Columbia in 1898.  The only Bob Roberts mentioned in the book is a tenor banjo player who recorded Persian Lamb Rag. Sometimes singers released their recordings using synonyms to avoid being sued for breaking solo recording contracts for other labels. Does the singer sound like Len Spencer? 

Steve Harrison said:

Hi Ian, this wouldn't have sounded out of place on the Grand Old Opry back in the 1920s....Steve. 

Hi Jody, your knowledge of such things never ceases to amaze me, it's knowledge that should be recorded somewhere..Steve. 

Jody Stecher said:

Steve, it probably *was* sung on the Opry. One of the first country music recordings was John Carson's version (which, in contrast to his subsequent recordings, was pretty durn horrible) and in 1959 Jim Eanes recorded a fascinating version with Allen Shelton on the five-string banjo. Eanes sang the song in F and Shelton played banjo solos in G between each pair of verse and chorus. I remember hearing it on the radio as a teenager and noting the contrast of tone colors between the two keys and the thrilling sound of the banjo sounding like it was trying to kick its way out the little speaker of the car radio. 

Ian, according to "The Banjo On Record" Ossman recorded this song many times with a singer, usually Len Spencer. The two of them recorded it for Columbia in 1898.  The only Bob Roberts mentioned in the book is a tenor banjo player who recorded Persian Lamb Rag. Sometimes singers released their recordings using synonyms to avoid being sued for breaking solo recording contracts for other labels. Does the singer sound like Len Spencer? 

Steve Harrison said:

Hi Ian, this wouldn't have sounded out of place on the Grand Old Opry back in the 1920s....Steve. 

Thank you, but I don't deserve any more praise than the average amateur librarian or average professional musician of a certain age. I began playing music at age 11 and went pro at about 14 or 15 so I had lots of time to gather bits of knowledge and information. As for the Ossman recordings, I simply consulted the book called "The Banjo On Record" (see photo below). I didn't have these dates at my fingertips or in my mind. I just used the index in the book and looked it up.



Steve Harrison said:

Hi Jody, your knowledge of such things never ceases to amaze me, it's knowledge that should be recorded somewhere..Steve. 

Dave Macon recorded it.  Seeing how he was such a big part of the Opry it would be strange if he did not play it on stage/air.

I've always liked this song - I'm familiar with it from bluegrass playing but had no idea it went back that far. What a thrill to hear Vess Ossman playing it.

I also like the version by the North Carolina banjoist, George Pegram, as it really suits his aged-in-whisky voice (with a few teeth missing).  It also appears on an album 'Oldtime Mountain Banjo' on a banjo medley by Flesher Hendley ('Shuffle Feet Shuffle') recorded in 1930.  That album is quite interesting as you can really hear the influence of classic-style banjo on an instrumental version of 'Don't Let Your Deal Go Down' with Charlie Poole on banjo and Lucy Terry on piano and 'Coal Creek March', a banjo show-piece by Marion Underwood with fast arpeggios and drum-raps.  In fact, when I heard that album I didn't know anything about Classic banjo and was frustrated as I wanted to hear more early fingerstyle banjo - now I have found the place!

Fisher Hendley had some fantastic banjos. The tone on his recordings is always beautiful. Not what you'd expect from the leader of a band called The Aristocratic Pigs. He had an Epiphone and two Gibsons. One of the latter eventually became the banjo that Earl Scruggs played most of his life. But Hendley sounds like he's playing with his bare fingers. 

carrie horgan said:

I've always liked this song - I'm familiar with it from bluegrass playing but had no idea it went back that far. What a thrill to hear Vess Ossman playing it.

I also like the version by the North Carolina banjoist, George Pegram, as it really suits his aged-in-whisky voice (with a few teeth missing).  It also appears on an album 'Oldtime Mountain Banjo' on a banjo medley by Flesher Hendley ('Shuffle Feet Shuffle') recorded in 1930.  That album is quite interesting as you can really hear the influence of classic-style banjo on an instrumental version of 'Don't Let Your Deal Go Down' with Charlie Poole on banjo and Lucy Terry on piano and 'Coal Creek March', a banjo show-piece by Marion Underwood with fast arpeggios and drum-raps.  In fact, when I heard that album I didn't know anything about Classic banjo and was frustrated as I wanted to hear more early fingerstyle banjo - now I have found the place!

Sounds like Len Spencer to me.

Jody Stecher said:

Steve, it probably *was* sung on the Opry. One of the first country music recordings was John Carson's version (which, in contrast to his subsequent recordings, was pretty durn horrible) and in 1959 Jim Eanes recorded a fascinating version with Allen Shelton on the five-string banjo. Eanes sang the song in F and Shelton played banjo solos in G between each pair of verse and chorus. I remember hearing it on the radio as a teenager and noting the contrast of tone colors between the two keys and the thrilling sound of the banjo sounding like it was trying to kick its way out the little speaker of the car radio. 

Ian, according to "The Banjo On Record" Ossman recorded this song many times with a singer, usually Len Spencer. The two of them recorded it for Columbia in 1898.  The only Bob Roberts mentioned in the book is a tenor banjo player who recorded Persian Lamb Rag. Sometimes singers released their recordings using synonyms to avoid being sued for breaking solo recording contracts for other labels. Does the singer sound like Len Spencer? 

Steve Harrison said:

Hi Ian, this wouldn't have sounded out of place on the Grand Old Opry back in the 1920s....Steve. 

I don't know much about anything either, but for those wondering :

Bob Roberts (1879-1930) came from a theatrical family, was well known in Vaudeville, and like Arthur Collins, was a leading exponent of syncopated "coon" songs on early recordings. If you are keen to hear more, go here and you can stream about 50 of his recordings made between1904 & 1911 :

https://archive.org/details/BobRoberts

To read more about his career, go here :

http://www.mainspringpress.com/bobroberts.html

Additionally, I love Ossman's opening and closing flourishes. Who knew the Banjo King was also the Grandfather of Bluegrass Banjo?

I seeem to recall that Bill Keith and Jim Rooney recorded this on their lone album. Of course, nice banjo work by Bill Keith (with a key change to boot).

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