Charles River Valley Boys
Encyclopedia
The Charles River Valley Boys were an American
bluegrass
group who toured and recorded in the 1960s and were best known for their 1966 album, Beatle Country, presenting bluegrass versions of songs by The Beatles
.
in 1959. They took their name as a jokey reference to the Laurel River Valley Boys, a traditional bluegrass group from North Carolina
who recorded several albums in that style in the 1950s, and to the Charles River
.
Although the group's membership changed frequently, the core performers of the Charles River Valley Boys in the early years were Eric Sackheim (guitar, mandolin
), Bob Siggins (banjo, vocals), and Clay Jackson (guitar, vocals), all students at Harvard, and Ethan Signer (guitar, mandolin, autoharp
, vocals), a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
. All were fans of bluegrass and old-timey music, and they began performing together, often with others, at Harvard, appearing regularly on the Harvard student radio station WHRB
and becoming regular performers at Tulla's Coffeehouse in Harvard Square. In 1961 they recorded an album, Bringin' In The Georgia Mail, partly in Cambridge and partly in London
, England
. It was released in the UK by Doug Dobell
on his Folklore
label.
In 1962, Paul Rothchild, a friend of the band who had worked as a record distributor in the Boston
area, produced their second album on his own label, Mount Auburn Records. He then began working for Prestige Records
, which reissued the album as Bluegrass And Old Timey Music (1962), and produced a further album on the label, Blue Grass Get Together (with Tex Logan, 1964). By that time, the group comprised Siggins, Signer, John Cooke
(guitar, vocals), and Fritz Richmond
(washtub bass
, vocals). Cooke, the son of English-born journalist Alistair Cooke
, had joined after Eric Sackheim decided to return to his studies in Europe. Between 1963 and 1965, the group performed and toured on a full-time basis.
By 1966, Signer, Cooke and Richmond had left, and the group comprised Bob Siggins, Joe Val (mandolin, vocals), Jim Field (guitar, vocals) and Everett Allen Lilly (bass). Val had previously played in groups with Bill Keith
; Field had been a member of the New York Ramblers with David Grisman
; and Lilly was the son of Everett Lilly from the Lilly Brothers, a highly respected traditional bluegrass act. After Paul Rothchild began working as a staff producer for Elektra Records
, the group sent him a demo tape which included bluegrass versions of two Beatles' songs, "I've Just Seen a Face
" and "What Goes On." Rothchild was impressed, and suggested the band record an entire album of Beatles' songs. Label boss Jac Holzman
flew to London to get clearance for the idea from the Beatles themselves, and the album was recorded in Nashville with additional support from musicians Buddy Spicher
(fiddle), Craig Wingfield (dobro
), and Eric Thompson (lead guitar).
Siggins later said:
The album, Beatle Country, was released by Elektra in 1966. It was marketed with a cover of cowboys in London, and promotional materials pushing the album toward a mainstream country
market. Although it achieved some success, Rothchild then began working in California
with rock
bands, most notably The Doors
, and the album was not followed up. The Charles River Valley Boys split up in 1968.
Beatle Country became a sought-after collectors' item before it was reissued on CD by Rounder Records
in 1995.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
group who toured and recorded in the 1960s and were best known for their 1966 album, Beatle Country, presenting bluegrass versions of songs by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
.
History
The group was formed by students in Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
in 1959. They took their name as a jokey reference to the Laurel River Valley Boys, a traditional bluegrass group from North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
who recorded several albums in that style in the 1950s, and to the Charles River
Charles River
The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
.
Although the group's membership changed frequently, the core performers of the Charles River Valley Boys in the early years were Eric Sackheim (guitar, mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
), Bob Siggins (banjo, vocals), and Clay Jackson (guitar, vocals), all students at Harvard, and Ethan Signer (guitar, mandolin, autoharp
Autoharp
The autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither. -History:There is debate over the...
, vocals), a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. All were fans of bluegrass and old-timey music, and they began performing together, often with others, at Harvard, appearing regularly on the Harvard student radio station WHRB
WHRB
WHRB is a commercial FM radio station in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It broadcasts at 95.3 MHz and is operated by students at Harvard College.-History:...
and becoming regular performers at Tulla's Coffeehouse in Harvard Square. In 1961 they recorded an album, Bringin' In The Georgia Mail, partly in Cambridge and partly in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was released in the UK by Doug Dobell
Doug Dobell
Douglas "Doug" Dobell was a British record store proprietor and record producer, responsible for running Dobell's Record Shop in Charing Cross Road, London, and 77 Records...
on his Folklore
77 Records
77 Records was a British record label set up in 1957 by Doug Dobell, the proprietor of Dobell's Jazz Record Shop at 77 Charing Cross Road, London...
label.
In 1962, Paul Rothchild, a friend of the band who had worked as a record distributor in the Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
area, produced their second album on his own label, Mount Auburn Records. He then began working for Prestige Records
Prestige Records
Prestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...
, which reissued the album as Bluegrass And Old Timey Music (1962), and produced a further album on the label, Blue Grass Get Together (with Tex Logan, 1964). By that time, the group comprised Siggins, Signer, John Cooke
John Byrne Cooke
John Byrne Cooke is an American author, musician, and photographer. He is the son of Alistair Cooke, and the great-grandnephew of Ralph Waldo Emerson....
(guitar, vocals), and Fritz Richmond
Fritz Richmond
John B. "Fritz" Richmond was an American musician and recording engineer. Fritz Richmond was considered the foremost washtub bassist in the world, and was also the most successful professional jug player....
(washtub bass
Washtub bass
The washtub bass, or "gutbucket", is a stringed instrument used in American folk music that uses a metal washtub as a resonator. Although it is possible for a washtub bass to have four or more strings and tuning pegs, traditional washtub basses have a single string whose pitch is adjusted by...
, vocals). Cooke, the son of English-born journalist Alistair Cooke
Alistair Cooke
Alfred Alistair Cooke KBE was a British/American journalist, television personality and broadcaster. Outside his journalistic output, which included Letter from America and Alistair Cooke's America, he was well known in the United States as the host of PBS Masterpiece Theater from 1971 to 1992...
, had joined after Eric Sackheim decided to return to his studies in Europe. Between 1963 and 1965, the group performed and toured on a full-time basis.
By 1966, Signer, Cooke and Richmond had left, and the group comprised Bob Siggins, Joe Val (mandolin, vocals), Jim Field (guitar, vocals) and Everett Allen Lilly (bass). Val had previously played in groups with Bill Keith
Bill Keith (musician)
Bill Keith is a five-string banjoist who made a significant contribution to the stylistic development of the instrument. In the 1960s he introduced a variation on the popular "Scruggs style" of banjo playing which would soon become known as melodic style, or "Keith style." -Professional...
; Field had been a member of the New York Ramblers with David Grisman
David Grisman
David Grisman is an American bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. In the early 1990s, he started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.-Biography:Grisman grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey...
; and Lilly was the son of Everett Lilly from the Lilly Brothers, a highly respected traditional bluegrass act. After Paul Rothchild began working as a staff producer for Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
, the group sent him a demo tape which included bluegrass versions of two Beatles' songs, "I've Just Seen a Face
I've Just Seen a Face
"I've Just Seen a Face" is a song by The Beatles. It appears on their 1965 United Kingdom album Help!, although in the United States it and "It's Only Love" first appeared on the Capitol version of the Rubber Soul album.-Composition:...
" and "What Goes On." Rothchild was impressed, and suggested the band record an entire album of Beatles' songs. Label boss Jac Holzman
Jac Holzman
Jac Holzman was the founder, chief executive officer and head of both Elektra Records and Nonesuch Records.-Biography:He founded Elektra Records in his St. John's College dorm room in 1950 and Nonesuch Records in 1964...
flew to London to get clearance for the idea from the Beatles themselves, and the album was recorded in Nashville with additional support from musicians Buddy Spicher
Buddy Spicher
Buddy Spicher is an American fiddle player.Spicher started in the late 50s as part of the backing band for Audrey Williams, the widow of Hank Williams, later with Hank Snow, the Charles River Valley Boys....
(fiddle), Craig Wingfield (dobro
Dobro
Dobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
), and Eric Thompson (lead guitar).
Siggins later said:
"A lot of the folkies were into the Beatles big time, on the sly if nothing else, including us. We just thought a lot of [their songs] would adapt themselves to a country sound...As we got into learning the songs, we discovered that the singing they did lent itself well to bluegrass harmonies, which we liked to kind of layer on top of the lead vocal. And they did some kind of similar things....We just had a lot of fun with it. It was a lot of work, but it was a lot of fun work. Working out the harmonies, especially. We weren't like super-hot, hard-driving instrumentalists, really, although we tried. And that's, in a sense, why we hired some of the guys we hired for the record. 'Cause we were more into vocalists, vocalizing. That was the fun part for us, I think... The only flak we got was from Joe Val initially. He was kind of edgy about it. I think he was worried about what some of his friends might say, some of his hardcore bluegrass fans. Our approach was to do it as hardcore bluegrass as we could. And I think that kind of settled his mind on it a bit... He had fun with it too. Other than that, we got only approval, basically, as near as I could tell. Especially on the west coast, when we came out to play some of it on tour."
The album, Beatle Country, was released by Elektra in 1966. It was marketed with a cover of cowboys in London, and promotional materials pushing the album toward a mainstream country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
market. Although it achieved some success, Rothchild then began working in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
with rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
bands, most notably The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
, and the album was not followed up. The Charles River Valley Boys split up in 1968.
Beatle Country became a sought-after collectors' item before it was reissued on CD by Rounder Records
Rounder Records
Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
in 1995.
Discography
| Year | Title | Label | Number | Notes |
| 1962 | Bringin' In the Georgia Mail | Folklore 77 Records 77 Records was a British record label set up in 1957 by Doug Dobell, the proprietor of Dobell's Jazz Record Shop at 77 Charing Cross Road, London... (UK) |
F-LEUT/3 | |
| 1962 | Bluegrass and Old Timey Music | Mount Auburn Records/Club 47 | MTA One | Limited edition of 1000. Reissued as Prestige International INT-13074 (1962) and Prestige Folklore FL-14017 (1964?) and on PRCD-24280-2 (2003) |
| 1964 | Blue Grass Get Together | Prestige Folklore Prestige Records Prestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several... |
FL 14024 | with Tex Logan, reissued on PRCD-24280-2 (2003) |
| 1966 | Beatle Country | Elektra Elektra Records Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009.... |
EKL 4006 | also stereo LP EKS 74006 (1966), reissued as Rounder CD SS 41 (1995) |