Review Text
'Now THAT'S MY kind of music and the kind of singing I like to hear' Doc Watson commenting backstage on Wendys live performance of Keep On The Sunny Side - Merlefest, April 2001 Wendy's track Notes from the CD 1)Nelly Bly (2:51)Stephan Foster I learned this great old song by listening to Grandpa Jones sing it. It was always one of my most requested songs when performing with the Appalachian Mountain Girls or the Brushy Mountain Band at the Saturday night Mountain Music Jamboree in Laurel Springs, NC. Wendy -vocals,bass Steve -guitar Edwin -banjo Rickie -fiddle, mandolin, harmony vocal 2)Chicken On Ice (2:42) Kyle Dean Smith /RimRidge Music Chicken On Ice is an original instrumental written by Kyle Dean Smith of Galax,Va. He says he 'came up with the melody about 2 a.m.while messing around in D tuning '.Later,he and his Dad were listening to an old recording of 'Cacklin Hen '.'The fiddler played a wild,crazy riff. Obviously he goofed up and tried to recover.I told Dad,'Sounds like a cartoon of a chicken on ice -and a title was born!' Kyle Dean -banjo Rickie -fiddle,guitar, rhythm mandolin Wendy -Bass 3)Living The Blues (4:03)Bob Dylan /Big Sky Music I first heard this song performed by Roland White with the Nashville Bluegrass Band,and just couldn 't rest until I learned it myself. What a fun song!I love Rob 's bluesy Dobro licks and Rickie 's subtle touches on the fiddle.It 's a pleasure and a privilege to work with such wonderful musicans. Wendy -vocal,bass Rickie -fiddle,mandolin Rob -dobro Steve -guitar Kyle Dean -banjo 4)Keep On The Sunny Side (2:47)Traditional This song has a wonderful message and is one of my all time favorites. It was popularized by the Carter Family in the 1920 's and is still very popular at musical gatherings in our area. Wendy -vocal,bass Rickie -fiddle,mandolin Steve -guitar Edwin -banjo 5)Sweet Rosie By The River (2:26 )Allen Mills /Poplar Camp Music Ernest Johnson and I have sung this song together and with the Brushy Mountain Band for many years.Ernest is a long time friend and well known fiddler from Wilkes County,NC,and is featured here on lead vocals and lead fiddle. A special treat was having Rickie join us on harmony singing and play his awesome harmony fiddling. Allen Mills, leader of the Lost and Found bluegrass band from Ferrum,VA wrote this song. Ernest -lead vocal, lead fiddle Rickie -harmony fiddle,vocal,mandolin,guitar Wendy -harmony vocal,bass 6)Wildwood Flower (3:07)Traditional This song goes back to at least 1859 as Maud Irving 's 'I 'll Twine Midst the Ringlets ' and perhaps as 'The Pale Amaryllis ' before that..Maybelle Carter remembers her mother singing this song and the Carter Family popularized it in America in 1928. Most everyone recogonizes the melody as it is often done as an instrumental. I love Steve 's guitar picking and on this one he makes it sound like Mother Maybelle is in the room. Wendy -vocal, bass Rickie -fiddle,mandolin Steve -guitar Edwin -banjo 7)Chestnut Ridge (3:31) Wendy Lewis &Rickie Simpkins/RimRidge Music The beauty of these mountains reminds me that each day is a precious gift.This peaceful melody came to me while I was running on the Parkway early one morning.Rickie co-wrote and helped bring the song to life.The song 's name is in memory of the native American Chestnut Tree,Castanea dentata.Prior to the Chestnut blight,the tree accounted for one third of all trees in the Blue Ridge mountains and much of the eastern US.The blight was imported along with foreign plants brought into New York in 1904 and devastated the Chestnuts by the 1930 's.Researchers are hoping to find a means to grow healthy trees from the few surviving roots and plants.Rickie -fiddle,rhythm guitar Rob -dobro Kyle Dean -banjo Wendy -bass 8)My Home 's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains (2:49)Traditional Edwin attends the University of Dubuque but his home is just across the Blue Ridge Mountains in Wytheville,Va. He 's one of my favorite banjo players, we 're fortunate to have him on th
