Maddox Brothers and Rose - I salute you

It seems ages since I last posted, I guess with Christmas and New Year things have been pretty hectic. Also, my time has been taken up with job hunting (not very exciting) and planning a trip to America with my fella (much more exciting). It won't be the much longed for road trip I want to go on, but will be more a two week break taking in as much as we can. Anyway, I've always wanted to visit America mainly because it's where all my favourite music was recorded. I want to go to places like Memphis, New Orleans, St Louis and Kentucky and actually see the places that have been conjured up in my mind by Rockabilly, Bluegrass, Blues, Rock 'n' Roll etc.

Which leads me succintly on to the real subject of this post, one of my favourite bands - Maddox Brothers and Rose. There consisted of four brothers, Fred, Cal, Cliff and Don and their sister Rose. Cliff died in 1949 and was replaced by another brother, Henry. They hailed from Boaz, Alabama but hitchhiked to California during the Great Depression. They began performing on the radio in the late 1930s and entered a hillbilly band competition in 1939. They shocked the audience with their rollicking performance of 'Sally Let Your Bangs Hang Down'.  During the 1940s their popularity (or notoriety) grew and they were known as "America's Most Colorful Hillbilly band" and it's pretty easy to understand why. Their music is a pre-rock 'n' roll riot of fiddles, banjos, harmonicas, electric guitars, whoops, hollers and cattle calls all held together by Rose's unmistakable voice. Their lyrics, too, covered the darker, gothic, often seamier side of life; they tended to aschew more traditional religious/salvation themes, although they did record an album of Sacred songs in the late '50s, but they'd gone off the boil at this point in my opinion.

They were one of the true originators of Rockabilly, although they have never received the credit they deserved. They are yet another band who were light years ahead of their time yet mention their name to most people and they won't have a clue who they are. Songs such as 'Hangover Blues' laments too much drink the night before - "I came in last night about half past ten, that man of mine wouldn't let me in. I had to go and lose those mean hangover blues",  'Pay Me Alimony' tackles the taboo subject of divorce - these were uncommon themes for female singers in the late '40s. Another of their songs was entitled the 'Mean and Wicked Boogie', as opposed to the feel-good, upbeat sort that was more popular at that time. Of course, they did cover more traditional material - they did some great covers of Hank Williams songs - they turn 'Honky Tonkin' into a rabble rousing humourous ditty - "Here comes that honky tonkin' donkey!" although it somehow manages to sound more raucous and primitive than Williams' own version.

an early shot of the Maddoxes taken in 1938. Rose must have only been a teenager.

Despite its sombre title, this was in fact a joke recording of Elvis/Ray Charles' I Got Woman. The Maddoxes stated if this ever became a hit for them it would indeed be the death of rock 'n' roll.

One of my favourite songs of theirs is 'South'. It starts off as an intrumental in their usual colourful, riotous sound but halfway through Rose begins singing to a somewhat abstract rhythm. There are no verses, no chorus, no basic melody. It's more of a feeling than a song; a celebration of their homeland.

Down below that old Dixon line, there's a place that really is fine.
Don't you know what I'm talking about,
If you wanna find out then take a trip with me down below that old Dixon line
Where the sun is happy to shine.
Where a friendly face is common to see, that's where I'm longing to be.
Where the folks are happy and gay and the easy way is the right way.
Where the bees make honey all day
Don't you know you're right next to heaven down south...

The other thing I love about their music is that Mexicana/south of the border feel that runs throughout all their songs. This is best typified in songs such as Cocquita of Lareodo, On Mexico's Beautiful Shores, Cherokee Maiden and Texas Guitar Stomp.

They looked pretty darn cool as well but I guess some people take one look at this photo and think they were just another jolly hillbilly/country band. But they so much more than that. Their early songs in particular are some of the rawest that have ever been put on record. Granted, they became much more mainstream as rock 'n' roll started kicking in the early '50s but those 1940s recordings are like gold dust. They have influenced so many artists - Elvis, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and current artists like Gillian Welch.  Give them a listen if you get a chance, I guarantee you will not be disappointed.