Track Listing

1. Lester, Bill and Earl
2. Sunny Side of the Mountain
3. Windows of My Mind
4. Will You Be Lonesome Too?
5. Someone Took My Olace With You
6. Six White Horses
7. Bonaparte's Retreat
8. Smell Good on Sunday
9. That's a Good Enough Reason
10. Pig in the Pen
11. If I Had My Life to Live Over
12. Ice Cold Love
13. One Drink Too Many
14. Crag Rock Pass

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #341767 in Music
• Released on: 1993-09-13
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
The legendary fiddler Benny Martin is joined by a host of top Nashville pickers on this amiable 1975 recording, most notably his former employer, childhood friend, and fellow Sparta, Tennessee, native Lester Flatt. Martin covers a wide variety of material, ranging from traditional fiddle tunes to bluegrass staples to mainstream country. Six of the 14 cuts are charming Martin originals--some autobiographical, some whimsical--and while Martin may not have the world's perfect voice, he offers endearing readings of these nonetheless. Flatt handles lead vocals on four lesser-known tunes from his own repertoire, including the poignant "If I Had My Life to Live Over." --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews

It Gets Better With Age
I bought this album in 1979 when I was playing in a North Carolina band, The Newgrass Edition. I absolutely loved the things that Benny did with John Hartford. Lester Flatt did a killer version of SIX WHITE HORSES. The all star SUNNY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN still makes me want to sing along.

Recently ran into Tom Britt, one of NC's premier banjo players (I destest the possibility of the existence of a word "banjoist") Tom was the banjo player in Newgrass Edition and during that period would frequently listen to TENNESSEE JUBILEE while visiting in my home. He informed me that he had recently purchased this CD based on his memory of the record all those years ago. He said that he liked it even better now.

In this day and age of all star tributes, it would definitely be worthwhile to buy one of the first.

With a Little Help from his Friends
Back in the late '70s and early '80s, my buddy Joel and I used to enjoy going to Bluegrass Festivals in Wisconsin. They were a real blast back then and I'm sure they still are now. Our favorite festival was up in Mole Lake and one of the highlights each year was the appearance of Benny Martin. He wasn't just a good fiddler, he always had a good rapport with the audiance. Like most Bluegrass music, his was usually full of life. The best album of his that I ever came across is "Tennessee Jubilee".

The musians assembled are pretty impressive including John Hartford and Lester Flatt and the music is excellent. They're all good but, when I had the album, I usually focused on side 2. "All Smell Good on Sunday", "Pig in a Pen" and "Ice Cold Love" were good, lively Bluegrass. More poignant were "If I Could Live My Life Over" sung well by Lester Flatt and "One Drink is Too Many" sung with feeling (and first hand knowledge?) by Benny Martin (who sings most of the numbers).

In the opening number, Benny Martin sings that some of the songs are Bluegrass, some are Coutry and others Pop. He's right. They're all good but it's the Bluegrass that really lights everything up.

Benny Martin is GREAT
This is a wonderful album. Benny Martin is a phenominal musician. My 9 year old son listen's to this CD over and over. I wish there was more music like this played on the radio today.