Conference napalm::guitar

    There is a small label called Sierra Briar which specializes in
    California country rock cult items like Gram Parsons, Clarenece White,
    etc.  That's your best bet.  
    
    "Appalachian Swing" was issued by one of the United Artists
    subsidiaries (World Pacific maybe?) and is long out of print.  The
    current owner of the tapes is Capitol/EMI and they show no signs of
    wanting to reissue it.  I have never seen a copy of this album, it's
    like the Holy Grail  8^)  8^)
    
                                                Brian

	There are a couple of releases on Rounder Records with Clarence
	playing with the Kentucky Colonels (with brother Roland), as well
	as a White Brothers Live recording also on rounder.  There's
	some good stuff on these.  The White Brothers release was from
	a later era (ie. after the Byrds thing).  

	There are also four songs that were to be part of his recording
	that he was doing at the time of his death.  I've seen these
	released as part of a couple sampler type albums.  I've got one
	of these that I bought in the used bins.  The Clarence stuff is
	the only thing worth the record, but it IS good.  One cut has
	Ry Cooder backing up and playing a slide solo.

	_gary

One of the first albums I bought in my life was "Muleskinner", where Clarence 
plays with Bill Keith (banjo), David Grisman (mandolin), Richard Greene 
(fiddle), Peter Rowan (voc.). I got it at a small concert here in Switzerland 
- the band sold it. The band was Bill Keith, Jim Rooney and Pierre Bensusan. 
It must have been back in the 70ies, not long after the album came out. Some 
"Muleskinner" stuff is very good - especially Clarence, but the others too. 
It must have been one of Clarences last albums.

FeliX.

    A friend just gave me his collection of every copy of Frets magazine. 
    There's at least one issue dedicated to Clarence White.  There are some
    transcriptions, and there's a Tony Rice column describing how he got
    ahold of Clarence's guitar.  More than one person in the issue said
    that Clarence's solo on "Footprints in the Snow" on that Muleskinner
    album is their all-time favorite bluegrass guitar break.
    
    I found, in the used record bin, a Maria Muldaur album from the 70's,
    with Clarence, David Grisman, and a bunch of other heavies (maybe Ry
    Cooder or Amos Garrett) backing her up.  I gotta give it another
    listen.
    
    Charlie

    "Muleskinner" came out on LP from Warner Bros.  It quickly was deleted,
    but in the early 80s somebody reissued it, Rebel amybe, and it's likely
    still available.  Sort of a precursor to the dawg/new acoustic genre,
    it includes Grisman's "Opus 57" which turned a lot of heads when it
    came out.   A good album if you enjoy progressive bluegrass.
    
    						Brian

    I just bought an album called "Treasures Untold" which is live
    recordings of Doc Watson at Newport some years back.
    
    Apparently some enterprising person managed to get Doc together with a
    youngster called Clarence White and four tunes are featured on the
    album.
    
    Judging by his comments whilst playing, Doc is quite taken with this
    young man.
    
    I have the Maria Muldaur album and although CW is on it, the highlight
    for me has to be Ry Cooder's solo in "Any old time".
    
    The CW album with the Kentucky Colonels live, on which CW plays "Bury
    me beneath the willow" shows his astonishing cross picking technique
    and how he can alter rhythms so cleverly.
    
    I also have the Frets magazine. As they are out of business, would it
    be contravention of copyright to photocopy it for anyone interested.
    
    I see than Martin Guitars are now making a dreadnought with an enlarged
    soundhole manufactured into it, rather than being carved with a
    penknife (!) as CW's was, I believe.
    
    andy 

    
    Wow!  A Clarence note!!  
    
    I recently picked up a CD of the White Brothers performance at the 1964 
    Newport Folk Festival.  Included in the collection are the previously
    mentioned Doc Watson, Clarence collaboration tunes.  Also included is a
    recording of a banjo workshop given by Bill Keith in which the White
    Brothers band backed him up.  This segment includes some good natured
    audience ribbing about Bill's "Keith Tuners" which he apparently
    couldn't mention by name at that time and a long story by Bill in which
    he describes how the tune Nola came to be written and how he came to
    play it.  He then did play part of it.
    
    Great CD with some very good picking and backup(!) playing by Clarence.
    There's also another CD out with the other Bluegrass Band  performances
    from the festival of the same year.  That's a neat one as it has Bill
    Monroe playing Bluemoon of Kentucky with his guitarist of the time who
    was I think Peter Rowan!
    
    I too have the book by Russ Barenburg.  It's pretty heady though I've
    managed to pull a few things out of it and have stick-ums for the
    things to get to adventually.  I'm pretty sure the "Footsteps in the
    Snow" break is in there.
    
    If anyone is interested in the other half of the White Brothers: Roland
    White, he's playing with the "Nashville Bluegrass Band".  They played
    the area recently and are going to be at this years Ben and Jerry's
    Folk Fest!
    
    I've never seen a new copy of the Muleskinner album in any store.
    
    Has anyone listened to David Grier?  He's a pretty amazing flat-picker
    in his own right... 
    
    Clarence Lives!
    
    
    Ben.

	I just got the latest Guitar Player rag in the mail yesterday and
	there is an article on Clarence in it.  I haven't had a chance to
	read it yet, but noticed a picture of an old band he was in called
	something like The Bluegrass Boys with ANDY GRIFFITH (??) playing
	guitar also...

	_gary

    
    Yeah, I believe that the White Brothers were on the Andy Griffith show
    occasionally doing some songs with Andy.  I saw Andy do a tune
    on, I believe, Matlock one time.  Just strummin' and singin'.
    
    Also on the Andy Griffith show were the Dillards and they went by the 
    name of, I think,  the Darlin's.  On the show Andy said "There is a Time" 
    is the prettiest song he's ever heard.  I also think the Darlin's
    personalities, on the show, were akin to Daryll and Daryll on the Bob
    Newhart show.  They had mountain folk personas rounded out with total
    blank stares.
    
    Maybe this should go under the TV Trivia/Bluegrass note!
    
    
    Ben.

    I have seen the Muleskinner album in London, on vinyl if I remember
    rightly.
    
    My thoughts are therefore that it is still available.
    
    FWIW
    
    andy

	re: Muleskinner album

	You might want to contact a place like Roundup Records whichs is
	the distribution/mail order arm of Rounder Records.  They stock
	lots of independant labels including reissue stuff like the 
	Rebel label.

	Another place to try would be Alcazar Records in Waterbury, VT.

	The FOLK_MUSIC conference has addresses for Rounder and Alcazar
	as well as several other mail order places.  Alcazar has a mail
	order hot line 1-800-541-9904 (mon-fri 9-5 EDT).  They are pretty
	helpful and fast.  Often when I order from them I get the order
	within 2-3 days (although I am in Vt also.).

	I picked it up used on a reissue several years ago.  I guess the
	original would be quite a collectors item now.

	_gary	

    I remember watching Andy when the "Darlings" were on.  I musta been 11
    and barely knew a G chord, but I knew what a Gibson headstock looked
    like.  Andy was playing a Martin dreadnought, and I looked at the
    plain, square, headstock and thought "what the heck (I wasn't allowed
    to think "hell" back then) kinda guitar is that?  Must not be much..."
    
    However, I remember thinking that Andy looked like he knew what he was
    doing.  I'd like to see that old episode to get another look at
    Clarence; he looked a little funny before he grew his hair...
    
    Charlie

re: -.1    

>    However, I remember thinking that Andy looked like he knew what he was
>    doing.  I'd like to see that old episode to get another look at
>    Clarence; he looked a little funny before he grew his hair...
    
	
	I remember seeing Andy on Matlock one time that Browine McGee was
	on the show.  Andy played a few tune with Brownie....not bad.

	The Kentucky Colonel albums picture Clarence with short hair.
	He was different looking...very intense.

	_gary

    Isn't there some tale about Clarence that he was never photographed
    smiling.
    
    Can't think that I've ever seen a pic of him doing so.
    
    If I could play like he played, I'd have a manic grin on my face at all
    times :-) :-)
    
    andy
    
    

If I remember right, the cover of the Russ Barenberg book shows a very nice 
photo of a long-haired, bearded Clarence smiling...

FeliX.

    Smiling, yes.  The legend of Clarence not smiling is in error.  In
    the aforementioned Barenburg book he has lot's of pictures and
    commentary, from the White boys as youngsters to the Muleskinner band
    including the shot of the rhythm guitarist from Muleskinner - something
    like Tom Kaparakis - ever heard of him?  Me neither - but I noticed
    that he was on Kenny Bakers fiddle albums playing backup - and there
    he is on Muleskinner.
    
    Clarence  guitar - probably had the soundhole enlarged because it 
    was all chewed up by hard picking.  BTW, last I heard the neck on it
    was from a Gretsch.  Kind of a basket case.
    
    The nice thing about the book is when coupled with the record to
    hear how it's supposed to sound you find that stuff is really playable.
    Clarence could take a tune like Beaumont Rag (called Julius Finkbine
    Rag in their recording and the book) and come up with a really original
    beautiful version that is easy to play.  (Well, easy is a relative 
    term, work on it!).  The funny thing is, everybody from Eric Thompson
    to Steve Kaufman, to every jam session flatpicker I know has to play
    the B section lick from Clarence - and probably doesn't realize where
    it came from.  (BTW, it came from Django).  
    
    BTW, send me mail.  I have Appalachain Swing.  First three cassettes
    that I get in the mail (with return postage - sorry Switzerland is
    out of my zip code) will get a copy. 
    
    Copyright - probably still in effect on the FRETS.  Guitar Player owns
    the rights.  Normally as long as you're not selling the copies you
    can make one for personal use without a problem.  Guitar player may 
    still have the back-issues.  Used to be you could order them.
    
    My favorite shot of Clarence is him in a white stage outfit
    (bellbottoms, and sequins) clearly near the last photos taken of him,
    at a bluegrass festival, guitar in one hand, beer (Pabst) in the other,
    stepping over a passed out drunk with a 11 year old boy following.
    Wonder who that kid was?
    
    Mike.
    

    The "Appalachian Swing" album was re-released in the 70's in Britain
    by United Artists ( I have a copy ) Cat No. UAS 29514.It has a "bonus"?
    of two rather poor vocal tracks,recorded at a different period.
    It may be still available.Any trouble locating it,send E-Mail (I am
    based in Scotland).Clarence's guitar playing is superb throughout,I
    learned a LOT from this album.
    	Track listing is;-
    			Clinch Mountain Backstep
    			Nine-pound Hammer
    			Listen to the mockingbird
    			Wild Bill Jones
    			Billy in the Lowground
    			Lee Hiway
    			That's what you get for lovin' me
    
    			I am a Pilgrim
    			Prisoner's Song
    			Sally Goodin
    			The Ballad of Farmer Brown
    			Faded Love
    			John Henry
    			Flat Fork
    
    I also have" the Kentucky Colonels 1965-1967",Rounder 0070,a live album
    with more songs than instrumentals,excellent playing,with Scotty
    Stoneman on fiddle.Clarences lead is superb,but his backup playing is
    equally as spectacular.
    	Rounder records also sell "The White Brothers & the New Kentucky
    Colonels,Live in Sweden",Rounder 0073.Can't comment on this one.
    
    	Tony Rice now has that legendary Martin,a whole article was devoted
    to it in a FRETS magazine.Tony used it on all of "The Bluegrass Album"
    series.
    	   Pity we lost Clarence in such a horrible way.He was hit by a car
    while loading equipment after a gig.
    					  Jim.
    

    In the September 1992 Guitar Player mag, there is an article on
    Clarence.  I haven't gotten to read it yet but it looks great and there
    are sections written by various people whose lives Clarence touched
    including Jerry Garcia, Tony Rice and David Grisman.  
    
    Also of highlight, on page 132, is an add by Sierra Records and Home 
    Videos.  They are selling a Muleskinner Live CD and Muleskinner Live Video. 
    Also available are some albums (rare vinyl lp import-limited
    quantities) of Appalachian Swing, and other equally difficult and
    not-so difficult albums to find.  
    
    Sierra Records, PO BOX 5853G, Pasadena, CA 91117.   -- They say send
    for a free catalog.
    
    If anyone needs more info, let me know.  There is no phone number
    listed.
    
    Ben.

Last weekend I found some time to read the Clarence White article in Guitar 
Player (September 92) as mentioned in .-1. Since I was aware of Clarence's 
importance for the Bluegrass world, I didn't know about his influence beyond 
that... 

There is this little story told by Gene Parsons (Byrds):

...one night we were playing at the Whisky and when we were in the dressing 
room, this really well-dressed black man wearing a hat with a feather in it 
walks in and says to Clarence: "Are you Clarence White?" And Clarence says 
"Yeah." And the fellow adds, "Well, I really love the way you play guitar. 
I've been listening to you for years, and you're one of my favourite 
players." So Clarence says, "Wow, thanks a lot. What did you say your name 
was?" The fellow says, "I'm Jimi Hendrix."

FeliX.