The Father of Hillbilly Jazz, Vassar Clements was seven years old when he taught himself to play the fiddle. His big break came at the age of twenty-one when he was hired to play with Bill Monroe and The Bluegrass Boys. He went on to play with Flatt and Scruggs (that's Vassar you hear playing the fiddle on the theme to 'The Beverly Hillbillies'), The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John Hartford, The Grateful Dead, Stéphane Grappelli and Dicky Betts, among others. He was also a member of Old And In The Way, a Bluegrass supergroup that included Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, John Kahn and Peter Rowan.
'Full Circle' was released in 2001. Along with Mr. Clements, the album features Jim and Jesse, Ricky Skaggs, John Cowan, Peter Rowan, JD Crowe and Sam Bush.
The full album can be found here and here.
Albert King began his musical career in Osceola, Arkansas, a river town on the mighty Mississippi. He spent a decade or more moving around the South and the Midwest before heading to Memphis, where he signed with Staxx Records.
'Born Under A Bad Sign' is King's second studio album, released in 1967. It consists of songs recorded during several sessions, with Booker T. and The MGs and The Memphis Horns providing the back-up. Isaac Hayes also contributed some keyboards and piano on a few of the songs.
The full album can be found here or here.
