k

Don Clay, 3rd from left (pic from back cover of Don Clay and the Pleasant Valley Boys sing The Fields Have Turned Brown on Pathway)

k

b side of 45 on Old Homestead, Don Clay and the Lincoln County Ramblers, I’m So Afraid of Losing You Again

—

Remember the Pathway LP I wrote about a while ago: The Pleasant Valley Boys, The Fields Have Turned Brown? I’ll repost here as an intro…

(originally posted May 2nd, 2008 by Cousin Geoff)

d

Another LP found on Ypsilanti’s Pathway label.

PLP 184, The Pleasant Valley Boys Sing The Fields Have Turned Brown.  Featuring: Roy Derringer, Rhythm Guitar (Wayne); Donald Clay, Lead Singer (Ypsilanti); Tom Rains, Mandolin (South Lyon); Eddie Carrol, Lead Guitar (Brighton).  With special guest Sonny Nelson, Five String Banjo (Detroit).

Wow.  Totally blown away by this one.  Judging by the rawness of the other Pathways I have, I didn’t know what to expect, but this record is unbelievable.  A very, very, solid traditional bluegrass record, all done in the sacred style that is Pathway.  I was so excited that I actually called the numbers on the back of this late 60s record, hoping to get ahold of Donald or Roy.  It DID say “If you would like to have the Pleasant Valley Boys in your neighborhood, phone…”  I was hoping I’d get an 80 year old former member and would just make his day by asking questions about the Pleasant Valley Boys, and then I’d invite them to play in my backyard in Ypsi in front of a campfire and record it or something.  But, sadly, both numbers were disconnected.

This record is no joke; it’s very similar to a Stanley Brothers record, and all songs are excellent and the singing and musicianship are also very good.  It’s by far the best Pathway I’ve heard, and it’s different in that it’s more traditional and professional and not as wacky/weird sounding as the others.  Whether that’s a good thing I have no idea.

It’s funny that this turned up, but this is often the case.  We’ll get to thinking about something or getting into something and then it’ll turn up on cue.

Listen to “Will The Circle Be Unbroken”:

So I wrote that post right after finding and listening to it a few times, obviously pretty excited as I always am right after that first listen/discovery. There’s another local label that does mostly secular bluegrass, called Old Homestead from Brighton, Michigan. The 45 pictured at the top is by Don Clay and The Lincoln County Ramblers, OHM 5029: Up Around The Bend/I’m So Afraid Of Losing You. I have some other pretty good stuff on Old Homestead, it was a pretty significant 70s Michigan bluegrass label. In fact, they’re still up and running today.

I don’t know why it took me so long to make the connection, but this 45 by Don Clay is the same Donald Clay who was the lead singer of The Pleasant Valley Boys. In fact, I even have a second pressing of The Fields Have Turned Brown that changes the cover to read “Don Clay and the Pleasant Valley Boys.”

The influence that the migration of southern workers had on Ypsilanti’s music and cultural landscape has been well-documented, including my posts on the Ypsitucky Song, and the founder of T.C’s Speakeasy Ty Cool and his Ty and Tom- On The Road LP, in addition to the aforementioned Pathway label stuff. It’s almost the complete opposite style of music as what Ypsilanti’s Lee Osler and John Ford were serving up. But it’s great stuff, and well-deserving of preserving and celebrating as an equally important part of Ypsilanti’s history. Michigan has had some great bluegrass recordings all over the state; for a good example check out Ford Nix.

With that, I’m going to officially crown Don Clay as the King of Ypsilanti Bluegrass. Check out the b side of the Homestead 45:

“I’m So Afraid of Losing You Again”

Also - I would love to get ahold of Don and better document his story if he’s still around Ypsi. Anyone know him?

*Addition: from the back cover of “The Fields Have Turned Brown”:

Donald Clay is the lead singer and manager of the group. He was born and raised on a farm in Ranger, West Virginia. He has sung in churches and singing conventions since he was a boy. His father and mother, Bill and Ethel Clay, two fine Christians, have encouraged him to sing since he was a boy and he has not let them down. Donnie is married and lives in Ypsilanti, Michigan, with his wife Thelma, and son, Eddie, and daughter, Lynn.