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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”:
by Cousin Geoff, featuring guest writer Ameritape John:
508 Maus Street in Ypsilanti, former home of Pathway label
I got an email the other day from a guy named John who said that he had read one of my previous posts about the Ypsilanti gospelgrass label Pathway. I’ve written about The Smith Family Sings Your Gospel Favorites LP, and Carl and Evert’s I Have Found The Way 45. John may be one of a handful of Pathway followers out there, excited as I was when I stumbled onto one of their records and became strangely obsessed with the 1960s lo-fi off-tune religious music from Ypsilanti, Michigan. John may be one of the few people in the world who is actually more into Pathway than I am. He gave me permission to publish this piece he wrote for a UK record collecting mag, where he attempts to explain the sacred/weird localistic significance and also provides additional info on other Pathway LPs.
Another concept to consider here is the idea of collecting and searching for “deep” gospelgrass, as opposed to the much more popular digging for rare funk, soul, garage, hip-hop, ect. This “Xian” genre that John refers to is something I’ve also taken an interest in, like my post on The Pathway Quartet out of Sandusky, Ohio. There’s something about this primitive religious music that takes on some sort of an intriguing local, cultural, and almost psychedelic aspect. The thing is, I’m not sure if I even want to publish this. I like being able to find an seemingly endless supply of these records at garage sales and local salvation armys, passed over and passed over, as few people are actually into it like me and John. Like he says, most people don’t even want to talk about it, much less search for it (although I can see some UK folks, some of our best customers and really the heavyweights of record collecting, start getting into it). Nevertheless, it’s a great concept to explore. As Max pointed out in a conversation today and John alludes to, Pathway seems to be very much the essence of what punk rock is, but instead of drugs or booze or fuck the man it’s about Jesus and getting into heaven. And all this coming from the homemade basement recording studio of 508 Maus Street in Ypsilanti.
Country Roads, Happy Easter, and Sally Lives On
by Cousin Geoff:
I hope you all had a nice holiday weekend. I spent mine in northern Michigan, all day out in the woods on snowshoes, shot some guns, found the best walking stick ever off a downed oak branch, and spent time with family. I also gave away one of my dogs. Sally the hound, gone, too much for me and my wife now with baby Ella. Despite her bad behavior (constant nervous energy, getting up on the couch, in the garbage, that old coon-hound howl at all the wrong times) I was sad to see ol’ Sally go. We’ve had a lot of good times in the past four years, but she’s just an up north dog, and not an Ypsilanti dog, and that’s just the truth. My other dog Zoe we’re keeping, but she’s feeling down and out because Sally was her constant companion. A sad story, but they are afterall, just dogs.
Driving home today, I heard Toots and The Maytals sing Country Road on XM, and I realized that a good song is a good song, and a good friend is a good friend, even if it ain’t nothing but a hound dog. Ann Arbor’s The RFD Boys (been meaning to write about these guys for a long time, and I will eventually) do a great version of this, more true to John Denver’s original, and very different than Toots and The Maytals, but still the same song.
The RFD Boys version:
Toots version:
It’s Easter and I missed church today but I haven’t been in forever anyway. So I’ll make up for it by including a few Jesus songs in this sermon. More proof that a good song is a good song - Jesus is a Soul Man. One of the Cousins’ favorites is the version by the Pathway Quartet - I compared it to the Otis Williams version in a previous post.
As for Sally, I think she’ll be happy up north. For some reason the Harry McClintock, Hallelujah I’m a Bum song pops in my head. Hallelujah, I’m a bum. Hallelujah, bum again. HalleluJAH, give us a handout, to revive us again. Well, as Bunny Wailer says, Time Will Tell. Good luck Sally, may Jesus and St. Patrick lead you down a good Country Road to help you be Reborn. Maybe there’s hope for you afterall. Then again, maybe Elvis was right.
We’re all connected through music.
There is a benefit bluegrass concert called The Full Freight on April 5th in Ypsilanti at the Corner Brewery. This is exciting not only for the great music, but because it is also one of many efforts to save Ypsilanti’s historic Freighthouse.
Before I tell you more, let me first reset another post I did a while ago when I declared a Bluegrass Weekend. That wasn’t the only time I’ve written about bluegrass on the site - it’s no secret that bluegrass runs as deep in my soul as soul music itself, especially bluegrass that’s made in my home state of Michigan.
In the Bluegrass Weekend post, I wrote about one of my favorite bluegrass musicians ever to strum a Michigan banjo - and that’s Ford Nix. I have several of his records, none more rocking than his self titled on Detroit’s Walker label, where he plucks the two headed banjo like the devil himself.
When my friend Gerard visited last summer, we sat down and listened to my records. Mama Don’t Allow by Ford Nix was one of his favorites.
Listen to Mama Don’t Allow:
I just recieved a note from a personal friend of Ford Nix: Bob Leaman from Murphy, North Carolina. Bob says that because of health concerns, Ford no longer performs music. Bob plays pedal steel guitar and often plays gigs with Ford’s brother, John Nix. I replied back to Bob that I wished Ford well and to let him know that I have several of his records and I enjoy them very much.
Ford knew how to put a rocking, jam based twist on bluegrass, but still kept one foot firmly planted in the roots of this traditional American genre. Another record of his that I have is a bluegrass gospel record he did much later on with some old timer friends of his from North Carolina. It’s on the Flying Squirrel record label, called Songs That Never Grow Old.
The note from Ford’s friend came the same day a neighbor from down the street asked me if Cousins Vinyl was interested in any way in helping out with The Full Freight benefit concert at the Corner Brewery on April 5th. The Freighthouse in Ypsilanti is a building that has brought people of all ages and races together, seeped in the deep roots of our heritage as a city. For many years, the restored Freighthouse, located on Cross Street in the heart of historic Depot Town, and a stone’s throw from the Huron river, served as a Saturday morning gathering place for coffee and doughnuts, as local bluegrass musicians played free for the people. But for the past four or five years, the Freighthouse has been shut down due to much needed repairs. At least $250,000 is needed to restore it back to working condition.
The local Ypsilanti band Black Jake and Carnies, the self proclaimed “Original Kings of Crabgrass”, and with whom my neighbor is a member, will be there along with eight other banjo oriented bands. Mark Maynard also has a post about this along with other info on the Freighthouse and this effort to restore it.
I would like to think that old Ford Nix, wherever he is, would like nothing more than to see this concert and Freighthouse restoration movement carried through, so those songs he sang about that never grow old can keep on living right here in good old Ypsilanti.
I first discovered my hometown of Ypsilanti’s Pathway label with the previously posted The Smith Family LP, Sing Your Gospel Favorites. Another find, The Pathway Quartet, with one of the Cousins’ favorite all-time songs, Jesus is a Soul Man, may or may not be related to this label, as the musical style is very similar, and the label on the LP appears to be from a private pressing.
The latest record we came across on the Pathway label is actually really good. It’s Carl and Evert with a 45 featuring the song, “I Have Found The Way.” Not a whole lot of info is out there about this label, other than it was founded around 1964 by Red Ellis, a Starday recording artist who also sang in a group called Red Ellis and the Crossmen, of whch one of the members was Evert Sanders. The Smith Family also gives a shout-out to The Crossmen, so I am guessing that they were sort of the Pathway house band. I’m not sure who Carl is or what his last name even is. The same site that I found the info about Evert Sanders also listed this bio from the cover of their album they recorded on Pathway called “That Beautiful Land”:
EVERT SANDERS was one of 8 children. He was born in Ranger, West Virginia May 9, 1934. His Father was a coal miner and Evert distinctly remembers the coal camps. When only 16 Months old, the family moved to Kentucky. When he was 16 years old, the family decided to move back to West Virginia. In 1952 Evert came to Michigan. He presently lives in Ypsilanti, Michigan with wife Dorothy and 3 children Mark, Billy and Lorinda. Evert was converted in 1956 and has been serving the Lord ever since. He sings tenor & some lead also plays bass in this album.
The Pathway label’s address is listed at 508 Maus Street in Ypsilanti, Michigan. I have been meaing to drive by that address and take a picture of the house or building - when I do I will post it again here. I have a few other records of The Smith Family, and there are at least two other addresses of Pathway - one is 9901 Stoneycreek Road in Milan, Michigan, which is just south of Ypsilanti.
I think the Pathway label is as important to Ypsilanti’s history as is the well documented song on this site, Back To Ypsilanti by Lee Osler on the Mustache record label. ”I Have Found The Way” represents the effect the migration of southern factory workers to Ypsilanti had on the musical landscape. The Ford Plant and the Bomber Plant were nearby, drawing many bluegrass picking musicians to the area, many of whom are still around today. I’ve met many bluegrass and gospel enthusiasts while chatting with neighbors or out at the local yard sales, and I think this kind of music is an important part of our history. I live on East Cross Street in a neighborhood that was built in the late 50s and early 60s in a time where small ranch houses were built to accomodate all the new workers and their families. There are old tiny churches EVERYWHERE around the area I live - at least 10 within a mile of my house.
Carl and Evert mix the sacred with the rockin’, and this goes well with their message of finding the way. This may be the crown jewel on The Pathway label.
listen:
Some classic Detroit/Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Rock ’n Roll LPs are among the 175+ rock LPs just listed.
The MC5, High Time
The Stooges, Self Titled 1st LP
The SAF, held just a few bocks from my house in Ypsilanti, was awesome this time. I gave the SAF a so-so review last summer, complaining they didn’t have enough paintings or photographs and too much crafts and clothes. I don’t know what it was about this one that made it so much better. Things seemed fresher, crisper, funkier. My only complaint/suggestion this time is that I wish it wasn’t only on Saturday, I wish it was going on on Sunday from like 12-4 or something. I didn’t have much time due to a family obligation, but I had a ton of fun. I bought another Matt Callow photograph, and he gave me a super cool test printing of another one that he is working on, because I had emailed him and shown interest a few months ago. The print I bought is this one, a classic one of his:
I was going to buy a t-shirt that had a picture of the theme of the poster, which was a jack-o-lope, but in my hurry I forgot. Then I went and picked out a Severed Unicorn painting - Mark Maynard promised me one for free because I gave him the records that he used to paint them all. I settled on one of a picture of a headless unicorn on the moon that said at the top: “only one unicorn head has ever been found on the moon.” Mark assured me that this was a super rare one that will never be made again, and that the unicorn depicted in the painting was indeed the very one that had been found. I would post a picture but it is so rare and super valuable that I must keep it a secret. Here is a picture of a different one:
You can check out more paintings at the recently launched Severed Unicorn Head Superstore.
I wish I had more time because I had a lot of fun. I wanted to drink a few beers and shop around, maybe buy some presents. So next time, have a Sunday left-overs type of thing, where people can still come if they weren’t able to on Saturday.
The Ypsi Winter Shadow Art Fair is December 1st this year. It’s being held at the Corner Brewery. I’ve already got my eye on another Matt Callow photograph. I complained last time about there not being enough art or photographs but it looks like they’ve got a really good line up this time. My friend Mark Maynard is one of the organizers - and he’ll be selling paintings of severed unicorns on records he got from our backstock. And the cover charge to get in is a nickel (seriously). I always get the urge to volunteer to play records there - maybe all local stuff or something. But then I think about it and get lazy and I never do. But I’ll go (if Ella allows it) - it’s always a great time.
I love the poster design. It’s a jackalope. You know I hunt them in the U.P, right?
This is very preliminary, but Justin and I are looking into the possibility of opening a walk-in record store in Ypsilanti. The online store would still exist - we’d have both. This is by no means a certain thing, and in fact it is still a longshot, but we’re investigating an opportunity that may make it possible.
Do you think a record store would be successful in downtown Ypsi? I’m sure the city would like to see one go up. There have been two other vinyl record stores in Ypsi in the past 10 or so years that haven’t made it - so we would have to do things a bit differently. I’d also like to support local artists and community events. We’d need a ton of community support and rallying for us to be brave enough to do it.
We’ll see how things shake out over the next few months. A lot depends on a lot of things for this to happen. Pretend I didn’t mention this.
My wife doesn’t like this record because she thinks it’s too weird, so I’m taking that as a good sign that this family gospel album recorded in Ypsilanti, MI at 508 Maus Street on the Pathway label is quite a find.
Rather than review it, I’ll just have you listen to the songs I selected and read what’s on the back cover:
I, Crit Smith, was born September 8, 1933, in Whitley County, Kentucky, near Williansburg, and there I met and married Beulah Brown, the daughter of Reverend Andy and Sarah Brown, in 1950.
I worked in a mill until 1952, then came to Detroit, Michigan, and worked in a factory until 1955. I then went into carpenter work, which I do at the present time. We are very proud of our family, all of which are saved and working for Jesus. We have three daughters: Loretta, sixteen; Barbara, fifteen; Linda, thirteen; and two sons: Eugene, eight; and Mark, two months. Mark is too young to do any singing yet, but we are trusting in the Lord that he will take part when he is older.
We want to thank everyone that has taken a part and helped us in any way in making this album, especially our pastor, Reverend Luther Gibson, of the Church of God, in Woodhaven, Michigan. We have had so many requests for records, that we felt God was inspiring us to make this album.
We enjoyed working with “THE CROSSMEN”: Roy, Evert, and Blaine; and praise God for them and their ministry.
THE SMITH FAMILY
listen, I Want To Be Robed And Ready:
listen, How Are You Raising Your Children:
This has nothing to do with music but that’s OK. It’s close to deer hunting season and this is partly a deer hunting story so it’s OK.
My roommate back in college was this British guy named Neil. We met when we were both on the cross country and track team at Eastern Michigan University. I quit after one year but Neil stayed because he was on scholorship.
So we were roommates and good friends and I invited him to go deer hunting with me, since he had never even seen a real gun before, let alone gone hunting, being from England and everything. We went up to Northern Michigan to the family farmhouse and hunting land, and Neil was with me out in the blind when I bagged a pretty good sized deer.
We took the deer back to the farmhouse and sat down in the kitchen with my dad and Uncle Steve. We were drinking some beers and talking about the hunt and then Neil pulls out his crumpled pack of cigarettes, or “20 pack of Marlboro Lights”, as he always asked for ‘em at the gas station, and lights one up. My dad looked at Neil a little funny and said in sort of shock, “Neil, you smoke?” “Sure do mate,” Neil responded with a grin. “Goes well the beer, doe’n't it?” Well, we kept on drinking beers into the night, maybe a little bit of scotch, and Neil kept smoking away those cigarettes, like he always did when he got to drinking, which he did about 3 or 4 nights out of the week, and we had a great old time.
So, a few weeks later, Neil goes out and wins the Mid American Conference indoor championship in the mile run, and not only that, but he sets the all time MAC championship record in the indoor mile. My dad laughed - he couldn’t believe it.
Neil sure was the greatest.
About a year ago I invited Mark Maynard to dig through our backstock for records. He took about 100 or 200, and used the covers for his new Monkey Power Trio release. He used the records to paint severed Unicorns.
It’s just nice to know that our surplus of records is going to a good cause. Our old employee Nick once took a bunch of our records and created a record graveyard for an art class he was taking, with hundreds of records sticking out of a hill.
I’m interested in what will happen next. We have tens of thousands of records (that’s right - we’re rich!), and we’d be willing to donate some of them to the next big idea.
The deadline to apply for the winter Ypsilanti Shadow Art Fair is Oct. 1st. Go here to view the application. There’s also a poster design contest - go here to view that application.
I criticized the Shadow Art Fair this past summer for not having enough paintings, sculptures, photographs, ect, and too much clothing and crafts. So, I encourage anyone out there who has skills in those areas to apply. This is a great opportunity for someone to display/sell their work for the first time, as well as another great venue for the experienced market artist.
This year’s Winter Shadow Art Fair will be again held at the Corner Brewery near Depot Town, on December 1st from noon to midnight.
It’s the Ypsilanti Heritage Festival this weekend. That means it’s time to start talking about Lee Osler again.
I went to the Ypsilanti Public Library the other day and checked out the book, “Down by the Depot In Ypsilanti” by Tom Dodd and James Thomas Mann. There was a section in the book that printed out the lyrics to several Ypsilanti themed songs, including the much talked about on this site, Back to Ypsilanti.
The book also mentioned that Lee had another song, released in 1986, about homeless people called How Would You Feel? The lyrics put to light the issue of homelessness and how much the people suffer. I would really like to hear it if anyone has a copy out there.
I also was told that Lee had a song about a quarterback, but that’s all the info I got about the song. I’m sure Lee had other material that wasn’t released or was just for demo. And then there’s the B side to Back to Ypsilanti, Tarnished Love Affair, and the B side to How Would You Feel?
In any event, I had an idea to contact Lee to do an interview and also to gather all the songs to put together a Lee Osler Greatest Hits album. The cover would somehow be Ypsi themed. Maybe Lee could even do another version of Back To Ypsilanti, this time collaborating with a current Ypsi band.
For more Ypsilanti songs, there’s the Ypsi Songs compilation CD that was released recently. There’s also the song Ypsilanti by Nancy Adams that I found on 45 on the Phillips label from 1967, which is kind of like the bizzarro Ypsilanti song when compared to Lee Osler’s.
And then, of course, there’s my favorite - my remix of Sammy Kaye’s Makin Love Ukulele Style, with Lee’s vocals dubbed in, titled Makin’ Love Ypsilanti Style.
Mark Maynard had a post a while back proposing a vote on a new city theme song. Back to Ypsilanti was named official song of Ypsi by the city council back in ‘83. I know there’s a lot more out there, including current songs as well as the recordings of the others in the book I talked about, including: Ypsilanti Comic Song, A Depot Town Rag, Alibi Guy (About Aubree’s), The City Song, and Everything’s Up To Code in Ypsilanti.
Have I missed any?
Ypsilanti natives Mark Maynard and his wife Linette Lao had a story written by the Ann Arbor News this morning about their underwear line, Ypsipanties. It’s a very clever idea, drawing on Ypsilanti’s history as an underwear capitol - the Ypsilanti Underwear Company used to dwell on the banks of the Huron River a long time ago.
You can buy them here.
They also have for purchase, somewhere, a t-shirt that reads, Iggy Pop is from Ypsilanti. He really is - did you know that? What famous person is from your small city? Or better yet - does your small city have it’s own line of underwear?
It’s just nice to know that there’s others out there like Mark and Linette who gets a kick out of Ypsilanti as much as I do.
