''Appalachian Swing!'' is the second

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

by the American bluegrass

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

the Kentucky Colonels and was released on April 20, 1964 on

World Pacific Records Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles-based record company and label best known for cool jazz or West coast jazz West Coast jazz refers to styles of jazz that developed in Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is o ...

. Although it failed to chart in America, the album sold reasonably well over the course of the year and became an influential underground classic. A number of critics and authors have commented on how guitarist

Clarence White Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 15, 1973) was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the Byrd ...

flatpicking Flatpicking (or simply picking) is the technique of striking the strings of a guitar with a pick (also called a plectrum) held between the thumb and one or two fingers. It can be contrasted to fingerstyle guitar, which is playing with indi ...

guitar style on the album influenced the development of bluegrass guitar playing.

Recording

''Appalachian Swing!'' was recorded in one marathon evening session, without any overdubbing, at World Pacific Studios in Los Angeles, with the band's manager and owner of the Ash Grove folk club, Ed Pearl, co- producing with Richard Bock. Bock also originated the album's title, which is a play on composer

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

's popular orchestral suite, ''

Appalachian Spring ''Appalachian Spring'' is a musical composition by Aaron Copland that was premiered in 1944 and has achieved widespread and enduring popularity as an orchestral suite. The music, scored for a thirteen-member chamber orchestra, was created upon c ...

'', as well as a reference to how he felt the group's music "''swung''". Unlike the Colonels' previous album, ''Appalachian Swing!'' is an entirely instrumental record—a creative decision that was taken in an effort to keep recording costs down. However, there is speculation among some bluegrass aficionados that, in making ''Appalachian Swing!'' a purely instrumental album, World Pacific were attempting to emulate the success of

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

's early '60s instrumental records, such as ''

The Astounding 12-String Guitar of Glen Campbell ''The Astounding 12-String Guitar of Glen Campbell'' is the third album by American singer-guitarist Glen Campbell, recorded in stereo and released in 1964 by Capitol Records. The album is entirely instrumental, with the exception of one cut: "W ...

''.

Release and reception

The album was issued in the United States by World Pacific on April 20, 1964, in both

mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...

and stereo configurations. Upon release, the album garnered positive reviews and, although it failed to chart, was a commercially successful and influential record in bluegrass circles. Author

Christopher Hjort Christopher Hjort (born 15 December 1958) is a Norway, Norwegian Typography, typographer and Graphic design, graphical designer. In 1990, Hjort and three colleagues founded ''Gazette'', which has grown into one of Norway's largest professional co ...

has noted that, with the release of ''Appalachian Swing!'', the Kentucky Colonels came to be considered by fans and critics as one of the best bluegrass groups in the United States by the end of 1964. A number of authors have noted that the Colonels' virtuoso guitarist Clarence White permanently expanded the language of bluegrass guitar with his flatpicking style on ''Appalachian Swing!'' Writing for the

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

website, Thom Owens called the album "revolutionary", noting that it was "one of the most influential albums in the whole of bluegrass music, primarily because of the stunning playing of Clarence White. With his vibrant, innovative flat-picking, White helped pioneer a new style in bluegrass; namely, he redefined the acoustic guitar as a solo instrument instead of confining it to just background status." Band biographers Tom and Chris Skinker have also commented on how Clarence's guitar playing "showed the endless possibilities open to bluegrass guitarists and established the guitar as an active and powerful solo voice, giving the instrument the impact and strength to take the place it now holds." In ''The Rough Guide to Music USA'',

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

called ''Appalachian Swing!'', "one of the classic instrumental bluegrass albums."

Reissues

''Appalachian Swing!'' has been reissued several times since its initial release. It was first reissued in 1974 in the United Kingdom under the title of ''Kentucky Colonels'', with both sides of the band's non-album, 1965 single "Ballad of Farmer Brown" b/w "For Lovin' Me" included as bonus tracks. This expanded edition was reissued on CD in 1997 by BGO Records. The album was reissued with its original track listing and artwork intact in 1982, and Rounder Records again reissued it in its original form, in a remixed and remastered CD edition in 1993. EMI Music Special Markets reissued the album in 2005, with the addition of three bonus tracks taken from

Tut Taylor Robert Arthur "Tut" Taylor Sr. (November 20, 1923 – April 9, 2015) was an American bluegrass musician. Taylor played banjo and mandolin as a child, and began playing dobro at age 14, learning to use the instrument with a distinctive flat-pick ...

's 1964 album ''Dobro Country'', which featured Clarence and Roland White as

sidemen A sideman is a musician who performs live with a band of which they are not a permanent member. Sideman or Sidemen may also refer to: * Sidemen, Bali, a district in the Karangasem Regency of Bali * Sideman (bishop), a 10th-century Bishop of Cred ...

Track listing

Personnel

Roland White Roland Joseph White (né LeBlanc; April 23, 1938 – April 1, 2022) was an American bluegrass music artist, performing principally on the mandolin. Biography White was born in Madawaska, Maine, on April 23, 1938, as Roland Joseph LeBlanc, and ...

– mandolin *

– acoustic guitar * Billy Ray Latham – banjo *

Roger Bush Roger Bush OBE (1918–2000) was a British-born Australian Methodist minister and media personality. Early life Bush was born in England and his family migrated to Sydney, Australia, the following year. He was the oldest of a family of four ...

–

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

, banjo *Bobby Sloane – fiddle *LeRoy Mack – Dobro

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appalachian Swing! 1964 albums World Pacific Records albums Bluegrass albums Instrumental albums