''Wheatstraw Suite'' is the fourth album by American band

the Dillards The Dillards are an American bluegrass and country rock band from Salem, Missouri. The band is best known for introducing bluegrass music into the popular mainstream with their appearance as "The Darlings" on ''The Andy Griffith Show''. Band ...

. Released in 1968, the album showcased an "unpredictable" mix of bluegrass,

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and pop. For the album's sessions, the band recorded with a full orchestra, electric instrumentation and occasional drums. The band had been moving toward a more contemporary sound for a few years (they toured with

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

, featuring founding banjoist

Doug Dillard Douglas Flint Dillard (March 6, 1937 – May 16, 2012) was an American musician noted for his banjo proficiency and his pioneering participation in late-60s country rock. Biography Early life Dillard, who grew up on a farm near Salem, Missouri, ...

on a

Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a range ...

-built electric version of his instrument and future

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song "For What It's Worth", relea ...

drummer Dewey Martin), but ''Wheatstraw Suite'' was the first time they explored the new sound on a full-length album. The seeds of the album began when the Dillards briefly left Elektra Records, which had released their first three records but was "surprisingly resistant" to the band's new sound. The group recorded a few

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

singles for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, including different versions of a few of ''Wheatstraw Suite's'' songs. Capitol, however, soon grew unsympathetic toward the Dillards' style, and they re-signed with Elektra, which was now willing to try the new, more commercial sound. However,

was unhappy with the new direction and abruptly left the group. Ironically, he would soon be performing a similar type of country rock with former Byrd

Gene Clark Harold Eugene Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best ...

Dillard & Clark Dillard & Clark was a country rock duo which featured ex-Byrds member Gene Clark and bluegrass banjo player Doug Dillard. History The group was formed in 1968, shortly after Clark departed the Byrds and Dillard left the Dillards. It was consider ...

. The Dillards recruited multi-instrumentalist

Herb Pedersen Herbert Joseph Pedersen (born April 27, 1944 in Berkeley, California) is an American musician, guitarist, banjo player, and singer-songwriter who has played a variety of musical styles over the past fifty years including Country music, country, ...

to replace Doug on banjo. The loss of Doug proved to be advantageous to the group, as Pedersen also contributed guitar and shared lead vocal duties with Rodney Dillard. The group had already stockpiled plenty of material during their stint with Capitol and brief hiatus from recording. The album features seven original songs and six covers—the covers being drawn mostly from contemporary rock and pop musicians rather than traditionals. The Dillards' blend between pop and bluegrass on this album paved the way for a generation of country- and folk-rockers, making it potentially their most influential album. Critics hailed ''Wheatstraw Suite'' as the band's masterwork.

Release history

''Wheatstraw Suite'' was re-released on CD by

Collector's Choice Music Collectors' Choice Music (CCM) is an Itasca, Illinois, company originally primarily in two businesses, but since 2010 only in the second. CCM was best known for reissuing albums originally recorded in LP record form as compact discs. , its catalog ...

in 2002, along with ''Copperfields'', its 1970 follow-up album.

Track listing

I'll Fly Away "I'll Fly Away" is a hymn written in 1929 by Albert E. Brumley and published in 1932 by the Hartford Music company in a collection titled ''Wonderful Message''.Richard Matteson, Jr.''The Bluegrass Picker's Tune Book'' Mel Bay Publications, 2006 ...

" (

Albert E. Brumley Albert Edward Brumley (October 29, 1905 – November 15, 1977) was an American shape note music composer and publisher, prolific in the genre of southern gospel. Biography Brumley was born near Spiro, Oklahoma on October 29, 1905, into a famil ...

) - :39 #"Nobody Knows" (Mitch Jayne, Rodney Dillard) - 2:15 #"Hey Boys" (The Dillards) - 2:27 #"The Biggest Whatever" (Mitch Jayne, Rodney Dillard) - 2:15 #"Listen to the Sound" (

, Mitch Jayne) - 2:36 #"Little Pete" (Herb Pedersen) - 1:58 #"

Reason to Believe "Reason to Believe" is a song written, composed, and first recorded by American folk singer Tim Hardin in 1965. It has since been recorded by artists including Bobby Darin in 1966, Karen Dalton also in 1966, Glen Campbell in 1968, the Nitty Gritty ...

" (

Tim Hardin James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk and blues musician and composer. As well as releasing his own material, several of his songs, including " If I Were a Carpenter" and "Reason to Believe", becam ...

) - 2:25 #"Single Saddle" (

Arthur Altman Arthur Altman (1910, in Brooklyn – January 18, 1994, in Lake Worth, Florida) was an American songwriter whose credits include "All or Nothing at All", with lyrics by Jack Lawrence, and the lyrics for "All Alone Am I", "I Will Follow Him "I ...

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David ...

) - 1:22 #"

I've Just Seen a Face "I've Just Seen a Face" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released in August 1965 on their album ''Help!'', except in North America, where it appeared as the opening track on the December 1965 release ''Rubber Soul''. Writ ...

" (

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

) - 1:55 #"Lemon Chimes" (Bill Martin, Rodney Dillard) - 3:12 #"Don't You Cry" (The Dillards) - 1:50 #"Bending the Strings" (

Allen Shelton Allen Shelton was an American five-string banjo player mostly known for being a member of the bluegrass band Jim & Jesse and the Virginia Boys since the 1960s. Shelton was born in Rockingham County, North Carolina on July 2, 1936. Shelton started p ...

) - 1:26 #"She Sang Hymns Out of Tune" (Jesse Lee Kincaid) - 3:20

Personnel

;The Dillards *Rodney Dillard - lead vocal, rhythm and lead guitars,

dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

pedal steel The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can p ...

- lead vocal, Nashville rhythm guitar, banjo *Dean Webb - mandolin *

Mitch Jayne The Dillards are an American bluegrass and country rock band from Salem, Missouri. The band is best known for introducing bluegrass music into the popular mainstream with their appearance as "The Darlings" on ''The Andy Griffith Show''. Band ...

- acoustic bass ;Additional personnel *

Buddy Emmons Buddy Gene Emmons (January 27, 1937 – July 21, 2015) was an American musician who is widely regarded as the world's foremost pedal steel guitarist of his day. He was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1981. Affectionately known by ...

- pedal steel *

Joe Osborn Joseph Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018Jimmy Gordon - drums

References

Sources

* Liner notes of the Collector's Choice reissue of ''Wheatstraw Suite'', written by

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 '' ...

. {{Authority control 1968 albums Elektra Records albums The Dillards albums