''The Garden Spot Programs, 1950'' is a compilation of four fifteen-minute radio shows recorded by country music singer

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

for Naughton Farms in February 1950. After discs containing four shows were found in 2013 by music archivist George Gimarc, the 24 tracks were remastered and released by Omnivore Recordings. The release won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Historical Album.

Content

In February 1950,

recorded a series of fifteen-minute radio shows, commissioned by Naughton Farms, a plant nursery out of

Waxahachie, Texas Waxahachie ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,140 in 2020. The city was founded in 1850, and incorporated in 1871. Much of the employment is provided by a number of industries and by ...

. Instead of the Drifting Cowboys, Williams was backed by a band assembled for the job. The sixteen-inch

transcription disc Electrical transcriptions are special phonograph recordings made exclusively for radio broadcasting,Browne, Ray B. and Browne, Pat, eds. (2001). ''The Guide to United States Popular Culture''. The University of Wisconsin Press. . P. 263. which wer ...

s were sent to radio stations across the United States to be broadcast along with commercials for the nursery. In 2013, recordings of four of the shows were found by record collector George Gimarc which originally came from KSIB-AM in

Creston, Iowa Creston is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Iowa. The population was 7,536 at the time of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 Census. History Creston was originally settled in 1868 as a survey camp for the Burlington and Missou ...

. Gimarc notified Williams biographer Colin Escott and together they contacted Cheryl Pawelski, founder of the reissue label Omnivore Recordings. Escott and Pawelski met with William's daughter,

Jett Williams Jett Williams (born Antha Belle Jett; January 6, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. Early life Born Antha Belle Jett, she is the daughter of country music icon Hank Williams and Bobbie Jett (1922–1974), whose brief relationship with H ...

, who cleared the release. For the re-master and restoration of the tracks, Omnivore hired audio engineer

Michael Graves Michael Graves (July 9, 1934 – March 12, 2015) was an American architect, designer, and educator, and principal of Michael Graves and Associates and Michael Graves Design Group. He was a member of The New York Five and the Memphis Group and ...

Release and reception

The 24-track album was released by Omnivore on May 20, 2014, on CD and digital LP. The liner notes of the album were written by Escott, while the packaging included pictures from the author's personal collection. The release won Best Historical Album during the 57th Grammy Awards. ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' rated the release with four stars out of five. The reviewer noted that while the band that backed Williams did not complement him as did his usual band, the singer "sounds strong and inspired". ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' rated it with eight points out of ten, qualifying the performances as "more than polished and heartfelt ... downright chilling."

Track listing

Chart performance

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garden Spot Programs, 1950 2014 compilation albums Grammy Award for Best Historical Album Compilation albums published posthumously Hank Williams albums Omnivore Recordings compilation albums