Bluegrass Breakdown: 1980, Part Nine

We’ll be careening back to 1980 when, among other things, Ronald Reagan is elected president; Libya invades Chad; CBS bans Brook Shields’ Calvin Klein jeans commercial, 83,000,000 watch Dallas’ “Who Shot J.R.” episode; the pope visits West Germany; Dolly releases her 9 To 5 And Odd Jobs LP; and Larry Sparks, Ralph Stanley, John Starling and Andy Statman unleash some unforgettable grass.

PROGRAM PLAYLIST

• Skaggs & Rice: “Bury Me Beneath the Willow” from Ricky Skaggs & Tony Rice(Sugar Hill)
• Ralph Stanley: “He Washed My Sins Away” from Hymn Time(Blue Jay)
• The Smith Brothers Dirt Band: “Stuck In Salt Lake” from Stuck In Salt Lake(Ham & Eggs)
• The Southern Lawmen: “Buttered Beans” from In Concert(Sounding Board)
• Southland Bluegrass: “So Afraid of Losing You Again” from Thirty Two Acres of Solid Grass(Gintz)
• Barry Solomon: “Oh Baby” from Southland Sketches(Ridge Runner)
• Larry Sparks: “John Deere Tractor” from John Deere Tractor(Rebel)
• Larry Sparks: “It’s Never Too Late” from It’s Never Too Late(June Appal)
• Buddy Spicher & Benny Martin: “Old Joe Coon” from The Great American Fiddle Collection(CMH)
• Ralph Stanley: “Dip Your Fingers In Some Water” from Snow Covered Mound(Stanley Tone)
• Joe Spann & the Joe Spann Band: “Fish Code” from Joe Spann & the Joe Spann Band(Great Southern)
• Ralph Stanley: “Just Over the Stars” from I’ll Wear a White Robe(Rebel)
• Orrin Starr & Gary Mehalick: “Queen of the Rails” from Premium Blend(Flying Fish)
• John Starling: “Carolyn At the Broken Wheel Inn” from Long Time Gone(Sugar Hill)
• The Stuart Family: “I’ll Be Somewhere Listening” from All I Need Is Jesus(Revonah)
• Andy Statman: “Flatbush Waltz” from Flatbush Waltz(Rounder)