This brand new recording features an array of original Starday recordings artists. It is produced by musician and scholar Nate Gibson who recently wrote a book about Starday Records, the most prolific independant country music record label. The 24 songs were recorded in 2018 and feature stars like Betty Amos with Judy & Jean, Bill Clifton, Rudy ’Tutti’ Grayzell, Wade Jackson, Sleepy LaBeef, Little Roy Lewis, Jesse McReynolds (of Jim & Jesse), Darnell Miller, Frankie Miller, Arnold Parker, Margie Singleton, and June Stearns. They are backed by Marty Stuart and members of his Fabulous Superlatives band, Kenny Vaughan, Chris Scruggs amongst others. This worldwide Bear Family exclusive on CD comes with a comprehensive booklet with extensive liner notes and annotations by Starday expert, Nate Gibson and an Introduction by Marty Stuart and Frankie Miller.

There neither is nor has been an independent country music record label more prolific or exceptional than Starday Records. Musician and scholar Nate Gibson wrote the book on Starday, literally, and now he’s focusing his efforts on what made Starday so great–the music and the musicians. Backed by some of country music’s finest pickers including Marty Stuart and members of his Fabulous Superlatives band, Gibson re-recorded 24 of Starday’s most beloved songs with 14 of the original Starday artists including Betty Amos with Judy & Jean, Bill Clifton, Rudy ’Tutti’ Grayzell, Wade Jackson, Sleepy LaBeef, Little Roy Lewis, Jesse McReynolds (of Jim & Jesse), Darnell Miller, Frankie Miller, Arnold Parker, Margie Singleton, and June Stearns. Bear Family Records is proud to release this informative and lively treasure trove of traditional country music, rockabilly, bluegrass, western swing, and gospel music recordings which demonstrate just how great these legends sound today, 50-60+ years after the original Starday recordings were made.

Producer, scholar and musician, Nate Gibson recorded his first record back in 2001 with Yodelin’ Kenny Roberts and his stories about Starday and the country music industry had him hooked. He spent the next ten years interviewing everybody he could find with a relationship to the label. He wrote a book about it called ’The Starday Story: The House That Country Music Built’ (University Press of Mississippi), and he produced a radio documentary and several radio programs about it. Nate booked multiple Starday artists at music festivals and even backed up a few of them himself. The artists, musicians, employees, and family members forming the Starday community became lifelong friends and he made a lifelong commitment to being their advocate whenever he could.

Around May of 2017, Nate Gibson began brainstorming ways that he could celebrate Starday in a way that honored and called attention to the music and the musicians.After making a few phone calls, he decided to visit with his Starday friends who were now living in Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Oregon, Georgia, and Arkansas, and he recorded extended oral histories with everyone he could find. Nate booked studio sessions and brought many of the musicians back into the studio. They went to the older studios where Starday sessions took place, like Gold Star Studios in Houston, and he made video tours. He knew that all of the living Starday artists were between 75-95 years old and he wanted to find as many as he could and to document as much as he could.

Nate Gibson tracked down 14 Stars of Starday and with them re-recorded 24 of his favorite Starday songs. Together they laid down some really fun rockabilly, country, bluegrass, honky-tonk, and gospel tracks. Backing them on the various sessions were some of the best musicians in country music including Marty Stuart and members of his Fabulous Superlatives band, Kenny Vaughan and Chris Scruggs, as well as Steve Hinson (Randy Travis, Dolly Parton, George Jones), Dave Roe (Johnny Cash), Kevin Smith (Willie Nelson, High Noon), Pete Finney (Patty Loveless, Vince Gill) and many more talented friends!

About halfway into the project, Nate was introduced to an amazing marionette maker in his hometown of Madison, WI named Ken Vogel. He became a huge fan of Ken’s ornate and detailed puppets and commissioned marionettes to be made of all of the Starday artists, himself, and many of the musicians. Over time, this became a fascinating and unexpected aesthetic for the overall project and he called on several of his folklore colleagues in Wisconsin to become amateur puppeteers and help him make music videos for many of the songs.

Finally, Bear Family offered to press and distribute the CD (Nate released the double vinyl version himself) and both Marty Stuart and Frankie Miller wrote very kind introductory words. So sit back and relax and enjoy the new moving recordings with some of the stars from the heyday of country music.

• 1. Frankie Miller & Nate Gibson: Rain Rain
• 2. Betty Amos With Judy & Jean & Nate Gibson: Eighteen Wheels A
• 3. Sleepy Labeef & Nate Gibson: Lonely
• 4. Bill Clifton & Nate Gibson: Little White Washed Chimney
• 5. Jesse McReynolds & Nate Gibson: Pardon Me
• 6. Arnold Parker & Nate Gibson: Find a New Woman
• 7. Darnell Miller & Nate Gibson: Royal Flush
• 8. Little Roy Lewis & Nate Gibson: Saints' Banjo March
• 9. Rudy 'Tutti' Grayzell & Nate Gibson: Let's Get Wild
• 10. June Stearns & Nate Gibson: We've Got Things In Common
• 11. Sleepy Labeef & Nate Gibson: All the Time
• 12. Margie Singleton & Nate Gibson: On the Cross
• 13. Little Roy Lewis & Nate Gibson: Ain't No Room In the Church
• 14. Rudy 'Tutti' Grayzell & Nate Gibson: Duck Tail
• 15. Jesse McReynolds & Nate Gibson: Nobody But You
• 16. Darnell Miller & Nate Gibson: Mark of Cain
• 17. Betty Amos With Judy & Jean & Nate Gibson: Second Fiddle (To
• 18. Margie Singleton & Nate Gibson: My Special Dream
• 19. Wade Jackson & Nate Gibson: Sippin' On a Sud
• 20. Darnell Miller & Nate Gibson: Back To You
• 21. Bill Clifton & Nate Gibson: Mary Dear
• 22. Frankie Miller & Nate Gibson: Family Man
• 23. June Stearns & Nate Gibson: Slippin' Around
• 24. Sleepy Labeef & Nate Gibson: I'm Through
• 25. Nate Gibson: the Spook