York County Boys - Blue Grass Jamboree

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The York County Boys, who originally came together in 1954, were one of the earliest Canadian bluegrass bands. The group consisted of Mike Cameron (guitar and vocals), Rex Yetman (mandolin and vocals), "Big John" McManaman (banjo), Brian Barron (fiddle) and Alfred Leger (bass); Cameron, Yetman and McManaman were the founding members, while Barron and Leger joined later on. Based out of Toronto, they toured Ontario and eastern Canada, and sometimes counted Al Cherny amongst their ranks. Of the five, Yetman (who hails from Jamestown, Newfoundland) is still an active musician and a member of Crooked Stovepipe, who won the East Coast Music Association bluegrass album of the year award in 2006.

Blue Grass Jamboree, recorded in 1959, was one of the first bluegrass records cut by a Canadian group. "Gotta Travel On" is a cover of one of bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe's signature tunes, while "Down The Road Blues" is an uptempo instrumental which showcases the quintet's tight ensemble playing. The plaintive ballad "You Done Me Wrong" (my favourite number here) is another (thinly disguised) Monroe cover, originally titled "Sweetheart, You've Done Me Wrong". And "I'm Using My Bible For A Roadmap" is a gorgeous bluegrass gospel standard by [Don] Reno and [Red] Smiley.
-Beau

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