CMH RECORDS (Country. Music. Heritage.) maintains a rich history of classic country and bluegrass albums and is honoring several of these legacy releases by remastering them and making them available in new formats for the first time ever. The latest in this series of releases, Josh Graves’ Same Old Blues, is out on all digital formats today, April 19. Originally released in 1977, Same Old Blues is a heartfelt and warm collection of originals and standards–including Merle Haggard’s “I Started Loving You Again”–traversing the blues idiom and spirit from a country perspective.
Listen to the Josh Graves classic album Same Old Blues here: https://lnk.to/qjN1TX
Captured with beautiful analogue warmth and backed by a band that seems completely at ease, Same Old Blues finds Graves gliding through the 12 track collection demonstrating that he had been a blues man for life. With this classic title now made available on digital platforms for the first time since its 1977 release, listeners new and old can enjoy this lost classic and hear the dobro legend’s playing in a whole new light, including on highlight tracks “Come On Train,” “Ain’t They Crazy” and “I’ve Lived a Long, Long Time,” among others.
Born in 1927 to a family of eight in Tellico Plains, Tennessee, Josh Graves would come to change the shape of bluegrass as we know it. Graves launched his music career at the young age of 15, touring with luminaries such as Mac Wiseman, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. While hired by the latter two as a bassist in the studio, Graves made bluegrass history by overdubbing dobro (an acoustic guitar with a metal resonator) on some of the group’s recordings. In doing so, he not only introduced the dobro as a potential instrument for the genre but revolutionized the way the instrument itself has been played to this day.
While his contributions to his instrument and bluegrass at large are immeasurable and well-remembered, what’s more forgotten is Graves’ deep connection to the blues. That connection is beautifully explored here on Same Old Blues.
Same Old Blues was Graves’ second album release on CMH Records. It was recorded at A.E.T. Sound Innovations in Nashville; produced by Billy Troy Graves and engineered by Frank Evans. CMH is home to seven albums by Josh Graves, dating back to 1976, including his solo albums Same Old Blues, Sing Away the Pain and King of the Dobro.
Founded in 1975 by Martin Haerle, CMH Records has released albums from artists whose monumental influence on American roots music is unparalleled. The label is responsible for essential recordings throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s by bluegrass, old time and traditional country legends such as Merle Travis, The Osborne Brothers, Mac Wiseman, Joe Maphis, Jim & Jesse McReynolds, Grandpa Jones, Lester Flatt and Eddie Adcock. Throughout the ‘90s and into the new millennium, CMH Records continued to cut records with artists such as Wanda Jackson (aka “The Queen of Rockabilly”), Raul Malo, Larry Cordle, Pine Mountain Railroad, Jimmy Gaudreau, and many others. Producing songs rich in American heritage by artists with their own distinct style created a strong backbone and history for the label.
The label remains a proud family business, now run by Martin’s son David. Described by the Los Angeles Times as a “stubborn, curious Silver Lake music company,” the label has been a strong proponent for honest music and has found success with its classic catalog and its ongoing “Pickin’ On” series, which features bluegrass interpretations of contemporary artists, including recent hit albums dedicated to the music of Nirvana and Modest Mouse. The Times piece added that CMH “meets unsung needs in the music industry” and cited its “creative diversification.”
Track List for Josh Graves’ Same Old Blues:
Same Old Blues
False Hearted Lover (Instrumental)
Come On Train
Down In Columbus Stockade (Instrumental)
I’ve Lived a Long, Long Time
I Started Loving You Again (Instrumental)
Little Maggie
Ain’t They Crazy
Flatt Lonesome (Instrumental)
Cora’s Gone (Instrumental)
Josh’s Hound Dog Blues (Instrumental)
Cruel Willie (Instrumental)
