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, Lester Flatt & The Nashville Grass’ Heaven’s Bluegrass Band, is out on CD and digital formats March 15. This album, recorded over 30 years into the artist’s career, is the ensemble’s first of five for CMH. Ahead of the release, the track “Great Big Woman” is out today (3/1); listen here.
On Heaven’s Bluegrass Band, Flatt is joined by an all-star ensemble featuring Curly Seckler, Marty Stuart and Paul Warren among others. Released in 1976, this album presents some of the warmest and most authentic bluegrass gospel recordings of the era. Across eleven ballads and burners, Flatt and company harmonize about love, life, death and heartbreak. Flatt’s voice is lived-in, heartfelt and his backup truly does sound angelic in their own country way.
Lester Flatt is a name familiar to most any bluegrass fan. His work with Earl Scruggs as Flatt and Scruggs helped lay the groundwork for bluegrass music and was one of the most successful acts in the early days of the genre. Together the two were inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 1985 and 1991 respectively.
After Flatt and Scruggs went their separate ways in 1969, Flatt formed the essential ensemble Nashville Grass. With this group of Nashville’s finest (and several decades of pickin’ and singin’ under his belt), Flatt cut seven excellent records that charm and delight to this day. CMH had the honor of releasing five of these classic records during the final years of this great artist’s life.
Flatt was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985 as well as the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1991. In 2003, CMT ranked Flatt and Scruggs as number 24 on their list of “40 Greatest Men of Country Music.”
Founded in 1975 by Martin Haerle, CMH Records has released albums from artists whose monumental influence on American roots music is unparalleled. The ‘70s and ‘80s represent the foundational recordings in CMH Records’ bluegrass, old time and traditional country history, with material being put out by 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 catalogue 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 Lester Flatt & The Nashville Grass’ Heaven’s Bluegrass Band:
Dixie Flyer (Instrumental)
A Home Without Love is Just a House
Great Big Woman
The Night Daddy Passed Away
You Know You Caused It All By Telling Lies
The House of Bottles and Cans
Heaven's Bluegrass Band
Ten Years of Heartaches
Love Me Lorena (Instrumental)
Gone With the Delta Queen
I'm Gonna Sit Down Beside My Jesus
