Dudley Connell's video: Stanley Brothers Say You ll Take Me Back

Say You’ll Take Me Back. The Stanley Brothers recorded live in July of 1956 at New River Ranch in Rising Sun, Maryland. Back in the day, park shows were an important part of the growth and reach of country music outside of the Southeast. There were two significant parks to feature country music in the DC area. One of them was New River Ranch and the other Sunset Park in Chester County, Pennsylvania. I was fortunate enough to play Sunset Park many times with the JMB. Anyway, I digress. This recording “Say You’ll Take Me Back” is slower and more relaxed than the studio recording for Mercury Records, from what I consider to be the most creative period of the brothers music. The fiddler is Chubby Anthony, arguable the Stanley’s most powerful fiddler. I once asked Ralph who he considered to be the Stanley’s greatest fiddle player. He told me that he considered Chubby to be the best “breakdown” fiddler and Ralph Mayo the best fiddler for backup. I don’t know about all of that. Buy some of those old records and Gary Reid’s book and decide for yourselves. Something else I find interesting about this recording is the part switching of the baritone singing part. Might be Curly Lambert? Gary would know. Anyway, the song is performed as a standard trio with the baritone jumping above the lead melody line on the last word of the first and third lines. Try it. It’s kinda’ fun.