Bluegrass Sunday???

[preactor]

What do you think about a Country & Western, Bluegrass Sunday? Our church is out in the country (NE Ga) and composed of mostly senior + adults. To give that part of our church family a real treat, what would be some great Country/Bluegrass Gospel songs that one picker with marginal talent could play?

Twang on!

[Hiker]

Start here-lots of top favorites in this list:

1. Foggy Mountain Breakdown
2. Cripple Creek
3. Ballad of Jed Clampett
4. Clinch Mountain Backstep - Ralph Stanley
5. Wildwood Flower
6. Flint Hill Special
7. Blackberry Blossom
8. Lonesome Road Blues
9. Will the Circle Be Unbroken
10. I’ll fly away

[BigDaddyLH]

You've got to do some Olde Time stuff. There are a lot of ballads sung by people about to be hung, or sung from Heaven after they're dead. I love Ola Belle Reed's "You led me to the Wrong"

O Lordy me, and its ow lordy my
Oh honey, you led me to the wrong.

(Fiddle and banjo break)

Some people are born with silver and gold
Others have husbands and wives
I never had a thing in this whole wide wicked world
Now, I'm losing my life.
Now, I'm losing my life.

(Guitar break)

You promised me that we would be wed
On this I laid my money down.
You were seen a-courtin' my best friend
You caused me to shoot you down.
You caused me to shoot him down.

(fiddle and banjo break)

Well the love of a woman is bitter but sweet
Even though she turns him down
The price I had to pay will come to you some day
And you'll in a sea of sorrow drown
And you'll in a sea of sorrow drown.

Well, they say I have a right to my very last few words
Before they pull this scaffold down
A man has to fight for what he knows is right
Even if it puts him in the ground,
Even if it puts him in the ground.
Now it's going to put me in the ground.

Oh, Lordy, meeee. And it's oh, Lordy my
Oh, honey, you led me to the wrong.

[jbmando]

Originally Posted by Hiker

Start here-lots of top favorites in this list:

1. Foggy Mountain Breakdown
2. Cripple Creek
3. Ballad of Jed Clampett
4. Clinch Mountain Backstep - Ralph Stanley
5. Wildwood Flower
6. Flint Hill Special
7. Blackberry Blossom
8. Lonesome Road Blues
9. Will the Circle Be Unbroken
10. I’ll fly away

I would only consider doing the last two for a church service, but they are so cliché when it comes to Bluegrass Gospel. I'd take some of the congregation's favorite hymns and do them in a bluegrass style. Listen to the Primitive Quartet, The Lewis Family, The Easters and some other authentic bluegrass gospel artists and maybe work some of their songs in.
Check this out:

[tomringg]

The church I go to (& used to play for) would occassionally have BG Sundays. But it was the same songs over & over. I used to love "I'll Fly Away", but it got old. Plus, like most every other song, they played them too fast. Sorry for the rant.

Good luck with your BG service

[StootMonster]

The Garden is a great one. Also, How Great Thou Art.

[Elk]

We do that, I get a chance to play a little mandolin.
Some of the songs we do-

Let it Rise
When the roll is called up yonder
In the sweet by and by
Old Rugged Cross
I'll Fly Away
a contemporary song, Mighty to Save, sound good bluegrassed up.
It's a lot of fun, we call 'em old timey Sundays.

[bro. craig]

Every Sunday night, I play a service called "Bluegrass Mass". It's usually strictly instrumental, but occassionally we get to sing. Some popular hymns that work are 'Leaning on the Everlasting Arms', 'Lily of the Valley', 'Shall We Gather @ the River', 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus', 'I Stand Amazed'.

It really goes on and on, so many of the classic hymns fit a I-IV-V progression. People in the age group and part of the world that the OP mentioned never seem to get tired of 'I'll Fly Away' & 'I Saw the Light'. 'Just a Closer Walk' is another good one.

[wad]

Hey check out these guys, they are awesome and their songs are simple, they even have samples on their website, check out the albums area....


http://www.rawlingbrothers.com/music.html


They are awesome guys(I have done sound for them) and they are in it for a cause, they support a teen wilderness camp with the proceeds of their 1 week a month touring.

They do a lot of old songs that many in your congregation would recognize, after they stopped in at our church we started to play "I saw the Light" during blended services and often did the big Chet Atkins guitar solo in it and it was awesome....

I would take a look at their albums and grab some arrangements from what they do for the old songs gospel/bluegrass...

Will the circle be unbroken....
What a Friend we have in Jesus....

Are all Mando and Harmony.

[chickenpickin]

Check out the Isaacs as well. Wonderful B/G stuff there. We do some B/G stuff from time to time.
Does Jesus ever cross your heart
Hallelejuh I'm Ready

The old I'll Fly Away gets old after a while for sure

[preactor]

Thanks for all the help

I'm makin' a list.

[hotraman]

Originally Posted by chickenpickin

Check out the Isaacs as well. Wonderful B/G stuff there. We do some B/G stuff from time to time.
Does Jesus ever cross your heart
Hallelejuh I'm Ready

The old I'll Fly Away gets old after a while for sure

O Come Angel Band ... you've got to do it. Listen to the Isaacs version.

[preactor]

I found O Come Angel Band in an Old Hymns of Inspiration Book....definitely on my "to do" list.

One of the funniest things about some of the songs people listed, we do a lot of them regularly...especially on Sunday night.

Thanks for your reminder!

[lewis]

A bit off topic:

Here's a little audio/slideshow I did this week about a local gospel bluegrass jam. This type of worship music goes over real well with the older crowd.

http://www.timescallmedia.com/multim...bluegrass-jam/

[quabit]

I do the worship planning and I throw in a BG Sunday every now and then. Some of the songs we play are:

Three men on the mountain
I'll Fly away
Prayer bells of hevan

[eddie knuckles]

always love a good Angel Band or I am a Pilgrim

[aunchaki]

Look for old Carter Family stuff, like In the Highways.

We've done Fire On the Mountain and The River Is Here. They flow nicely into each other without a pause (same key and tempo).

Bluegrass worship is great, and a nice change for most.

[StootMonster]

A friend of mine in the church did "Why Me Lord" with him on acoustic, me on mandolin and my wife on the piano playing and singing harmony. It was awesome.. I love doing old school acoustic praise and hymnals.

[preactor]

I did "I Am Redeemed" (the Jesse Dixon version) with a bluegrass twist on the Autoharp a few weeks ago and everyone in church loved it. We are setting up to do Take My Hand, Precious Lord with Flute & Autoharp....& maybe a vocal for good measure.

I've got to try I Am a Pilgrim.