Blue Highways TV has released two DVDs containing classic television performances by Reno & Smiley and Mac Wiseman.

Bluegrass 1963, the Reno & Smiley DVD has twenty songs from a television pilot they recorded in Roanoke, VA in 1963 at WDBJ, which led to a regular morning show that ran for several years. The show also features a guest appearance by The Stanley Brothers and a piece from WDBJ announcer Irv Sharp on piano.

The live performances include some Reno & Smiley favorites, plus a visit from Chicken Hot Rod and Pansy.

Ronnie Reno narrates the video, which is available from Blue Highways TV for $19.95.

They have also released a Mac Wiseman DVD, recorded live in 1971, with 12 songs plus an interview with Chubby Wise, Lester Flatt and Carlton Haney. Lester and Chubby also perform in the video, which also contains some truly classic material.

• Homestead On The Farm
  
• Me & Bobby McGee
  
• Prisoner’s Song
  
• Liberty
• Four Walls
• I’ll Still Write Your Name In The Sand
• Bluebirds Are Singing For Me
• Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong
  
• Will You Be Loving Another Man
  
• I’ll Be All Smiles Tonight
  
• Are You Washed In The Blood
  
• Jimmy Brown, The News Boy

The Wiseman DVD is titled Bluegrass 1971, and is available for $16.95, or you can purchase both DVDs for $29.95.

Both belong in any serious collection of bluegrass music. They are also available from retailers who specialize in bluegrass music.

Pinecastle Records has put together a DVD compilation from their many hours of live video footage, which they have released as Bluegrass Jamboree.

The 60 minute DVD contains live performances from some of the top names on the label, including The Osborne Brothers, Reno & Smiley, Jim & Jesse, Larry Stephenson, Chubby Wise, Special Consensus and Dale Ann Bradley.

18 songs are presented, among them some of the biggest hits in the history of bluegrass music.

• How Many Biscuits Can You Eat – Coon Creek Girls
• How Many Biscuits Can You Eat – New Coon Creek Girls
• Using My Bible For A Road Map – Don Reno And Red Smiley
• Kentucky Gold – The Reno Brothers
• Lee Highway Blues – Chubby Wise
• Orange Blossom Special – Chubby Wise
• Freight Train – Jim And Jesse McReynolds
• Dixie In The Dawn – Larry Stephenson
• Rain Please Go Away – Larry Stephenson
• You Were Born To Sing – Larry Stephenson
• Country In My Genes – New Coon Creek Girls
• Silver Dew On The Bluegrass Tonight – Special Consensus
• Listening To The Rain – Special Consensus
• Irish Medley – Special Consensus
• Foggy Mountain Rock – Gene Wooten
• One Tear – Terry Eldredge
• Fastest Grass Alive – The Osborne Brothers
• Rocky Top – The Osborne Brothers

The DVD is available for $17.99 from Music Shed, and wherever bluegrass performance DVDs are sold.

Here’s a fun site with images of vintage music show posters. It’s run by Mitch Diamond, who calls himself The Kardboard Kid.

Mitch has been collecting these posters and hand bills since 1970, and has amassed a substantial number of these classics of advertising art. He is also something of a celebrity in the world of poster collectors, having established the record for the highest price ever paid for a show poster when he purchased an original 1966 Beatles Shea Stadium poster, now on display at The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

In addition to an assortment of rock and roll, blues and jazz posters, Mitch also has a good many early country and bluegrass posters displayed on his site. I found original posters of Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, Reno and Smiley, The Osborne Brothers and The Stanley Brothers.

Mitch buys and sells in addition to collecting, and invites people with an interest in his collection – or who may have articles to sell – to contact him by email.

See all the posters at The Kardboard Kid site.

Rebel Records is set to re-issue a classic bluegrass recording on June 27 when they release Together Again from Don Reno & Red Smiley. This is a re-mastered CD version of an LP that was originally released in late 1971, during a time when Don Reno was performing with Bill Harrell after Red had left the group. The LP was officially billed as being from Don Reno & Red Smiley, with Bill Harrell and the Tennessee Cut-Ups.

Kudos to the folks at Rebel for their ongoing efforts to preserve and reissue so much valuable music, much of it unavailable for some time. Keep an eye on The Bluegrass Blog for more information about Rebel’s aggressive plans for reissues in the near future.