Linda Thompson

Recorded on November 11 by Wayne Griffith at McCabe’s Guitar Shop, Santa Monica, California, the group offers their latest release, “Live at McCabe’s.” The new album features 17 tracks from their outstanding live show, featuring new writing, new covers of songs from Steve Earle, Linda Thompson, Bob Dylan and Jean Ritchie, and many older favorites from the group’s four studio albums since its forming in 2003 as The Hilonesome Band. Mixed and Mastered by Frank Rosato at Woodcliff Studios, Los Angeles, the album features the quartet of Susie Glaze, lead and harmony vocals, guitar, autoharp, mountain dulcimer, Steve Rankin, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, lead and harmony vocals, Fred Sanders, bass, lead and harmony vocals, Mark Indictor, fiddle, lead and harmony vocals.

Best remembered for their disco smash "Fly Robin Fly," the Munich, Germany-based ensemble Silver Convention was formed by producers Silvester Levay and Michael Kunze, debuting in 1975 with the LP Save Me and scoring a U.K. hit with the title track. After topping the American charts with "Fly Robin Fly," Levay and Kunze recruited a trio of vocalists Linda Thompson (not to be confused with the same-named singer and wife of guitarist Richard Thompson), Ramona Wulf, and Penny McLean who began appearing publicly under the Silver Convention banner; they were featured on the follow-up, "Get Up and Boogie (That's Right)," which was also a smash in 1976. While another single, "Telegram," proved a success that same year in the annual Eurovision Song Contest, Silver Convention's popularity quickly faded, and by the end of the decade the group was no more.

Folk music in Appalachia is usually a family affair, handed down from father to son, mother to daughter, shared via backyard parties, kitchen jam sessions, or old-time fiddler conventions. For breakout Americana star Dori Freeman, this is the world she grew up in, singing old songs with her father Scott Freeman and her grandfather Willard Gayheart. It was in this spirit that all three of them gathered in the frame shop that Willard owns near Galax, Virginia, along with producer Teddy Thompson, New York recording engineer and producer Ed Haber (Linda Thompson, WNYC), and Dori’s husband Nick Falk, to record an album of Willard’s originals and favorite songs.

Andy spent many years in Eric Clapton's band and this album demonstrates why he is guitarist of choice for the elite blues artists of our time. Andy's 'hit record' career has overshadowed his undeniable credentials as a great bluesman - a talent that hasn't escaped the notice of some of the world's finest artists who have drawn on his skills as a guitarist and singer. Eric Clapton of course heads the impressive list of former employers and collaborators from the blues world including, Jimi Hendrix (no kidding), Jeff Beck, BB King, Jimmy Page, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Van Morrison and many more. These guys know. Aside from his own work, the impressive list of discerning employers and collaborators he has played with includes, Bob Dylan, Roger Waters, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Elton John, Jimi Hendrix, David Crosby, The Band, Richard and Linda Thompson, David Gilmour, The Who, BB King, Joe Cocker, Steve Winwood, Donald 'Duck' Dunn, Jimmy Page, Ronnie Lane, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Joe Satriani, Jeff Beck, The Impressions, Lonnie Donegan, Ringo Starr, Steve Gadd, David Sanborn, Benmont Tench, Warren Zevon, Stevie Nicks, Charlie Watts, Mary J. Blige, Dave Edmunds, Georgie Fame, Bonnie Raitt, Otis Rush, Phil Collins, Van Morrison, Gerry Rafferty, Chris Rea, Buddy Guy, Chris Barber, Jackson Browne, Bill Wyman, Sheryl Crow, Helen Watson, Charlie Dore, Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown, Pete Townshend, Kate Bush, Paul Weller, Mick Hucknall, Paul Young, and hundreds more.