Sunday, October 18, 2020

The Knox Brothers: Good News (Knox Brothers Records KLP-14)





So, a few things I wonder about this LP: the year, for instance.  Not noted on the jacket or sleeve, and I can't find it on line.  And why does the jacket say KBR-14, while the label says KBR KLP-14?  I thought that the junk labels held the patent to that routine (i.e., mismatching the jacket and label info).

But the big question--Take a look at the newspaper-style type under the song titles.  What's with all those weird, um, words?  Well, it's good ol' Lorem Ipsum--the "dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry."  From the 1500s.  Read about it here.

Wow.  In fact, it's over two millennia old.  However, right now I'm debating exactly what I should label today's music: Southern gospel or country gospel?  I'm inclined to go for country gospel, though the two styles can come pretty close.  The Knox Brothers of Oregon don't have a bluegrass sound, but neither do they have (in my opinion) a true southern gospel sound.  So I'm calling them country.  I have yet to decide whether country gospel, as I call it, is an offshoot of southern gospel or if it's been around all along.  "All along" meaning, since about 1900 or so.  

At any rate, I also regard The Sego Brothers and Naomi, Dottie Rambo, and (maybe) the Speer Family as country gospel, if that helps.  And/or if you wondered.  Now, lots of folks would say, "What the heck--it's all gospel.  Who cares about labels?"  And to those people who ask any version of the question, "Why worry about labels?" I say, "Okay, then let's call Homer and Jethro modern jazz."  Then, suddenly, labels become very important.  Funny how that works.  Or, "Let's just use one label for Frankie Yankovic and Pink Floyd.  What?  Let's not?  But you said labels mean nothing!"

Okay, I've stalled long enough.  Are these good tracks?  Yes, very good.  Not great, but this is very solid bop gospel... er, country gospel.  And it's yet another thrift gift from Diane, who gets less expensive and better thrifting where she is.  I'm not jealous, mind you--except when I get envious.    From the "Lorem Ipsum" notes, we learn that the group, um... Actually, we don't learn anything about them.  Well, except stuff like "Et tamen in busdam," which can be a real problem in winter before the roads have been salted.

As done by the Lewis Family, Beautiful Star of Bethlehem was one of my late foster mother's favorite gospel numbers, and the Knox Brothers do a very good job, too.  Just a Little Talk with Jesus is a 1937 standard not to be confused with the earlier A Little Talk with Jesus, which is a fine song, but in much more of a Sunday school vein.  My Soul Has Been Set Free, Meet Me Over on the Other Side, It Made News in Heaven, and A Song Holy Angels Can't Sing make for fine titles and fine numbers, though isn't I'm Gonna Sing a Song a little redundant?  What else is one going to sing, besides a song?  "Oh, my pretty Lorem Ipsum, She's got me all perplexed.  She writes me every evening, But she's using dummy text."

To the gospel...



DOWNLOAD: The Knox Brothers--Good News (KBR KLP-14)






Lee

15 comments:

Buster said...

Could be mid to late 70s by the look of the haircuts and ice cream suits, although the typography is characteristic of the 1980s, if I recall correctly.

The Good News format on the back could have been put to better use - maybe discuss the music and the musicians? Just a thought. Although "Lorem ipsum" etc. is hard to argue with.

Bob said...

I've been followed the powerline and I found this page on Marion Knox, the older Knox and leader of the group,

Link : http://www.truth1.org/m-knox-fraud.htm#Makow%20web

Header:
Marion Knox, 78, is a grass seed farmer, pilot and businessman from Lebanon, Oregon who has deprogrammed some 500 MK-Ultra victims. He says sodomizing children is the Illuminati's "key" to satanic possession and mind control. (Puts "Sex Ed" in new perspective doesn't it?) He raises the specter that most of our political leaders are in fact mind controlled sodomizers and/or victims of sodomy.


Lee Hartsfeld said...

Bob,

Why have you linked me to this nut basket site? As for the main article, a multi-part 2011 piece which appeared in the Albany (Oregon) Democrat-Herald, I'd have to subscribe to the paper to read it, and I have no plans to subscribe to the Albany Democrat-Herald. I realize that some of the music I post is connected with kook philosophies, but I post the music as music. And I'd love it if people would comment on the music.

Ernie said...

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

(Sorry, I couldn't resist. What a waste of perfectly good liner note space.)

Lee Hartsfeld said...

I wish I'd never posted this. The Sunday offerings are over, at any rate.

Bob said...

Sorry Lee. It won't happen again

A man for whom Christ died said...

Lee,
I'd put the album anywhere from 1976, to '79, just guessing, by the song titles/credits and the instrumentation (including that electric piano). I'd also put the style as Country Gospel, but IMHO, dunno why you'd consider The Sego Brothers and Naomi, as the same style, just IMHO. Oh and a couple of the kiddos kept asking me, while I looked through the folder last night, can we hear Good News? I looked for it all through the folder and couldn't find it LOL! I was expecting a song title by that name and reckon they were too, but guess it had to do with that horrid type, something us blind folk don't like, especially when it's used on websites and/or blogs as filler, yeah buddy! Please keep up the Sunday offerings, they are blessings (some more than others), love and prayin' for ya!

Romans 11:33-36 KJB

Josh
Podcast: http://www.jeremiah616.sermon.net
Callcast: (563) 999-3967
Blog: http://www.brojoshowens.wordpress.com
Google Group: http://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/preacher-friends

Ernie said...

Yeah Lee, don't stop posting what you like just because we make some snarky comments about someone's design choices made 40 years ago. I'll admit the gospel posts aren't my favorite bit, but I can still get some enjoyment out of them, and I appreciate the work you do on them.

I actually found it interesting to read a bit of the history and resurgence of the Lorem ipsum thing, and I imagine this is an early word processing example. Might have been cutting edge at the time for something that wasn't hand-set.

Lee Hartsfeld said...

"Snarky" comments aren't the issue, Ernie. For one thing, I spent a good deal of time in my post making light of the cover, so why would I object to others joking about it? My problem is that I get a fairly high number of downloads on many of my items, including some of my gospel posts, which typically get a word from Josh (whose comments I love and appreciate) but nothing else. In short, people like my stuff, but typing "thank you" is too much work for them. I'm not asking for the epic outpourings of praise that occur elsewhere, but even a trickle thereof would make me feel a heck of a lot better. If I didn't have the download stats at workupload, I would have concluded that few folks care what happens here, and I'd have closed shop. Maybe I should, anyway.

Lee Hartsfeld said...

I should add that the zero-comment Jack Bishop gospel post of Aug. 30 is still sitting there with zero comments. Downloads are at 116. Your blogging experience is the polar opposite of mine, so I don't expect you to understand how I'm feeling.

A man for whom Christ died said...

Lee,
I understand your frustration, because I have a few web ventures, evidenced by my signature LOL and I seemingly get a lot of downloads from the Podcast and occasional emails thanking me, asking questions or outright expressing displeasure to say the least. I get plenty of comments on my Blog, most of which go to Spam and several (IMHO) nutjob "followers" (only a few real ones), then there's the Google Group, with five to ten percent (I'm trying to be optimistic here) of the Preacher Friends, contributing one-hundred percent of the posts, I feel like I'm pastoring a bunch of preachers, but anyway. Sorry for the run-on sentences. Oh and on the Jack Bishop post, honestly, the reason I haven't commented, is, nothing about that album, really stood out to me, just purely IMHO. I'm glad you love and appreciate my comments and I trust you feel the same way about this one, but my fingers are getting crossed up, so better go for now LOL! I do appreciate the time/effort you put into your SMGs and would miss them something fierce, if they went away. Keep it up, love and prayin' for ya!

Romans 11:33-36 KJB

Josh
Podcast: http://www.jeremiah616.sermon.net
Callcast: (563) 999-3967
Blog: http://www.brojoshowens.wordpress.com
Google Group: http://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/preacher-friends

Bob said...

On Lorem Ipsum see https://www.lipsum.com/

Lee Hartsfeld said...

Bob,

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Jayne .here Lee. Love the Knox Brothers music. It’s fabulous. Here is a conversation in video that Marion Knox , me and my daughter had at the end of 22 and published Feb 2023, hope you get a chance to view it. It’s very real my friend. JESUS is LORD. https://www.brighteon.com/1717695d-3101-4fe6-addd-1bb2ffaf3a18 I don’t know how we exchange emails here, if you wish to have a dialogue.

Lee Hartsfeld said...

Thanks, Jayne. I'll check that out at first opportunity.

My email is in my profile. That is to say, it should show up (though nothing is guaranteed on Google!). Let me know if it does. Thanks.