Goodtime Washboard Three - Oakland 7" (1964)

I'll touch a little on my folk roots here and share a great single by this not-so-well-known group, Goodtime Washboard Three. The threesome was made up of "Wayne Pope on washboard, Bruce Bratton on washtub bass and Dick Fagerstrom on banjo" and played music with instruments you'd more likely find in a swampy Louisiana bayou in the early 1900's than in the Bay Area in 1964. I'm always on the lookout for new folk gems, so finding this single on Fantasy Records by such a familiar name (at least for me) was a real treat. Two cuts of California-themed tunes, which certainly helps in my continued enjoyment of them; I've played the single, "Oakland," quite a few times since I bought this. In fact, I'm really surprised I hadn't heard the tune before because, incidentally, the "Oakland" tune, apart from being quite humorous and entertaining, seemed to attract some popularity to the band. More than 12,000 copies of this single sold (apparently), and the band even appeared on the Bing Crosby show. Unfortunately, they didn't rise to the fame they thought they would; the albums they recorded never even saw the light of day. Despite this, some incarnation of the band apparently still exists and plays sporadically. All this history of my home, great music, and entertainment for fifty cents out of my pocket!

Goodtime Washboard Three - Oakland 7" MediaFire