Blue Ribbon

Ulp...sorry, you caught me taking a quick nip.

One of our biggest regrets in the Top 100 Drinking Songs list was how poorly Mr. Johnny Russell performed, particularly his seminal rendition of Mountain favorite "Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer".

"Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer" is the quintessential working-man's bar tune, a joyous shout out to camaraderie amongst those whose fingernails get a little dirty, and the aches and pains of a day's hard labor are assuaged by the popped top on a cold one, the jukebox, the ball game on tv, and the racked balls on the pool table. No pretense on this one.

It doesn't hurt that Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer is a highly favored brew here at the Mountain.

As a bonus, we've got another fine little drinking tune from Russell, "Drinking a Beer and Singing a Country Song". If you were ever curious about the connection between Country music and the consumption of tasty beverages, this should spell it out for you pretty (ever)clearly. There is no Country without a drink, and there is no drinking without a little sip of the good stuff.

Barstool Mountain approved! 200 proof!


Johnny Russell: Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer (mp3)

Johnny Russell: Drinking a Beer and Singing a Country Song (mp3)

Please support your local "Old Man" Bar.

Down To The Stillhouse

Took a break. We're back now. Lift yr glasses.

The New Lost City Ramblers were part of the big Folk Boom back in the late 50's into the early 60's. While most of that movement, musicians and audiences alike, was made up of white folks playing at authenticity through theft, The 'Ramblers approached the songs and subject matter of their performances and recordings with a reverence and playful spirit. Plenty of banjos, fiddles, kazoos, and whatnot, and an obvious appreciation for the Appalachian culture from which the majority of their material sprung from. They continue to tour sporadically, in various incarnations, to this day, and have served as an influence to much of the Backwoods revivalists we appreciate today.

For our purposes today, we want to take a look at our favorite album of theirs, "American Moonshine and Prohibition Songs". As you can surmise from the title, the record is comprised of drinking songs. Mostly in the moonshine whiskey and bootlegging vein, a fine topic we think. Loves us some moonshine. Every song on this album reels, jigs, and fiddles it's way through a boozy haze of law-breaking and bad behavior. Highly recommended for all you inebriates out there.

The following songs are best heard with a whiskey (preferably of the "homemade" kind) in yr claw.


The New Lost City Ramblers: Goodbye Old Booze (mp3)

The New Lost City Ramblers: The Old Home Brew (mp3)

The New Lost City Ramblers: Down To The Stillhouse To Get A Little Cider (mp3)

The New Lost City Ramblers: Kentucky Bootlegger (mp3)

Please support your local moonshiner and bootlegger. If you don't, who will?