At long last we have this missing piece in the J.D. Crowe story: this was actually the very first album to appear under Crowe's name, and featured his first band with the great Red Allen playing guitar and singing lead, Doyle Lawson picking mandolin and singing tenor, and Bobby Slone on bass (and occasionally, fiddle). It first came out in 1969 on the Lemco label, then King Bluegrass, and finally as an LP on Rebel. It came out at a pretty lean time for Bluegrass, but the band had a fairly nice regular gig at the Holiday Inn in Lexington, Kentucky --hence the title "Bluegrass Holiday". To enhance the package, Rebel has added 4 extra cuts from the period that were recorded for the King Bluegrass label, including WE'LL MEET AGAIN SWEETHEART, a nice YOU'RE NOT EASY TO FORGET and 2 Crowe banjo pieces, BLACKJACK and PIKE COUNTY BREAKDOWN. Despite the funky, echoed up sound, this is top-flight Bluegrass that features three of the most respected names in Bluegrass. LITTLE BESSIE, HELEN, DOWN WHERE THE RIVER BENDS, TRAIN 45, WILL YOU BE SATISFIED THAT WAY, DARK HOLLOW, PHILA. LAWYER, etc.
