The lineage of bluegrass or American music in a broad sense is debatable for a variety of reasons. Each ethnic group, with its own unique cultural trappings has some perception of how it has influenced the greater culture, arts and music. Of course, no one perspective is wholly right. But it can be said that African culture has effected subsequent artistic movements in this country. After all, even the banjo comes from the African continent.

Folk songs, though, come from various places. And even if there are a modicum of tracks that cover roughly the same territory – “Shame and Scandal” instantly jumps to mind as a good example of that – the instrumentation that is most associated with American Roots music – again apart from the banjo – comes from Ireland as much as anywhere else. And over the period of time that string bands eventually morphed into bluegrass ensembles – or hillbilly jazz as I like to call it – the Grand Ole Opry played host to most of the notable folks from this era.

It’s odd to think that not only does the Opry still function as a cultural lynch pin, but at one time it hosted the most popular radio show in the country. Of course the performer’s abilities to draw audiences from not just the south, but the Appalachians, Texas and a variety of other backwater areas – not to mention the erudite country folk who moved to cities – is what made the performance hall such an American landmark.

Beginning in 1925, the Opry started to broadcast music for dances. And oddly enough, the same year, the McGee Brothers – Sam and Kirk – began playing music. In 1926, the brothers performed for the first time at the Opry alongside Uncle Dave Macon, who in addition to a vast catalog of performers was included on The American Anthology of Folk Music, which basically functioned as a song book for the folk resurgence of the ‘60s.

The brotherly duo, though, didn’t instantly find the same sort of success as Macon and others from the period – and not really until the ‘60s did country and string band dance music gain any sort of financial stability as an art form. Odd. But only because of the vast audience it attracted.

Of course the theme song from the Beverly Hillbilies didn’t hurt – but Flatt and Scruggs should have been famous based solely upon their talents. None the less, the McGee Brothers remained a constant at the Opry during their career. Spanning almost fifty years, the duo was able to work out a catalog that included original dance tunes and songs filled with stories and laments.

On Milk 'em in the Evening Blues, Sam and Kirk are joined by Arthur Smith on fiddle. The sessions were recorded by Mike Seeger for the Smithsonian and Folkways. Being released in 1968, it my have come a bit too late to have any great impact on the folk movement, which by that point had really disintegrated or turned to lackadaisical AM fare. But regardless of that, the songs here represent a broad cultural integration. It’s not the most adept performance of any of these folks – but the songs are nothing less than true.