|
Chester
Smith with
© Hag/Round Robin Soundbytes
|
||||||
|
Chester and his family where part of the great Dust Bowl migration that saw more than 250,000 South-westerner's move to California between 1935 and 1940. The Smiths' Chevrolet pulled into a farm-labour camp in the Central Valley town of Tranquillity with two threadbare mattresses strapped on top, and hauling a trailer loaded down with a gasoline operated Maytag washer and a rickety Singer sewing machine. As for Chester, he brought along his own prized possession, a guitar bought out of the Sears catalogue. When Chester was nine, his dad took him to Fresno and got him a regular spot on the radio singing Gene Autry songs. By his early teens, Chester was a popular country & western disc jockey in Modesto. He later quit high school, signed a record contract with Capitol Records and was a regularly featured act on the CBS television affiliates in Fresno and Sacramento. His biggest hit came in 1955 with "Wait a Little Longer, Please, Jesus." Written by Hazel Houser, more than 100 artists, including Merle Haggard, have covered the song, and the Country Music Foundation has named it one of the greatest gospel recordings of all time. As rock 'n' roll started to have an influence on country music, a trend that Chester greeted warily, he made the decision to put away his Martin guitar and became a businessman. He launched the first full-time country radio station in Modesto, later becoming a pioneer in Spanish-language television, and then over the ensuing decades owned TV stations in every market in northern and central California and northern Nevada. Now
Chester has decided to go back in the studio to put together this
12 track Country Gospel album, "California Blend" and has
brought along his friend, the great Merle Haggard to help him out.
Normally, I wouldn't review Gospel/Christian Country material, as
it is a genre that doesn't appeal to me, but I have made an exception
in this case for 3 reasons; 1. Merle Haggard is my all time favourite
artist. (Good enough reason on it's own, yeh? Of the 12 tracks, ……….which see Chester taking lead vocals on 6, Merle on 2 and 4 shared, ………. 3 tracks have already seen success in the EMS European charts after their release to radio via the aforementioned 'Hotdisc'. These are, the opening track, "Wreck On The Highway," Ernest Tubb's "Old Fashioned Love," and the Freddy Hart penned "When The Whole World Stands Together Holding Hands" a song that speaks of the virtues of the whole world getting on with each other. A similar theme is also advocated in the single Merle Haggard penned track on here, "When We Go To Guns." Chester's previously mentioned 1955 hit, "Wait A Little Longer Please Jesus" is also on here, with both Chester & Merle sharing vocals this time out, and probably, one of the most recorded Gospel songs in Country music "Wings Of A Dove," is also covered on here, but on this occasion, Chester makes the song his own as he adds a spoken part and asks "Why A Dove?" If a Gospel album has me not only listening, but writing about it, then it has to be good and "California Blend" is certainly that! Ray
Grundy 14-07-02 |
)
2. Since hearing Chester for the first time via the tracks released
on the industry sampler, 'Country Hotdisc', I just loved his raw,
well-worn voice. 3. This is the first Gospel influenced album that,
I can honestly say, I have enjoyed listening to!! Although to be fair,
I wouldn't necessarily call this an all out Gospel album, with some
of the tracks only touching lightly on the subject.