AcousticMusicScene.com is pleased to publish the monthly Top Albums and Songs charts compiled by Richard Gillmann from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in all folk-based music on the radio. In March 2012, Little Blue Egg, a collection of archived home and studio recordings that Tracy Grammer and her late partner Dave Carter made between 1997 and 2002, topped the albums chart for a second month. It was followed by Lay Down, Lay Low, the new album by Shenandoah Valley-based Americana roots outfit The Steel Wheels, which also sported four of the month’s top 10 most-played songs — including “Breaking Like The Sun” at #1.
The March 2012 charts are based on 13,326 airplays from 150 different DJs. The number of spins (airplay) is shown in parentheses.
Top Albums of March 2012
Little Blue Egg album cover
“Hard Edge Of Livin”
“Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key”
“Amazon”
“Cross Of Jesus”
“Hard To Make It”
2: “Lay Down, Lay Low,” The Steel Wheels [thesteelwheels.com, 1/12] (82)
“Breaking Like The Sun”
“Rain In The Valley”
“Halfway To Heaven”
“Lay Down Lay Low”
3: “The Plum Tree And The Rose,” Sarah McQuaid [Waterbug, new] (63)
“Lift You Up And Let You Fly”
“Sun Goes On Rising”
“The Plum Tree And The Rose”
“Hardwick’s Lofty Towers”
4: “Voice Of Ages,” The Chieftains [Hear, 2/12] (62)
“Frost Is All Over”
“Pretty Little Girl”
“When The Ship Comes In”
“Peggy Gordon”
5: “An Island Out Of Time,” Molasses Creek [Soundside, new] (53)
“Mississippi Sawyer”
“Scat Reel Set”
“It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie”
5: “Safe Crossing,” West Of Eden [West Of, new] (53)
“On She Goes”
“Endurance”
“Safe Crossing”
7: “Hickory,” Mariel Vandersteel [marielvandersteel.com, new] (52)
“Hog And Sheep Going To The Pasture”
“Flannery’s Dream”
“Norafjolls”
8: “Tilt-A-Whirl,” Drew Nelson [Red House, 2/12] (51)
“Lessons”
“Here To There”
“Promised Land”
“Dust”
9: “Leaving Eden,” Carolina Chocolate Drops [Nonesuch, new] (46)
“Country Girl”
“Ruby, Are You Mad At Your Man?”
“Riro’s House”
10: “Ends Of The Earth,” Emily Pinkerton [Green Jeans, new] (40)
“Summer Heat”
“Negra”
“Beautiful Dress”
10: “Mud And Stone,” Loretta Hagen [Bearfort, new] (40)
“Mud And Stone”
“Now That You’re Home”
“Money”
12: “Chimes Of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan,” Various Artists [Fontana, 2011] (38)
“7 Curses,” Joan Baez
“Simple Twist Of Fate,” Diana Krall
12: “Sunday Never Comes,” Jackstraw [jackstraw.net, 12/11] (38)
“May The Twain Ne’er Meet”
“Come On Back To Me”
“Randy The Rambler”
14: “Dark So Gold,” The Pines [Red House, 1/12] (36)
“All The While”
“Chimes”
“Cry Cry Crow”
15: “Rockin’ The Uke,” Cathy Fink And Marcy Marxer [Community, 11/11] (34)
“Dark Eyes”
“Blues Stay Away From Me”
“Rockin’ The Uke”
16: “Home By Dark,” Steve Gillette And Cindy Mangsen [Compass Rose, 1/12] (33)
“Holy Smoke”
“Seal Harbor”
“Home By Dark”
16: “The Poison Glen,” Altan [Compass, new] (33)
“Fig For A Kiss / The Turf Cutter”
“Seolta Geala”
18: “Light In The Sky,” Red Molly [redmolly.com, 10/11] (32)
“Dear Someone”
“Come On In My Kitchen”
“Walk Beside Me”
19: “Four Wise Monkeys,” Lara Herscovitch [Larama, new] (31)
“Folsom Prison Blues”
“Let Us Begin”
“Mississippi Lullaby”
19: “New Kind Of Lonely,” I See Hawks In L. A. [Western Seeds, new] (31)
“Bohemian Highway”
“New Kind Of Lonely”
“I Fell In Love With The Grateful Dead”
21: “Three,” The Refugees [Wabuho, 1/12] (29)
“Green Rocky Road”
“Rosalinda”
21: “Pink Umbrella,” Cary Cooper [ethereal girl, 10/11] (29)
“Good Day”
“Suzanne”
“Time To Let Go”
23: “Release Me,” Lyle Lovett [Lost Highway, new] (27)
“White Boy Lost In The Blues”
“Garfield’s Blackberry Blossom”
24: “All The Way Home,” Cathy Jordan [Blix Street, new] (25)
“Road I Go”
“Eileen McMahon”
24: “Big Big Love,” Katya Chorover [katyachorover.com, 10/11] (25)
“Movin’ On”
“Big Big Love”
“Brother Flower”
24: “Perfect Storm,” Dan Crary & Thunderation [Blue Night, 7/11] (25)
“Deep River Blues”
“Girl From The North Country”
“Muley Was A Railroad Man”
24: “Seeds,” Dennis Warner [Main Trail, 2/12] (25)
“Crossroads”
“What A Lovely Night”
28: “The Good Stuff,” Peter Mulvey [Signature, new] (24)
“Everybody Knows”
“Egg Radio”
29: “Stories From The Steeples,” Mary Black [Blix Street, 2/12] (23)
“Mountains To The Sea”
“Marguerite And The Gambler”
“Walking With My Love”
30: “Broadsides,” Atomic Duo [theconnextion.com/atomicduo/, new] (22)
“Trickle Down”
30: “This Land: Woody Guthrie’s America,” John McCutcheon [Appalsongs, 11/11] (22)
“Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done”
“This Is Our Country Here”
30: “The Tiny Life,” Honor Finnegan [honorfinnegan.com, 1/12] (22)
“Life Is Short”
“Internet Junkie”
33: “Brand New Day,” Sweet Potato Pie [Mountain Fever, new] (21)
“Sweet Blue Eyed Darling”
“Rockin’ With The Rhythm Of The Rain”
33: “The End Of The Beginning,” John Flynn [johnflynn.net, 1/12] (21)
“Web And The Feather”
“Crazy As Ever”
33: “Promised Land,” Gina Forsyth [Waterbug, 2/12] (21)
“Sweet And Sunny South”
“Belle”
33: “We Have Made A Spark,” Rose Cousins [Old Farm Pony, new] (21)
“Darkness”
“All The Stars”
37: “Everything Is Everywhere,” Carrie Newcomer [Available Light, 11/11] (20)
“Air And Smoke”
“Breathe In Breathe Out”
“Everything Is Everywhere”
37: “Let It Burn,” Ruthie Foster [Blue Corn, 1/12] (20)
“If I Had A Hammer”
“Ring Of Fire”
37: “Long Ride Home,” Darrell Scott [Full Light, 1/12] (20)
“Someday”
“It Must Be Sunday”
37: “Steamboat In A Cornfield,” Truckstop Honeymoon [truckstophoneymoon.com, 12/11] (20)
“Going Back To Louisiana”
“Grateful Dead Show”
37: “Who’s Feeling Young Now?,” Punch Brothers [Nonesuch, 2/12] (20)
“Flippen”
“My New York City”
37: “Young Man In America,” Anais Mitchell [Wilderland, 2/12] (20)
“Dyin’ Day”
“Shepherd”
43: “Freeman And Williams,” Freeman And Williams [Mountain Roads, 2/12] (19)
“Muddy River”
“Always Looking Back”
44: “Gem State (EP),” Karen Dahlstrom [karendahlstrom.com, 10/11] (18)
“Miner’s Bride”
“Galena”
44: “Hello Cruel World,” Gretchen Peters [Scarlet Letter, 1/12] (18)
“Hello Cruel World”
44: “Live At McCabe’s,” Ernest Troost [Travelin’ Shoes, 7/11] (18)
“Switchblade Heart”
44: “New Multitudes,” Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Anders Parker, Yim Yames [Rounder, 2/12] (18)
“Hoping Machine”
“Fly High”
44: “Old Ideas,” Leonard Cohen [Columbia, 1/12] (18)
“Crazy To Love You”
“Darkness”********** Song also on “We Have Made A Spark”
44: “This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark,” Various Artists [Icehouse, 11/11] (18)
“All He Wants Is You,” Shawn Colvin
50: “Like A Man,” Adam Cohen [Decca, new] (17)
“Beautiful”
“Out Of Bed”
50: “Live At Eddie’s Attic,” Adler And Hearne [Spring Hollow, new] (17)
“Day We Buried Our Secrets”
“Prayin’ For The Camel”
50: “Past Perfect,” Steve Spurgin [Blue Night, 4/11] (17)
“This Might Be The Year”
50: “Resurrection Moon,” Audrey Auld [Reckless, new] (17)
“Resurrection Moon”
50: “Revolutions Per Minute,” Emma’s Revolution [Moving Forward, 11/11] (17)
“Occupy The Usa”
“Rain”
55: “Hangtown Fry,” John Malcolm Penn [Blue Night, 2/12] (16)
“Joaquin Rides Again”
“Diamond Springs”
55: “Move,” Sultans Of String [Canada, 9/11] (16)
“Dos Guitarras”
“Emerald Swing”
55: “Troubadours On The Rhine,” Loreena McKennitt [Quinlan Road, new] (16)
“Parting Glass”
58: “Brother Sun,” Brother Sun [World Wide, 2/11] (15)
“Trouble”
58: “Enthralled,” Oliver Schroer & Nuala Kennedy [Borealis, 5/11] (15)
“Choufl”
58: “New Country Rehab,” New Country Rehab [Self, 1/11] (15)
“Cameo”
“Last Hand”
58: “Red Horse,” Red Horse [Red House, 2010] (15)
“I Am A Child”
“Wild Horse”
58: “What You Keep,” Barbara Kessler [barbarakessler.com, 1/12] (15)
“High Road”
“New Me”
63: “6 Volts,” Fred Eaglesmith [Major Label, 1/12] (14)
“Trucker Speed”
63: “Acoustic Rainbow 40,” Various Artists [Poetman, 2/12] (14)
“Texas,” Danny Darst
63: “Back When,” The Carper Family [Self, 8/11] (14)
“Tennessee Jive”
63: “Beat The Devil And Carry A Rail,” Noam Pikelny [Compass, 10/11] (14)
“Fish And Bird”
“Jim Thompson’s Horse”
63: “Darkling & The Bluebird Jubilee,” Joe Crookston [Milagrito, 3/11] (14)
“Everything Here Is Good”
63: “Faces Do Not Change,” Kath Buckell [Vmm, 8/11] (14)
“Orphaned By The Color Of My Skin”
“Song Of Wheat”
63: “The Harrow And The Harvest,” Gillian Welch [Acony, 6/11] (14)
“6 White Horses”
“Way It Goes”
63: “Little Heart,” Andra Suchy [Red House, new] (14)
“Libertine”
“90 Mph”
63: “Mercury,” Pieta Brown [Red House, 9/11] (14)
“Be With You”
“No Words Now”
63: “Red Curtain,” Still On The Hill [Termite Tracs, 2/12] (14)
“Desert Dream”
63: “Rhubarb Trees,” Anne Hills And David Roth [Wind River, 11/11] (14)
“I Stand For Love”
“May The Light Of Love”
63: “Row Upon Row Of The People They Know,” The Once [Borealis, 10/11] (14)
“By The Glow Of The Kerosene Light”
“Jack The Sailor”
63: “Stories To Keep,” Donna Adler [donnaadler.com, 1/12] (14)
“If My Life Were A Book”
63: “Voyageur,” Kathleen Edwards [Rounder, 1/12] (14)
“Empty Threat”
Top Songs of March 2012
The Steel Wheels
by The Steel Wheels
from “Lay Down, Lay Low”
2. “Rain In The Valley” (20)
by The Steel Wheels
from “Lay Down, Lay Low”
3. “Hard Edge Of Livin” (16)
by Dave Carter And Tracy Grammer
from “Little Blue Egg”
3. “Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key” (16)
by Dave Carter And Tracy Grammer
from “Little Blue Egg”
5. “Mud And Stone” (15)
by Loretta Hagen
from “Mud And Stone”
6. “Halfway To Heaven” (13)
by The Steel Wheels
from “Lay Down, Lay Low”
7. “Lay Down Lay Low” (12)
by The Steel Wheels
from “Lay Down, Lay Low”
7. “Lessons” (12)
by Drew Nelson
from “Tilt-A-Whirl”
7. “Mississippi Sawyer” (12)
by Molasses Creek
from “An Island Out Of Time”
7. “On She Goes” (12)
by West Of Eden
from “Safe Crossing”
11. “Country Girl” (11)
by Carolina Chocolate Drops
from “Leaving Eden”
11. “Hog And Sheep Going To The Pasture” (11)
by Mariel Vandersteel
from “Hickory”
11. “Summer Heat” (11)
by Emily Pinkerton
from “Ends Of The Earth”
14. “Amazon” (10)
by Dave Carter And Tracy Grammer
from “Little Blue Egg”
14. “Bohemian Highway” (10)
by I See Hawks In L. A.
from “New Kind Of Lonely”
14. “Cross Of Jesus” (10)
by Dave Carter And Tracy Grammer
from “Little Blue Egg”
14. “Darkness” (10)
by Rose Cousins
from “We Have Made A Spark”
14. “Flannery’s Dream” (10)
by Mariel Vandersteel
from “Hickory”
14. “Frost Is All Over” (10)
by The Chieftains
from “Voice Of Ages”
14. “Lift You Up And Let You Fly” (10)
by Sarah McQuaid
from “The Plum Tree And The Rose”
14. “Pretty Little Girl” (10)
by The Chieftains
from “Voice Of Ages”
14. “Scat Reel Set” (10)
by Molasses Creek
from “An Island Out Of Time”
14. “Trickle Down” (10)
by Atomic Duo
from “Broadsides”
14. “When The Ship Comes In” (10)
by The Chieftains
from “Voice Of Ages”
25. “Here To There” (9)
by Drew Nelson
from “Tilt-A-Whirl”
25. “May The Twain Ne’er Meet” (9)
by Jackstraw
from “Sunday Never Comes”
25. “Miner’s Bride” (9)
by Karen Dahlstrom
from “Gem State (EP)”
25. “Promised Land” (9)
by Drew Nelson
from “Tilt-A-Whirl”
25. “Ruby, Are You Mad At Your Man?” (9)
by Carolina Chocolate Drops
from “Leaving Eden”
25. “Sun Goes On Rising” (9)
by Sarah McQuaid
from “The Plum Tree And The Rose”
Like/Follow Us!