George McCormick & Earl Aycoc

A welcome first CD reissue by one of the classic hillbilly vocal duos, George and Earl! 29 high class 1950s sides made in Nashville featuring musicians ranging from Hank Williams's band to the A team! Contains all 6 original 78s by George McCormick and Earl Aycock and another 6 singles by George McCormick. Sweet Little Miss Blue Eyes and If You Got Anything Good are often cited among the best country duet recordings of all time! Three of the songs were scheduled for Hank Williams to record before he died. George McCormick later led the Wagonmasters band for Porter Wagoner and was Dolly Parton's first duet partner on the Wagoner TV show. Earl Aycock later was a DJ in Texas and Louisiana. A 40-page booklet by Martin Hawkins featuring unpublished interviews with George McCormick.

This CD tells about two very different singers and musicians who came together for a brief two years to make some of the best and most interesting duet recordings of the 1950s. The still-prevalent sound of Hank Williams was just beginning to give way to newer styles of popular country music and the upstart sounds of rockabilly. George and Earl together provided a link from the country duets of the '30s, '40s and '50s, the likes of the Delmores and the Louvins, to the harmonies of country music as developed after the rockabilly era. In terms of commercial success they were outgunned by the Everly Brothers, but they had a very different duet style and one that has endured just as long.