It's Too Hot for Words

[Jerry Overstreet]

....literally, but the extreme hi temps reminded me of this album title recorded by an acoustic band named Spectrum around 1982.

An allstar cast of pickers like Bela Fleck, Jimmy's Mattingly and Gaudreau, Mark Schatz and my good friend and homey Glenn Lawson [whom I haven't seen for way too long] on vocals and flattop guitar. Special guests like Mike Auldridge and Glenn Duncan...not too shabby, huh?

Anyhoo, the title cut credits go to Samuel, Whitcup & Powell. It's a great and lively swing tune that someone like Jethro Burns might have been attracted to.

I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if it hasn't been recorded more than just on this one album. Anyone know the tune?

Anyone besides me hip to the great variety of music that this band Spectrum put forth?

[Kevin Macneil Brown]

There is a wonderful Billie Holiday version of that song. Billie with Teddy Wilson's Orchestra. 1935 or so, I think.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Thanks Kevin! Yeah, that's the tune. Billie Holiday, no less!
I'd love to hear her delivery of the tune. http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/b/billieh ... 32477.html [clickable link, finally]

I did some searching for wavs and midi files, but found nothing so far.

Spectrum's rendition featured the incomparable Bela Fleck on banjo and my friend and guitar picker extraordinaire Glenn Lawson with great vocals and flatpicking the fire out of a D28.
Being familiar with what Bela and company do with standard tunes, it would be interesting to see how the 2 versions compare or don't!

Thanks again.

[Kevin Macneil Brown]

As for Spectrum, I remember seeing them at Bluegrass Festivals in, what, the mid or late 1970s?
I especially remember being wowed by Bela Fleck's version of "There Will Never Be Another You." Bela must have been 18 or 20 years old; he was certainly digging jazz and swing with that particular band.