• subscribe
  • Search
  • MIXTAPE: Bluegrass Unlimited's #1 Songs
    Sign Up For Weekly Dispatch
    Get the best of BGS delivered to your inbox.
    We Respect Your Privacy
Roots Culture Redefined

Header Main

Place Ads

MIXTAPE: Bluegrass Unlimited’s #1 Songs

Sep 12, 2016

MIXTAPE: Bluegrass Unlimited's #1 Songs

A handful of devoted Stanley Brothers fans found out a day too late that Ralph & Carter had played in Washington, D.C. Determined that would never happen again, they published a D.C.-centric mimeographed newsletter for the furtherance of bluegrass — traditional, contemporary, and progressive.

Since July 1966, Bluegrass Unlimited has grown into an international monthly magazine with interviews, photos, record reviews, a Top 30 Countdown Chart, and more. Sometimes called "The Bluegrass Bible," BU's 50-year history will be honored with IBMA's Distinguished Achievement Award during the World of Bluegrass convention in Raleigh in September.

Lee Michael Demsey, afternoon drive host on WAMU's Bluegrass Country and keeper of the BU Top 30 Countdown Charts has compiled a list of the longest-running #1 songs since 1990.

Spending eight months on top of the chart was:
"Murder on Music Row" — Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time (March through October 2000)

Four songs held the #1 spot for seven months:
"Duncan and Brady" — Johnson Mountain Boys (July 1993 – January 1994)
"So Long, So Wrong" — Alison Krauss and Union Station (August 1997 – February 1998)
"I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" — Soggy Bottom Boys (March – September 2001)
"A Simple Life" — Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder (September – December 2003) and (February – April 2004)

One song defended the top position for six months:
"Mama’s Hand" — Lynn Morris (June – November 1996)

Six songs were #1 for five months:
"I’ve Got That Old Feeling" — Alison Krauss and Union Station (November 1990 – March 1991)
"I've Never Been So Lonesome" — Longview (March – July 1998)
"Bed by the Window" — James King (May – September 1999)
"1952 Vincent Black Lightning" — Del McCoury Band (November 2001, January 2002, March – May 2002)
"Sadie’s Got Her New Dress On" — Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver (August through December 2007)
"Through the Window of a Train" — Blue Highway (August through December 2008)


Photo credit: Teeejayy via Foter.com / CC BY-SA

Suggested Reads


Sitewide Footer Banner

MIXTAPE: Bluegrass Unlimited's #1 Songs
MIXTAPE: Bluegrass Unlimited's #1 Songs