RFD Boys
RFD at 50: CD liner notes
The RFD Boys at 50: STILL Delivering
On December 11, 1969 the RFD Boys performed together for the first time. The venue was Mr. Floods Party and the band consisted of Dick Dieterle on fiddle, Willard Spencer on banjo, Paul Shapiro on bass, Gary Hussar on mandolin and dobro, and me on guitar. This began a string of regular gigs in Ann Arbor that has yet to end – flowing through LUMS on Plymouth Road (1971-1972) to the Pretzel Bell on East Liberty (1972-1985) and then the Ark (1985- present). Dick, Willard, Paul, and I spent 42 years together on this amazing ride through the complete adult life cycle – our shared experience is beyond words. The band has not been the same since we lost Dick to cancer in 2012 – we, and our fans, miss him deeply. But we have carried on and the joyous experiences have continued, thanks to the addition of the multi-talented David Mosher, who became our fifth member during Dick’s final months on stage, and more recently, my gifted son Dan Roehrig.
This CD was recorded to mark the beginning of our 50th year as a band and combines some very old and some very new, with David and Dan front and center. We are eternally grateful to the Ark for their warm embrace over the past 33 years and to our wonderful fans who have kept us relevant. Hope to see you at the Ark in 2019 and beyond as the RFD Boys continue to deliver the bluegrass mail!
Charlie Roehrig
January 2019
We dedicate this CD to the memory of Richard Dieterle
This is the first RFD “studio” recoding in 43 years and marks the start of our 50th year together. The cover photo shows the rather worn mailbox that, for many years, has been a stage prop where audience members place their written requests. The songs were recorded in November and December 2018 in various band member home studios.
We thought it appropriate to kick off with a re-recording of Leavin’ the Ozarks, a song that we recorded back in 1970 on a 45rpm release. The physical CD shows the original record label and reveals the various stage names that we adopted at that time. Paul’s moniker (Spiro Shapiro) is a reminder of who was Vice President in 1970. The seventh number is a beautiful fiddle tune written by our late fiddler, Dick Dieterle. Dick called it Schmidt’s Bigarreau, which is a type of cherry grown in northern Michigan. On this recording, we added our backup to Dick’s fiddle solos from an earlier recording.
The RFD Boys are:
Charlie Roehrig - guitar and vocals
Willard Spencer - banjo and vocals
Paul Shapiro - bass and vocals
David Mosher - fiddle, mandolin, and vocals
Dan Roehrig - guitar, mandolin, and vocals
Track 1: Leavin’ the Ozarks This is Charlie’s first composition and the first song we ever recorded. Charlie sings lead with Paul and David on harmony vocals. Dan provides the lead guitar.
Track 2: High on a Mountain Top This grassy number features Dan singing lead with Charlie and David providing harmony vocals. Dan also provides lead guitar.
Track 3: Set ‘Em Up Joe Charlie sings lead and also plays lead guitar. Harmony vocals are Paul and Willard.
Track 4: She’s Gone Gone Gone An Ark favorite with David singing lead. Harmony vocals are Paul and Dan and Dan on lead guitar.
Track 5: The Train that Carried my Girl from Town This is Dan on lead vocals and lead guitar. Charlie and David provide harmony vocals.
Track 6: Blues Stay Away from Me Charlie sings lead on this quartet number with Paul, Willard, and David on harmony vocals. Dan provides lead guitar.
Track 7: Schmidt’s Bigarreau A wonderful fiddle tune written by our late fiddler Dick Dieterle. That is Dick playing the solos (that we brought back from an earlier recording) with David providing both back-up fiddle and mandolin.
Track 8: Sea of Heartbreak Another Ark favorite with Paul singing lead. Harmony vocals are Charlie and Willard.
Track 9: She Loves me Not This is an original composition by David who also provides the memorable lead vocal. Charlie and Dan provide harmony vocals and that is Dan with the hot guitar licks.
Track 10: That Lucky Old Sun This great old song features Charlie on lead vocal and lead guitar.
Track 11: Been All Around this World This classic features Dan on lead vocal, lead guitar, and mandolin with harmony vocals by Charlie and David.
Track 12: Ages and Ages Ago A Gene Autry number that we learned from Peter Sweatman, our Australian bluegrass buddy. Charlie on lead vocal and lead guitar. Paul, Willard, and David are on harmony vocals. David is playing mandolin.
This CD was recorded to mark the beginning of our 50th year as a band and combines some very old and some very new, with David and Dan front and center. We are eternally grateful to the Ark for their warm embrace over the past 33 years and to our wonderful fans who have kept us relevant. Hope to see you at the Ark in 2019 and beyond as the RFD Boys continue to deliver the bluegrass mail!
Charlie Roehrig
January 2019
We dedicate this CD to the memory of Richard Dieterle
This is the first RFD “studio” recoding in 43 years and marks the start of our 50th year together. The cover photo shows the rather worn mailbox that, for many years, has been a stage prop where audience members place their written requests. The songs were recorded in November and December 2018 in various band member home studios.
We thought it appropriate to kick off with a re-recording of Leavin’ the Ozarks, a song that we recorded back in 1970 on a 45rpm release. The physical CD shows the original record label and reveals the various stage names that we adopted at that time. Paul’s moniker (Spiro Shapiro) is a reminder of who was Vice President in 1970. The seventh number is a beautiful fiddle tune written by our late fiddler, Dick Dieterle. Dick called it Schmidt’s Bigarreau, which is a type of cherry grown in northern Michigan. On this recording, we added our backup to Dick’s fiddle solos from an earlier recording.
The RFD Boys are:
Charlie Roehrig - guitar and vocals
Willard Spencer - banjo and vocals
Paul Shapiro - bass and vocals
David Mosher - fiddle, mandolin, and vocals
Dan Roehrig - guitar, mandolin, and vocals
Track 1: Leavin’ the Ozarks This is Charlie’s first composition and the first song we ever recorded. Charlie sings lead with Paul and David on harmony vocals. Dan provides the lead guitar.
Track 2: High on a Mountain Top This grassy number features Dan singing lead with Charlie and David providing harmony vocals. Dan also provides lead guitar.
Track 3: Set ‘Em Up Joe Charlie sings lead and also plays lead guitar. Harmony vocals are Paul and Willard.
Track 4: She’s Gone Gone Gone An Ark favorite with David singing lead. Harmony vocals are Paul and Dan and Dan on lead guitar.
Track 5: The Train that Carried my Girl from Town This is Dan on lead vocals and lead guitar. Charlie and David provide harmony vocals.
Track 6: Blues Stay Away from Me Charlie sings lead on this quartet number with Paul, Willard, and David on harmony vocals. Dan provides lead guitar.
Track 7: Schmidt’s Bigarreau A wonderful fiddle tune written by our late fiddler Dick Dieterle. That is Dick playing the solos (that we brought back from an earlier recording) with David providing both back-up fiddle and mandolin.
Track 8: Sea of Heartbreak Another Ark favorite with Paul singing lead. Harmony vocals are Charlie and Willard.
Track 9: She Loves me Not This is an original composition by David who also provides the memorable lead vocal. Charlie and Dan provide harmony vocals and that is Dan with the hot guitar licks.
Track 10: That Lucky Old Sun This great old song features Charlie on lead vocal and lead guitar.
Track 11: Been All Around this World This classic features Dan on lead vocal, lead guitar, and mandolin with harmony vocals by Charlie and David.
Track 12: Ages and Ages Ago A Gene Autry number that we learned from Peter Sweatman, our Australian bluegrass buddy. Charlie on lead vocal and lead guitar. Paul, Willard, and David are on harmony vocals. David is playing mandolin.