Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy is the fourth studio album from The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, released in 1970, including the hit song "Mr. Bojangles". The album reached No. 66 on US charts. Three singles charted: "Mr. Bojangles" reached No. 9, "House at Pooh Corner" reached No. 53, and "Some Of Shelly's Blues" reached No. 64. In Canada, the singles reached No. 2, No. 30, and No. 56.[3][4][5]
The 1994 CD version has the title Uncle Charlie And His Dog on the spine.
Songs
"Some of Shelly's Blues" and "Propinquity" were written by Michael Nesmith, best known as a member of The Monkees.
"Travelin' Mood" was written and first recorded by R&B artist James "We Willie" Waynes in 1955.[6]
"Clinch Mountain Backstep" is credited to Ruby Rakes, who is the half-sister of The Stanley Brothers. She was assigned the rights to many of their songs for financial reasons.[7]
"Jesse James" is a 1963 recording of Uncle Charlie, who was a relative of Bill McEuen's wife. The "Uncle Charlie Interview" is from the same 1963 recording. This leads directly into Mr. Bojangles, associating the real man with the song character.
"Mr. Bojangles" was written and recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker. Hanna heard the song on the radio one night and mentioned it to Jimmy Ibbotson. Ibbotson knew the song and actually had been carrying the single (a gift) around in his trunk for months. They cleaned it off and transcribed the song as best they could. However, they got a few words wrong, even on the final recording. This story is told in more colorful detail on the 2003 CD reissue.
"Opus 36" was written by English composer Muzio Clementi in 1797. Its full title is "Sonatina in C major, op.36, no.1".[8] It was arranged and adapted by Walter McEuen.
^"Travelin the High Way Home: Ralph Stanley and the World of Traditional Bluegrass Music", John Wright, University of Illinois Press ISBN0-252-06478-X (1993)
