The Dixieland Drifters - "Walk Easy" (1958 B.B.)
w Norman Blake; Single, B.B. – 45-222
No relation to the Dewey Cox Story that I can tell. "Walk Easy" was one of six sides recorded by Bluegrass/Rockabilly group the Dixieland Drifters for B.B., a short-lived label started by Country Music promoter Murray Nash in the late 1950s (a fourth, Gospel single was released on B.B. under the name the Dixieland Drifters Quartet).
The Dixieland Drifters were started by brothers Norman and Rufus Blake as a bluegrass band before teaming up with minor Country star Houston Turner and going Rockabilly (the A-side to "Walk Easy", "The Trot", is a very neat blend of Bluegrass and a Rockabilly beat). Norman was drafted by the Army in 1961 and the group would find little success before disbanding within a few years.
Norman Blake, who wrote "Walk Easy", would go on to play guitar and/or Dobro with first June Carter and then Johnny Cash, as well as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Robert Plant, and all kinds of music royalty. He last released an album, Day By Day, just a couple of years ago.
I assume that's Norman playing Dobro on "Walk Easy". It's a super cool bluesy sound that, along with the backup vocals, really makes the record...not something you hear on every Rockabilly track.
Below are a couple more Dixieland Drifters cuts I quite like. The compilations they're off of, Nashville Rockabilly and Nashville Bluegrass, are also worth listening through if you get the time...
Also Check Out:
By the Dixieland Drifters:
"The Trot" - YouTube | Spotify
By the Dixieland Gospel Quartet:
"Glory Glory" - YouTube | Spotify
By June Carter Cash (with Norman Blake):
