> I've heard, upon several occasions, Del McCoury & co. do "Get
> Down On Your Knees and Pray," but it wasn't until seeing it on
> McCoury's new album that I learned it to be a Bill Monroe song.
>
> D'oh. I've heard quite a few, but nowhere even close to all, of Monroe's
> recordings. Can anyone please suggest where I might find his
> version of the song?
The 1950-58 boxed set is the only place I know of.
>
> I'm curious as to how he performed the song, even in the studio. I find
> Del's a capella (or almost, as he chose to do on the record)
> quartet version to be quite powerful. Is it just a repeat of Monroe's
> arrangement, or is it somewhat unique to Del?
It's a typical Monroe gospel quartet arrangement: guitar backing, with the
mandolin usually playing turnarounds between the verse/choruses. Every
other version of "Get Down..." I've heard follows the pattern. Del and
Ronnie can also be heard as part of a quartet with Alan O'Bryant and Roland
White doing this number on the True Life Blues Monroe tribute album on Sugar
Hill; the Johnson Mountain Boys also recorded it a couple of times, and so
did the Kentucky Colonels. Skaggs does it on shows, but hasn't recorded it.
Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
