The Bay Ramblers were a San Francisco Bay Area bluegrass band in 1985. Sandy Rothman, who played banjo in the band, has produced this two-CD set in memory of Alan Senauke, who died in 2024. Alan was a year behind me at Columbia, and I knew him then, in the late 1960s, and we remained friends. I know all the other band members as well. All of them play and have played with many bands, such as Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys and Earl Taylor (Sandy), High Country and the Kathy Kallick Band (Tom), just to name a few. Alan sings most of the lead but Markie Sanders, on bass, Tom Bekeny, on mandolin, and Sandy also sing lead and harmony. Paul Shelasky played fiddle.

These live recordings were made at Paul’s Saloon in San Francisco and at the California Bluegrass Association’s Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival in 1985. The audio quality is not perfect, but they are very listenable. There are 35 tracks on the two CDs beginning with “Fire on the Mountain” and ending with “We Shall Not Be Moved.” Bluegrass Unlimited interviewed Sandy about the band, this recording, and his career. That can be found here.

There are two originals here: Tom Bekeny’s “Old Red Mandolin” and Alan Senauke’s “Rise and Shine.” Some of the other sources include John Fogerty, George Jones, Earl Taylor, Albert Brumley, Buzz Busby, Jimmy Martin and Paul Williams, the Bailes Brothers, Lester Flatt, Red Allen, Carter and Ralph Stanley, Pete Kuykendall, and, of course,  Bill Monroe. The band was very tight, and I can recommend this recording with no reservations to anyone who enjoys traditional bluegrass.

To order this collection, email Sandy at rothmansandy@gmail.com.