Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy

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]

Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy
Studio album by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Released	February 1970
Recorded	1969
Genre	Country, country rock, folk rock, bluegrass
Length	45:16
Label	Liberty
Producer	William E. McEuen
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band chronology
Alive (1969) Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy (1970) All the Good Times (1971)
Singles from Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy
"Mr. Bojangles" Released: September 1970 "House at Pooh Corner" Released: April 12, 1971

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	(mixed)[2]

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.

Track listing

Side 1

1. "Some of Shelly's Blues" (Michael Nesmith) – 2:51
2. "Prodigal's Return" (Kenny Loggins, Dann Lottermoser) – 3:11
3. "The Cure" (Jeff Hanna) – 2:11
4. "Travelin' Mood" (James Waynes) – 2:39
5. "Chicken Reel" (Traditional) – 0:55
6. "Yukon Railroad" (Kenny Loggins, Dann Lottermoser) – 2:16
7. "Livin' Without You" (Randy Newman) – 2:00
8. "Clinch Mountain Backstep" (Ruby Rakes) – 2:31
9. "Rave On" (Norman Petty, Bill Tilghman, Sonny West) – 2:56
10. "Billy in the Low Ground" (Les Thompson) – 1:13

Side 2

1. "Jesse James" (Traditional) – 0:50
2. "Uncle Charlie Interview" (Uncle Charlie) – 1:38
3. "Mr. Bojangles" (Jerry Jeff Walker) – 3:37
4. "Opus 36, Clementi" (Muzio Clementi) – 1:42
5. "Santa Rosa" (Kenny Loggins) – 2:24
6. "Propinquity" (Michael Nesmith) – 2:20
7. "Uncle Charlie" (Jimmie Fadden) – 1:49
8. "Randy Lynn Rag" (Earl Scruggs) – 1:46
9. "House at Pooh Corner" (Kenny Loggins) – 2:39
10. "Swanee River" (Stephen Foster) – 0:36
11. "Uncle Charlie Interview #2 / Spanish Fandango" (Traditional) – 2:36

Extra tracks on the 2003 CD reissue:

1. "Mississippi Rain" (Lottermoser) – 3:06
2. "What Goes On" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Richard Starkey) – 2:12

Charts

Chart (1971)	Peak position
Australian (Kent Music Report)	31 [9]
Canada (RPM)	56 [10]

Production

• Producer – William McEuen
• Recording Engineer – Woody Woodward
• Mixing – John McEuen/Jimmy Hoyson
• Art Direction – Dean Torrence/Kittyhawk Graphics
• Photography – William McEuen

2003 CD reissue with two additional tracks and new liner notes

• Interview and liner notes – Robyn Flans

References

The information in this article comes from the liner notes of the original LP^[11] and the 2003 CD reissue,^[12] unless otherwise noted.

1. Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy at AllMusic
2. ^{[dead link]}
3. "RPM Top 100 Singles - February 27, 1971" (PDF).
4. "RPM Top 100 Singles - June 26, 1971" (PDF).
5. "RPM Top 100 Singles - October 30, 1971" (PDF).
6. "James "Wee Willie" Wayne". Rockabilly.nl. 1955-05-27. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
7. "Travelin the High Way Home: Ralph Stanley and the World of Traditional Bluegrass Music", John Wright, University of Illinois Press ISBN 0-252-06478-X (1993)
8. "Clementi – Sonatina in C major, op.36, no.1". Pianopedia.com. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 219. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
10. "RPM Top 100 Albums - April 10, 1971 (pdf has date typo)" (PDF).
11. Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Liberty LST 7642 (1970) LP
12. Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Capitol 72435-41721-2-0 (2003) CD