In this week's episode we're featuring a 2002 independent album whose name says it all from Missouri's Leland Martin: Simply Traditional. Born into an impoverished family with eight siblings in the ironically named Success, Missouri, Leland Martin learned how to pick the guitar early on and wound up working some pretty rough venues with his younger brother as teens. Following his marriage at seventeen, Martin took a job at a sawmill and later as a truck driver, picking music on the weekends and building a loyal following around the area. A brief stint as lead guitarist with Freddie Hart in the early 80s revealed that a musician's life on the road wasn't for Martin, but it took another fifteen years before his first album materialised. IGO Records took a chance on the 45-year-old in 2002 and Simply Traditional received enough of a response for a series of follow-up albums. If I Had Long Legs (Like Alan Jackson) was a fun, who's-who of 90s country (and also a minor chart hit); Wanda Vick's melancholic dobro punctuates the big-rig themed Stone Cold Fingers (a topic Martin knows something about); the steel-dreched wordplay of Freddie's Hart was enough to have Martin's one-time boss join in on duet vocals. An excellent independent album from Leland Martin warrants the spotlight this week on Simply Traditional.

HOUR 1: 

1. Leland Martin – If I Had Long Legs (Like Alan Jackson) (2002)
2. Floyd Tillman – Empty Glass (1962)
3. Ernest Tubb – Slippin’ Around (1958)
4. Floyd Tillman – Mr. Bottle (1962)
5. Johnny Bush & Floyd Tillman – They Took The Stars Out Of Heaven (2004)
6. Daryl Mosley – Transistor Radio (2021)
BUMPER: Buck Owens – Orange Blossom Special
7. Alex Miller – Don’t Let The Barn Door Hit Ya (2021)
8. Leland Martin – Simply Traditional (2002)
9. Leland Martin & Freddie Hart – Freddie’s Heart (2002)
10. Joe Bonson & Coffee Run – Whiskey Stops Talkin’ (2009)
11. IIIrd Tyme Out – My Little Home In Tennessee (1995)
12. Gerge Strait – Love Without End, Amen (1990)
13. George Strait – I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name (1983)
 
HOUR 2: 

1. Charley Pride – Take Care Of The Little Things (1969)
2. AUSSIE INJECTION: Rod Odgers – Where’s Ayr (1991)
3. AUSSIE INJECTION: Rod Odgers – The Dengue Fever Mossie (1991)
4. Leland Martin – Stone Cold Fingers (2002)
5. Leland Martin – Don’t Ya Think (2002)
6. Hank Thompson – Old Napoleon (1965)
7. Lamar Morris – These Lonely Hands Of Mine (1968)
8. Charly McClain – Leanin’ On The Bottle (Slowly Falling Down) (1977)
9. COUNTRY COVERS: Ray Price – Don’t Do This To Me (1957)
10. COUNTRY COVERS: George Jones – You Done Me Wrong (1965)
11. COUNTRY COVERS: Hank Williams, Jr. – Darling, You Know I Wouldn’t Lie (1969)
12. SHOT OF STEEL: Freddie Hart – Only You (1968)
13. SHOT OF STEEL: Freddie Hart – What Took You So Long (1968)
14. Leland Martin – What A Friend We Have In Jesus (2002)
15. Leland Martin – Second Door On The Right (1998)
 
HOUR 3: If That Ain’t Country’s Year In Country Music – 1955

1. Hank Snow – I’m Movin’ In
2. Faron Young – If You Ain’t Lovin’ (You Ain’t Livin’)
3. Tommy Collins – It’s Nobody’s Fault But Yours
4. Porter Wagoner – A Satisfied Mind
5. Brad Marro – Heart Of Gold
6. Faron Young – Go Back, You Fool
7. Merle Travis – Turn My Picture To The Wall
8. Wade Ray – The Albino Stallion
9. Justin Tubb – I Gotta Go Get My Baby
10. Jim & Jesse – Tears Of Regret
11. Billy Walker & Jeanette Hicks – Which One Of Us Is To Blame
12. George Jones – Why Baby Why
13. Jimmy Work – Puttin’ On The Dog (Tom Cattin’ Around)
14. Carl Smith – Loose Talk
15. Kitty Wells – I’m In Love With You
16. Jimmy Collie – I’m Not Giving Up That Easy