The Grascals Celebrate Mayberry Music

The Grascals are taking advantage of one of the perks of the music business -- paying homage to one of their own beloved idols.

The band announces exclusively to The Boot the release of 'Dance 'til Your Stockings Are Hot and Ravelin' -- a musical tribute to Andy Griffith and the music he used on 'The Andy Griffith Show,' the beloved 1960s sitcom based in fictional Mayberry, N.C.

"We feel really good about it," Grascals' bassist Terry Smith tells The Boot of the album. "We had a lot of fun making it."

This isn't the first time the Grascals have celebrated the show. They partnered with the food group Mayberry's Finest on their 2010 tour and featured the brand during their performance at last year's 50th Anniversary celebration of the sitcom.

"The Grascals are just huge Andy Griffith fans," Terry says. "Especially me and (vocalist) Terry Eldridge. He can quote every episode."

"'The Andy Griffith Show' had a moral lesson that every human being should live by," Terry Eldredge adds. "It's an honor and privilege to be associated with the best TV show ever made. It was -- and still is -- awesome family entertainment."

The new CD project began when the band wrote what Terry Smith calls "a jingle" and came up with the song 'Boy Giraffes Are Selfish' -- a play on a line said by character Barney Fife, played by Don Knotts, in the 'Dogs, Dogs, Dogs' episode.

The rest of the album came together almost effortlessly with the band looking to recreate a lot of songs played by the bluegrass band the Dillards, called "the Darlins" on the show.

"We always watch all the episodes as much as possible. The key is what I heard Andy say once: they never tried to write a joke. They just tried to be characters and write story lines that let the characters live them," says Terry. "It's just a kick. It really is the greatest show of all time."

Although Terry says he has never met Andy, he did see him once at the Grand Ole Opry.

"He was backstage, standing 15 feet from me and he was surrounded by people. I was looking at him with awe. I grew up seeing his face," says Terry. "He looked over, caught my eye and shot me the Andy Griffith smile. It was just stunning."

'Dance 'til Your Stockings Are Hot and Ravelin' (A Tribute to the Music of the 'Andy Griffith Show')' is available digitally on March 29 and physically June 7 on BluGrascal Records, through a partnership with Saguaro Road Records and Time Life. For more information, check the Grascals' website.

The Grascals next scheduled concert is March 26 in Sodus, N.Y. For more concert information, check here.