The Archives
The Making of Rounder 0044
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine September 2015, Volume 50, Number 3 Four decades ago, J.D. Crowe & the New South went into the studio to record one of bluegrass music’s most influential albums. The band consisted of J.D. Crowe, Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Douglas, Tony Rice, and Bobby Slone, and their 1975 eponymous album is commonly…
The Travelin’ McCourys Blaze Their Own Trail
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine June 2010, Volume 44, Number 12 The Travelin’ McCourys have a couple things they’d like you to know. First, despite rumors, Del is alive and well and not planning to retire for a long, long time. Second, they’re getting tired of those “Del-less” McCoury Band jokes. It all started a…
The Virginia Squires — Show Band Extraordinary
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine January 1985, Volume 19, Number 7 In terms of superior musicianship, highly skilled vocal arrangements and broad audience appeal, the Virginia Squires are absolutely unsurpassed as a contemporary bluegrass show band and a tough act to follow in any musical environment. Members of the Virginia Squires describe their music as…
The Seldom Scene — All This And Fun, Too
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine December 1994, Volume 29, Number 6 The Seldom Scene got together with the avowed purpose of “playing for fun,” the band’s bio reads. “Yet, with this band’s tremendous aggregation of talent, it’s hardly surprising that what started as their ‘weekly card game’ soon became a sustaining career.” Twenty-three years later,…
The Stability and Versatility of The Seldom Scene
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine July 1980, Volume 15, Number 1 Many years ago, John Duffey attended the annual auction of a post office selling items lost or unclaimed in the mail. Through a low bid, he acquired a large box of broken musical instruments. There among the damaged treasures was Duffey’s first mandolin. In…
The Sullivan Family — Goodwill Ambassadors of Bluegrass Gospel
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine October 1980, Volume 15, Number 4 The Sullivan Family of St. Stephens, Alabama, represent a synthesis of two of the strongest and most vital American musics: gospel and bluegrass. It is a powerful combination, the melding of these two musical styles, and the driving, emotional music of the Sullivan Family…