The Archives
Joe Mullins—It’s Going To Swell Your Heart
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine July 1995, Volume 30, Number 1 Joe Mullins is passionate about bluegrass music. And he loves to share that passion with others, much, one gathers, as his musician father, Paul, originally did with him, 25 years ago. These days the two of them are kindling the flames of bluegrass fervor…
Raymond Fairchild—Making His Own Way
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine March 1982, Volume 16, Number 9 They call him “The Old Man of the Mountains.” At the spry age of forty-two, that makes Raymond Fairchild a rather youthful “old man.” No matter. The mountains can age you before your time and Raymond has lived far enough back in the Smoky…
The Country Gentleman—In The Truest Sense
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine June 1984, Volume 18, Number 12 Good as Gold and fine as diamonds, worth its weight in waiting for …” The sounds that ring through the capacity-filled hall are familiar to the cheering fans. The sounds have been produced, recorded, and enjoyed for over 26 years. There have been several…
Porter Church—“If you can’t use a roll on it, it doesn’t sound right to me.”
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine January 1986, Volume 20, Number 7 He’s rarely played in public over the past two decades, and he’s not on many records, but Porter Church remains among the most eloquent of five-string banjo players. I may as well say it: in my opinion, when it comes to “golden era” bluegrass…
Red and Murphy & Co.
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine January 1980, Volume 14, Number 7 The family band is a noble, long-standing tradition in bluegrass and traditional country music, extending back even further than the Carter Family, quite possibly as far back as the beginning of the string band itself. Today, the family unit is as strong as ever…
Norman Blake
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine November 1982, Volume 17, Number 5 Norman Blake is as close to being a “star” as a musician can get in the field of old-time acoustic music. With the aid of a single-minded sense of where he wanted his music to go; and of dedicated hard work that would satisfy…