The Archives

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine October 1978, Volume 13, Number 4 In 1967, in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, a barbershop closed. Now, ordinarily, the demise of a barbershop in the Recording Capital of the World, or anywhere, wouldn’t create much stir. But the closing of this particular establishment caused a collective sigh of relief from bluegrass…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine April 1975, Volume 9, Number 10 Introduction: B.R. “Pete” Kirby, better known by millions as Bashful Brother Oswald of Roy Acuffs Smoky Mountain Boys, is truly a remarkable performer. Oswald was one of the first to develop the Dobro sound, and during the thirty-eight years he has been with Roy…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine October 1975, Volume 10, Number 4 For the last four decades the name of Charles Pendleton Monroe has ranked high on the list of those who have made important contributions to old-time, traditional, country music. First, as a member of the famous Monroe Brothers duet; and second, as a vocalist…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine May 1972, Volume 6, Number 11 Husband and wife singing teams, while not uncommon in Country-Western music, are very unusual in bluegrass. Probably one of the best known such team are Benny and Vallie Cain, who have, for more than twenty years, performed their own distinctive brand of music; a…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine February 1986, Volume 20, Number 8 East Tennessee, the late 1950s, a boy just entering adolescence chops a borrowed mandolin, hoping to find the same licks he heard Bill Monroe play on the Opry the Saturday night before. The boy summons up the courage to wrap the mandolin in a…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine November 1980, Volume 15, Number 5 “I’ve always been a pusher,” allows Doyle Lawson matter-of-factly. “If I’m doin’ good, I want to do better. I’ve never been as good as I want to be—as good as I can be. I hope I never get as good as I want to…