The Archives

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine October 1979, Volume 14, Number 4 Regardless of how one has been introduced to John Hartford and his music: From back in the ‘sixties when he was appearing with the Smothers Brothers and Glen Campbell, through Campbell’s enormously successful version of “Gentle On My Mind” (not to mention recordings by…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineAugust 1970, Volume 5, Number 2 For the last few years Jim & Jesse have been perched precariously between the two kinds of music which, for some reason, seem to have the bitterest resentments toward each other. “Jim & Jesse have gone country” is the angry cry—”tune ‘em out!” So as…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine December 2015, Volume 50, Number 6 IBMA Hall Of Famer Jesse McReynolds certainly has nothing to prove after devoting 68 years to bluegrass music. He easily could have decided to retire from the business and rested on his accomplishments as one half of the famous bluegrass duo Jim & Jesse….

Re-printed from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineAugust 1975, Volume 10, Number 2 The festival crowd, hot and sweaty, musters up some more energy and gives the departing group a good hand like the MC implores them to do. And as the audience consults their programs, a wave of excitement spreads through the crowd. The MC is building…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineMarch, 1969, Volume 3, Number 9 I was a witness to the Osborne Brothers recent debut in my area with all electric instruments. Sonny had a super secret pickup inside his banjo that no one was allowed to see. To make certain of this, he actually had his resonator attached with…

Re-printed from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine June, 1983,   Volume 17, Number 12 Back in 1971, Bluegrass Unlimited conducted a poll asking readers to list their favorites among pickers of standard bluegrass instruments plus lead, and tenor vocalists. Significantly, when the results were announced that December, all but one who placed in the top ten in…