The Archives
John Hickman
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineMay 1975, Volume 9, Number 11 If you happened to catch the first Smothers Brothers Show as I did, no doubt you remember a certain segment where a quiet, somewhat lanky banjo picker awaited patiently in the shadows until, at last, the proper cue was given, the stage lights turned up,…
Carl Jackson: Musical Dream Maker
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineApril 2018, Volume 52, Number 10 Carl Jackson is a musical architect, bridge builder, and dreamer. He’s a one-of-a-kind man; a humble networker who enriches the lives of others. Jackson’s mantra is, “With each dream that becomes a reality, a new dream lies ahead.” Many of his dreams have come true….
The Jackson Five—Bluegrass Style
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineJuly 1972, Volume 7, Number 1 Imagine, if you can, a big-name bluegrass band—one which usually has a superior banjo player—stepping out onto the stage to greet their cheering, enthusiastic fans. With them is a new banjo player—very new—like, 14 years old, and a complete unknown. The fans are more than…
Hylo Brown: The Bluegrass Balladeer
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineAugust 1974, Volume 9, Number 2 Some two decades ago, a young Kentucky-born factory worker from Springfield, Ohio, went to Nashville, in hopes of getting an established country singer to record a song he had written. Although he had made something of a reputation as a part-time performer around local radio…
Lester Flatt & The Nashville Grass
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineJanuary 1971, Volume 5, Number 7 “I’ve always wanted to do what we are doing now,” says Lester Flatt about his new approach to his music. The band currently features Buck “Uncle Josh” Graves, Jack Tullock and Paul Warren, plus two former Blue Grass Boys in the person of Roland White…
Larry Sparks
Reprinted From Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineApril 1983—Volume 17, Number 10 The Larry Sparks story begins September 25, 1947, in Lebanon, Ohio, just across the Kentucky line. Larry is the youngest of nine children of Eva and Charlie Sparks; all the children played guitar at least a little, and his grandfather Lewison Dose Russell was an old-time…