The Archives

The Kentucky Mountain Boys performing together on stage.

Bluegrass In The Cocktail Lounge

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine February 1969, Volume 3, Number 8 In the past there have been many different outlets for bluegrass music — radio, TV, school-house shows, tent shows, bars and parks, to name a few. The list has, in recent years, shrunk appreciably to the point where, in many areas, the only source…

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JD Crowe cover of Bluegrass Unlimited

Breakthrough In Bluegrass Repertoire

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine October 1970, Volume 5, Number 4 Having never seen J. D. Crowe and the Kentucky Mountain Boys in person, I was looking forward to their appearance at Carlton Haney’s Labor Day Weekend Festival. When they mounted the stage, I was not disappointed. In addition to their considerable instrumental and vocal…

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Archived Bluegrass Unlimited Cover

John Hartford: Living His Dreams

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineJune, 1985. Volume 19, Number 12 The photograph John Hartford considers his favorite tells a lot about the man. It depicts him standing between two of the biggest influences on his life, Earl Scruggs and his fifth grade teacher, Miss Ruth Ferris. You also need to know about his modesty. Listen:…

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Bluegrass Unlimited Cover

John Hartford

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…

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Black and white cover of Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine

The Better half of Jim and Jesse & Va. Boys

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…

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Jesse McReynolds – Still Going After 68 Years in Bluegrass

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….

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