The Archives
Electric Bluegrass
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…
The Return of Donna Stoneman—First Lady of the Mandolin
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…
On The Road with Tony Rice
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine April 2006. Volume 40, Number 10 For several years, Tim Stafford (songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist for Blue Highway) has been working on the authorized biography of flatpicking guitar pioneer Tony Rice, collecting interviews with dozens of Tony’s peers and friends in the bluegrass community. In 2003, journalist Caroline Wright asked…
His First Love, The Guitar: Tony Rice
October 2002, Volume 37, Number 4 A lot of people were heartbroken when Tony Rice stopped singing. But he was not one of them. “I don’t worry about it as much as people think,” he says offhandedly. “The guitar was always the main thing for me. I spent four years with David Grisman where I…
Tony Rice: A Distinct Talent
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine August 1989. Volume 24, Number 2 Perhaps no other single artist in this decade has had the impact on the broad genre of contemporary acoustic music than Tony Rice—the consummate folk musician whose stylistic command has gained him diverse groups of admirers as well as imitators all over the landscape….
Tony Rice: East Meets West
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine October 1977. Volume 12, Number 4 It was a hot September evening in Louisville, Kentucky seven years ago when I first met a skinny teenage guitar player named Tony Rice. He had just landed his first job with a full-time bluegrass band and was obviously totally immersed in music. Tony’s…