The Archives
The Goins Brothers: Melvin and Ray—Maintaining The Lonesome Pine Fiddler Tradition
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineMay 1974, Volume 8, Number 11 In the early years of bluegrass, a large number of combinations rather quickly took up the style being popularized by Bill Monroe and his band. While it is true that most of the elements of the bluegrass style had been around for several years and…
Berline, Crary and Hickman—Part 1
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineSeptember 1980, Volume 15, Number 3 Your first reaction is a sinking feeling. It’s a little akin to emerging from a crowded bus station with the sudden awareness of empty space in the hip pocket customarily occupied by your wallet. Berline, Crary and Hickman tune their instruments—fiddle, guitar and banjo respectively—and…
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…