The Tradition

Porter Church And Kevin Church Father And Son Porter Church left a grand legacy of musicianship and performance in the Washington, DC area. An extensive biography of him written by Fred Geiger appeared in the January, 1986 edition of Bluegrass Unlimited. Here are some of the highlights of his life and career and the story…

Photos Courtesy of Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum In the summer of 1972, Mark Jones, son of Grandpa Jones, auditioned to perform at the newly-opened Opryland theme park in Nashville, Tennessee. He had practiced his chosen number on the banjo, working out solos high on the neck. Before auditioning, he ran his performance…

Q: I have a question that I have been looking to have answered for years. Most people agree that the “Salty Dog” is/was a road house/tavern/speak-easy. The song “Salty Dog Blues” is an old bluegrass favorite with more than one person claiming authorship. After some investigation I have determined that the likely author(s) are the…

Queries Q: I have a question about the photo of The Traveler album by the Country Gentlemen [Rebel SLP-1481, 1968]. According to my friends, the photo was taken in the Shenandoah River in 1968. I think this photo was modified later because it’s hard to believe that four big men with very expensive instruments would…

When watching a musical performance, people generally focus solely on the artist(s). Little thought is given to the promoters, the sound/technical crew, the songwriters, the managers/booking agents, the bus drivers, and everyone else behind the scenes that make it all happen. It takes a village. In bluegrass music, Fred Bartenstein is a mayor of one…

Bluegrass is a genre of music that’s been evolving since it first came out of the oven.  The original recipe created by master chef Bill Monroe had five cornerstone ingredients:  mandolin, guitar, fiddle, banjo, and bass.  When Josh Graves joined Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs in the Foggy Mountain Boys in 1955, he introduced a…