The Tradition

More For the Good People In response to a piece in the April 2022 issue concerning the location of a church on the cover of a Stanley Brothers album, Vermonter Dan Linder wrote: “I’ve had that Stanley Bros gospel album, For the Good People, forever, but it never occurred to me to wonder where the…

Golden State Boys Blue Diamond Boys The Hillmen In 1954, Herb Rice and his wife Louise Poindexter packed up their three sons—Larry, Tony and Ron (in utero)—and left Danville, Virginia, for the Los Angeles area, settling in Downey. Herb was a master welder following the work and soon had a good job at Douglas Aircraft….

Roland White passed away on April 1, 2022, at age 83. All who knew him remember the standup guy he was—a warm, welcoming, humble, generous man of wide smile and sleeve-worn heart. And we all remember what an outstanding, innovative mandolinist he was. Having played for decades with many famous bands— with his brother, Clarence,…

Queries Q: Can you tell me who wrote and recorded “You Live in a World All Your Own”? I know that Bill Monroe recorded it but I assume it was a country song first. Thanks. Jerry Steinberg, Salem, Virginia. A: Bill Monroe recorded the song on November 30, 1960, and released it on the 1961…

That Traditional Bluegrass Sound In the February, 1967 edition of Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine, Pete Kuykendall wrote an editorial regarding the state of bluegrass music at that time.  He proposed that the bluegrass music that was recorded pre-1955 was “a preference across the country of almost ten to one.”  After making that statement, Kuykendall proceeded to…

Queries: Q: One of my favorite albums by Don Reno and Red Smiley is one on King Records called Good Old Country Ballads. The back of the album jacket has a photo credit to someone named Fernandez. No first name. That has always struck me as odd. Do you know who he is or anything…