The Tradition

A Sixty-Four Year Friendship Tight three-part vocal harmonies are a trademark of bluegrass music.  One of the most famous vocal trios to ever step on a bluegrass stage was formed in November of 1957 when Paul Williams joined J.D. Crowe and Jimmy Martin as a member of Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys.  …

By Some of the Best Musicians in Bluegrass My first opportunity to see J.D. Crowe perform was at the Stone Valley Bluegrass Festival, a short-lived event that took place in the late 1970s alongside the beautiful Whitewater River near West Harrison, Indiana. I did not get to meet Crowe, however, until almost 20 years later. …

A Short— But Brilliant— Bluegrass Career Don Bryant’s experience playing bluegrass in the mid-1950s would be the envy of any professional bluegrass musician.  In the span of just a few short years, Don performed with Benny and Vallie Cain, Bill Harrell, Mac Wiseman, and then for nearly three months he subbed for Earl Scruggs with…

Queries: Q – “Who is Carl E. Hoffman, who wrote ‘Ice Covered Birches,’ recorded by Cliff Waldron and the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys?  It’s a great song, IMO, and rather unusual. It is more complex than most traditional bluegrass songs. The 3/4 time, the powerfully descriptive imagery, the unusual subject matter (there aren’t many Alaskan bluegrass…

Queries Q: I heard a song “Hills of Jackson County” on the radio recently. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch name of the group. Can you help? DC, via email A: The name of the group is The Bluegrass Thoroughbreds. The song you heard was the title track from their debut album which came out in 1978….

I Believe In Truth But Not In Spite Photo by Doc Hamilton Sonny Osborne started writing a monthly Banjo Newsletter column, “Keep On The Sonny Side” in October 1977 and, by my unofficial count, he wrote 36 columns. Sonny would talk the column onto a tape and then editor Hub Nitchie would transcribe it. (Which…