The Tradition

The Long Strange Trip of Spud, Dawg, Red, Mule and Vassar Jerry Garcia’s burning ambition as a young musician was to play banjo in Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys. He never made it, and had to satisfy himself with being the leader of one of the most successful and beloved bands in rock music, the…

My Friend, Carter It all happened by accident. These things have a way of starting out like that. I hadn’t planned it, and I wasn’t looking for it . . . but “it” changed my life forever. Now “it” is kinda hard to describe. The easy part, it was a piece of vinyl shoved in…

Famed fiddler and king of the double stops, Bobby Hicks, celebrated his 90th birthday in July. Due to problems with his balance and a torn rotator cuff, the fiddle icon can no longer drag the bow, but he has quite the story to tell of his lifetime in the music industry.  Growing up in central…

Q: I was just listening to Bill Monroe’s recording of “Christmas Time’s a-Comin’” and I would swear I could hear the unmistakable voice of Del McCoury in the harmony. The song was recorded in 1951, can you shed some light on this? Dallas Hudson, Charlotte NC A: You are correct that Bill Monroe recorded the…

Don Stover’s Banjo Recently, Bluegrass Unlimited editor Dan Miller conducted an interview with singer/songwriter Jim Lauderdale for a BU podcast. During their discussion, the subject of Don Stover’s banjo came up, and whatever happened to it. The banjo appeared on a number of Don’s albums from the early 1970s, most notable was the classic Things…

The Earl Scruggs Center Launches a New Exhibit in 2024 January 6th, 2024, will mark 100 years since the birth of banjo legend Earl Scruggs.  This milestone provides all bluegrass music fans a reason to look back and remember Earl’s contribution to the banjo and to bluegrass. The Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby, North Carolina,…