The Tradition

Carter Stanley

Story Telling, Friendship and Carter Stanley

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…

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Kenny Baker, Bobby Hicks, and Bryon Berline at the 1975 Dick Tyner’s Golden West Bluegrass Festival. Photo by Sue & John Averill, courtesy of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum.

Bobby Hicks Reflects On His Career

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…

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Ray Davis about the time of his record releases for the DC and Marshall labels.

Notes & Queries – February 2024

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…

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The Dave Young Show in the studios of radio station WGCB in Red Lion, Pennsylvania, 1955. Left to right: William Boeckel, J. D. Himes, Dave Young, and Bobby Diamond.

Notes & Queries – January 2024

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…

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Horace and Earl Scruggs playing a tune in Flint Hill, North Carolina. Courtesy of the Family of Horace Scruggs.

Celebrating Earl Scruggs at 100

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,…

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Jerry Douglas and Tony Rice at IBMA in 2013 Photo by Todd Gunsher

Jerry Douglas Speaks

Editor’s Note:  This article is a continuation of the excerpt from the Jerry Douglas chapter of Bill Amatneek’s new book Discovering Tony Rice.  The first half ran in the December 2023 issue.  Regarding his interview with Jerry, Bill said, “Jerry Douglas was one of the most insightful people whom I interviewed for Discovering Tony Rice,…

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