The Tradition

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…

Hugging The Hound Clyde Mattocks has a lifetime of stories. He remembers seeing Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys play 20-minute shows between cowboy films at his hometown theater.  He’s shared the stage with Ervin Rouse, composer of iconic “Orange Blossom Special.” Barely out of high school, Mattocks played the TV-and-schoolhouse circuit in both Carolinas. He…

Remembered by his Older Brother Bobby and his Friends in the Bluegrass World The first signs that bluegrass legend Sonny Osborne was in real trouble came with the announcement that he had experienced a stroke in late August of 2021. The reality of what was to come was further solidified when it was announced that…

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….

Bluegrass Innovator Seventy-five years ago the Stanley Brothers developed a distinctive sound in country music (a music that would later become known as bluegrass).  Carter’s lead voice, sparse rhythm guitar style and songwriting combined with Ralph’s soulful tenor voice and distinct approach to the five-string banjo to deliver a unique style of bluegrass music that…

Bluegrass  Incubator Many times, people who are known as but a footnote in history actually have vibrant lives that belie their postscript status. Such is the case with Roy Sykes, whose claim to fame is that his band, the Blue Ridge Mountain Boys, provided the career launch pad for Stanley Brothers. Less well known is…