The Tradition

One day in 1953, Earl Scruggs answered a knock at the door of his suburban Nashville house. Standing there was a sixteen-year-old kid with a banjo and a grin as wide as the Mississippi River. It was Doug Dillard, and he wanted to know if Scruggs would sell him a set of “Scruggs tuners,” a…

Fifty Years Ago a Landmark Band was Formed and a Guitar Legend Passed Muleskinner The story of the legendary, extremely-short-lived band Muleskinner began fifty years ago when fiddler Richard Greene received a phone call from the public television station in Los Angeles. The station asked Greene to put together an all-star band of younger bluegrass musicians…

San Francisco’s Bluegrass Home In 1969, a man bought a bar in San Francisco. The man was Paul Lampert and the bar was a run-down joint called the Paragon, located at 3251 Scott Street in San Francisco’s Marina District. After a remodeling job, the bar reopened, reborn as Paul’s Saloon, with seating for slightly more…

March 3rd, 2023 would have been Doc Watson’s 100th birthday.  His influence on bluegrass and old-time music is undeniable. For guitar players, learning to flatpick Doc’s version of “Blackberry Blossom” and fingerpick “Deep River Blues” was almost considered a rite of passage.  Countless players spent countless hours slowing Doc’s records down so they could steal…

Queries  I just borrowed a copy of a release on John’s Gospel Records, RI-1635, 12” vinyl 33 1/3 RPM.  Side A appears to be the Stanley Brothers with the same song list as Wango 103, while Side B is Clyde Moody, the Tate Brothers & the Gospel Trio, along with recitations by Ray Davis.  There…

Q: I’m trying to find out who the Foggy Mountain Boys were who played on the original “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” Thanks. Arthur Liblit, via email. A: According to research by Neil Rosenberg that was published in the booklet to a 1991 Bear Family boxed set of Flatt & Scruggs recordings, the personnel on the original…