Gary Ferguson
Color His Songs Red, White, And Blue And Emerald Green
“Around 1990, [Rebel Records owner] Dave Freeman asked if I had any songs I’d like to send to Larry Sparks,” Ferguson recalls. “I sent ten songs. One day I received a letter from Larry Sparks. He said he liked about eight of those songs, and asked if I could send lyrics. He recorded ‘Last Day at Gettysburg’ and ‘Don’t Know Why’ on his 2005 CD, Blue Mountain Memories. Two more Ferguson compositions, “I’m Really Leaving” and a second Civil War ballad, “Henry Hill,” are featured on Sparks’ 2019 release, “New Moon Over My Shoulder.”
Originally from Maryland, Gary and his wife Taffy “Taf” have lived 37 years in the same 1840 farm house in Littlestown, some 10 miles from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Chamberlain marched his Union troops past the house on the way to battle on Little Big Top in 1863. Living amidst Civil War history, inspired by frequent hikes around the battlefield and a stint as extra in the 1993 film Gettysburg, Ferguson has found the drama of the battle and its protagonists a rich source of ideas for songwriting.
Other bluegrass artists have turned to Ferguson for material. “Gettysburg” has found its way into the repertoires of Billy Strings and others in the U.S. and Europe. Cliff Waldron and Paul Adkins each recorded Ferguson’s “Don’t Know Why.” And last fall, Gary released his 13th CD, Ferguson’s Farewell; The Irish Connection, a twelve-track album of co-writes with fifteen of Ireland’s most accomplished singers and songwriters.
Early Career
The seeds of Ferguson’s interest in bluegrass were planted in 1977 when he attended North Carolina’s Union Grove festival. He returned home and began to immerse himself in the music and lore of bluegrass. In 1985, he joined the band of former Jimmy Martin alumnus, Chris Warner. A few years later, he assembled a “pick-up” band that included Ronnie and Robbie McCoury. “I always tried to surround myself with pickers who were better than me to make me sound better,” he says modestly.
The Gary Ferguson Band formed in 1987, and released its first CD, Thinkin’ ‘Bout You in 1990. Without You followed in 1992. The title track and album each peaked at number two on the bluegrass charts. The next year, an IBMA showcase led to a recording contract with Pinecastle, and the 1995 CD I’m Really Leaving, featuring Ferguson on guitar and lead vocals, Fred Travers (Dobro), Ron Pennington (mandolin and guitar), James Bailey (banjo), and Tom Gray (bass).
Together, the talented quintet crafted luminous atmospheres for Ferguson’s songs, delivered by Gary in a voice as soothing as a cup of hot tea with honey on a frosty winter morn. The lead track, a cover of Mick Hanly’s “Past the Point of Rescue” reached number two on the Bluegrass Unlimited song chart, and the album ascended to the same position on the album chart. The band also played a variety of prestigious venues, including Grey Fox, Merlefest, Strawberry and Gettysburg festivals, along with dates at the Kennedy Center and The Birchmere.
Travers left Ferguson in 1995 to join Seldom Scene. The loss of Travers was a temporary setback; undeterred, Ferguson assembled a second band with Ned Luberecki (banjo and guitar), Ron Pennington (mandolin) and Tom Gray continued on bass. In 1999, they released Timberline.
A short-lived pairing with Sally Love released Our Old Home in 2002. Gary Ferguson and Friends issued the “Live at Podunk” CD in 2007. Recorded at the 2005 Podunk Bluegrass Festival in Connecticut, the friends consisted of Mike Auldridge, Ron Stewart, Gail Wade, Kene Hyatt, Marc Roy, and Emory Lester. Gary also initiated a series of duet concert and recording projects featuring Auldridge, Jordan Tice, Junior Barber, and Alexandria, Virginia’s Gary Alan Ferguson (no relation).
The Irish Connection
From 2005 through 2019, Ferguson found a new audience for his songs and performances across the “pond” on the Emerald Isle. In Ireland, music, poetry, and storytelling are ubiquitous as peat bogs and pints of Guinness. In the footsteps of W.B. Yeats, James Joyce, and Brendan Behan, today’s wordsmiths find inspiration in the country’s majestic mountains, craggy coastline, colorful characters, and the verdurous landscape Johnny Cash sang of in “Forty Shades of Green.”
Ferguson’s decision to tour Ireland came about through a chance encounter with Bluegrass Ireland Blog editor, Richard Hawkins, of Dublin. “I was attending IBMA around 2003, walking around Louisville looking for a place to eat,” Ferguson recalls. “I heard someone with an accent calling to me. It was Richard Hawkins. He asked when I was coming to Ireland. I said, ‘If you line up a tour, I’ll come.’
“Richard got in touch with Tony O’Brien, who produced the Athy Bluegrass Festival in County Kildare. Tony lined up a 14-gig tour in 2005, the 25th wedding anniversary of Taf and me.” With Taf along to celebrate, Gary launched the tour with duet partner, Gail Wade. “I just fell in love with Ireland, the people, and the music,” he says.
Gary’s Ireland tours featured performances at pubs, house concerts, and arts centers. Together, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are about the size of the state of Indiana; Ferguson discovered traveling to and from gigs a relatively carefree task. “Doing gigs in Ireland is so easy compared to here, even if they’re back-to-back days,” Ferguson says. “East to west is only four hours, and north to south is only nine. The average between gigs was a three-hour drive.”
In the early years, Gary was accompanied by resophonic guitarist David Miner as duet partner. Sadly, Miner suffered a fatal heart attack a few months before the 2008 tour. Gary contacted guitarist/Dobroist Colin Henry of Belfast, and the two began a summer tour schedule that endured until 2019. Ferguson became friends with Henry and his talented wife, Janet (Holmes) Henry. They toured together and in 2009 recorded the CD, Ferguson, Holmes and Henry.
Determined that 2018 would be his final Ireland tour, the last gig was held at the Red Room in Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Before the final bow, Gary was met with a surprise request. “Colin asked if I would mind leaving the stage. Then Colin and [his son] James played an instrumental Colin had just written, called “Ferguson’s Farewell.” It was a lovely coda to years of shows, friendships, and good times on the Emerald Isle. Or so he thought.
Ferguson returned to Pennsylvania content to put Ireland behind him. Until, that is, “A friend called me and said, ‘Would you go to Ireland if I bought your airplane ticket?’ That was an offer too good to turn down.” Gary returned to Ireland in 2019.
Back home in Littlestown, Ferguson listened to Colin Henry’s composition. “I thought, this is a really nice tune. It’s a shame to just let it sit. I’ve met a lot of people in Ireland over the years. Why not get some folks to do some cowriting and turn it into an album? I approached Colin, and he thought it was a good idea.”
Throughout his years of touring, Ferguson had performed and written with many of Ireland’s most accomplished musicians and songwriters. Those connections became the springboard for the project. “I approached everybody individually and asked if they would like to be a part of it,” Ferguson says. The result is the twelve-track CD, Ferguson’s Farewell: The Irish Connection (Bell Buckle Records), released September 2021.
Ferguson is credited as co-writer on all but Henry’s closing title track. Collaborators include Ireland’s “Bluegrass Godfather” Niall Toner on the pastoral lead track, “Myshall Morning Melody,” Northern Ireland’s Janet Henry (“Broken Wing”), acclaimed singer-songwriters Charlie McGettigan (“Gettin’ Old”) and Roy Thompson (“To Say So Long”). While most tracks would classify as Americana, Donna and Joe Murray’s up-tempo “Ballad of Benny Freeman” is unmistakably bluegrass. Others may qualify, or be adapted to Ireland’s more expansive definition of the genre.
The album has been warmly received in Ireland. Ronnie Norton, Dublin radio host and alumnus of IBMA’s Leadership Bluegrass program, writes, “Absolutely loving this album. Such a variety of artists and styles. Best Irish singer-songwriter album in years.”
Belfast’s Colin Henry offers that in Ireland the album has been “well received. I always thought it was a great selling point the fact that it was an album of Irish writers co-writing with an American. There are some great tunes on it and some great Irish writers. Everybody was very enthusiastic about it.”
Communication among contributors was accomplished by email and mp3s. Irish writers sent unfinished candidates to Ferguson, who filled in the blanks or crafted music to fit the song. “All things considered, the project went very smoothly,” Ferguson says. “There was music coming from Ron Stewart in Indiana, Emory Lester in Canada, from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ireland. Recording, mixing and mastering was done in the U.S. by George Hodgkiss and in Ireland by Joe Murray; they also produced the CD. They were the key people behind this project,” Ferguson says. “It would not have happened without them.”
Henry agrees. “When you consider the range of artists involved and their locations in America and Ireland, George Hodgkiss and Joe Murray were brilliant. It was remarkably smooth. I’ve recorded with Joe many times. He’s so relaxed. There’s never the remotest bit of fuss with Joe. He was a major person in all of this because he drew a lot of people together.”
With the Ferguson’s Farewell project behind him, the songwriter continues to pursue the art he’s known and loved for some forty years, crafting words and music for himself and others to hear. Recent collaborators include Tim Stafford, Bob Tobin, Brent Moyer, Rick Lang, and Mark Brinkman. He does an occasional writers-in-the-round performance, and is hoping to do small tours of New England in the fall and the South in the spring.
Wherever Gary Ferguson goes from here, it’s a safe bet he won’t be idle. If there’s a song to be found, Gary will find it, write it, and send it along for the world to savor and enjoy.
For a full listing of album credits and notes for Ferguson’s Farewell, go to https://gunnysackmusic.com
