Articles

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…

David Peterson, a bonafide purveyor of the bluegrass spirit, delivers just that in his latest work Losing Game. There are stories of heartbreak, the country life, and many other facets to this album. Within all those things we find Peterson giving a pure transmission of Monroe’s spirit paired with the essence Hank Williams, while the…

Photo by Aaron Clark Photography Some family musical partnerships are marked as much by personal conflict as by blood harmony. This is not the case with The Petersens, a family bluegrass band that has become a favorite in Branson, Missouri. With four siblings as the core of the band, anchored by their parents, both musicians,…

by Molly Tuttle and Melody Walker “It’s about embracing what makes us unique,” said Molly Tuttle of her hit song, “Crooked Tree,” which, among other accolades, is this year’s winner by a large margin in the Bluegrass Unlimited Reader’s Poll (Favorite New Song Category).  Cowritten by Tuttle and Melody Walker (Front Country), “Crooked Tree” is the…

If you take an ailing bass fiddle into Bob Beerman’s shop for repairs, you feel as if you are entering an operating room. The instrument is gently laid upon a table in the back room then one employee examines the patient while another hovers with a clipboard jotting down its diagnosis. Beerman is the veteran…

Headwaters of a Legend Born December 30, 1937, in New York City, John Cowan Hartford grew up in St. Louis, Missouri where he cultivated a passion for the Mississippi River and music.  Upon seeing Flatt & Scruggs perform live at the Chain of Rocks Amusement Park in St. Louis in 1953, John was immediately drawn…