Articles

The “Pickin’ On” series on CMH Records may have started as a whim or a novelty, but after three decades and dozens of releases, it’s become a cottage industry.  By now, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and The Eagles have all been “picked on,” along with seemingly less likely candidates like The Doors, Green Day, The…

Two Masters of Flatpicking Join Forces Photos by Joshua Black Wilkins Years ago I wrote an article about Norman Blake and stated that if there were a Mt. Rushmore for flatpicking guitar, the players whose faces would be carved in that mountain would be Doc Watson, Clarence White, Dan Crary, Norman Blake and Tony Rice….

Quick! Name two of Chet Atkins’ hit singles. OK, one? Because of his decades-long success producing hits for other acts and in so doing co-creating with Owen Bradley the fabled “Nashville Sound,” Chet Atkins’ contributions as an artist in his own right have been routinely overshadowed. Yet by the time he died in 2001 at…

When festival season ends and you’re pining for those summer times where bluegrass tunes are wrapped around over-the-top corny comedy bits, you may not have to wait for the spring thaw. The Billy Boucher Bluegrass Band may just have the product for you. It’s hard to believe the band can sing with tongues planted so…

When Marty Falle writes, he thinks in records, not singles. “That’s what I believe the original singer-songwriter artist is all about,” he says. His formula, which works for him, is “to write the record: write what’s in your heart, in your experience.” To judge by the radio play and the number of tracks charting off…

Based in California, Suzy Thompson has had a solid career as both a singer, guitarist, and fiddle player. She was influenced by blues singers and players such as Memphis Minnie and Bessie Smith, and got her fiddle chops from such Cajun players like Dewey Balfa, Dennis McGee, and Wade Fruge. She has played with artists…