Articles

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineMay 1975, Volume 9, Number 11 If you happened to catch the first Smothers Brothers Show as I did, no doubt you remember a certain segment where a quiet, somewhat lanky banjo picker awaited patiently in the shadows until, at last, the proper cue was given, the stage lights turned up,…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineApril 2018, Volume 52, Number 10 Carl Jackson is a musical architect, bridge builder, and dreamer. He’s a one-of-a-kind man; a humble networker who enriches the lives of others. Jackson’s mantra is, “With each dream that becomes a reality, a new dream lies ahead.” Many of his dreams have come true….

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineJuly 1972, Volume 7, Number 1 Imagine, if you can, a big-name bluegrass band—one which usually has a superior banjo player—stepping out onto the stage to greet their cheering, enthusiastic fans. With them is a new banjo player—very new—like, 14 years old, and a complete unknown. The fans are more than…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited MagazineAugust 1974, Volume 9, Number 2 Some two decades ago, a young Kentucky-born factory worker from Springfield, Ohio, went to Nashville, in hopes of getting an established country singer to record a song he had written. Although he had made something of a reputation as a part-time performer around local radio…

A Music Seldom Heard Written By Dale McCurry with Bambi Grinder “Make it about the music,” Mike Smith implores. “Don’t make it about me. It’s about the music.” Mike said this in preparation for a story I was to write about him a decade or so ago. I remember he followed me to the parking…

Photo by Eleanor Wilkie Matt Flinner was touring nationally in a bluegrass band as a pre-teen.  Around 1980, Ted Shupe of Ogden, Utah formed a band of 10-year-olds around his fiddle-playing son, Ryan (now with Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband) and they called themselves the Pee Wee Pickers.   The band’s talent earned them spots…