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Cliff Waldron and the New Shades of Grass
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine April 1971, Volume 5, Number 10 Providing a strong lead voice and a rhythm guitar, Cliff Waldron maintains the position of front man. Handling bookings, M. C. work and any other business of the group. Cliff, a barber by trade, has achieved at 29 a driving manner of singing. His…
Bluegrass 45: “50 years Ago This Week” (Week 6)
During week six of their first US tour, we find Bluegrass 45 going back into the studio to record, traveling to Carlton Haney’s Bluegrass Park in Camp Springs, North Carolina, and watching Bill Monroe on television. At Camp Springs the band met Jimmy Haley and Louis Reid Pyrtle (Lou Reid) who were with the band…
Lynn Morris: She Will Be The Light
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine August 1999, Volume 34, Number 2 Lynn Morris didn’t grow up in a “Blue Ridge Mountain Home” nor under the “Blue Moon Of Kentucky.” She grew up far from bluegrass country on the flat, dusty plains of West Texas. She was surrounded by cowboys instead of coal miners, by pedal…
Bluegrass 45: “50 Years Ago This Week” Week 5
1971/7/15 Thursday — Rehearsal In the early evening we started rehearsing “Mocking Banjo” in the apartment but soon we realized we needed a bass so we drove over to Dick Freeland’s house and resumed rehearsing “Mocking Banjo” & “Fuji Mountain Breakdown.” Once we were done practicing, Dick played Ralph Stanley’s master tapes for his new…
The Rebirth of a Bluegrass Band: California
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine August 1992, Volume 27, Number 2 California is Byron Berline, champion fiddler; Dan Crary, flatpicking guitar master; John Hickman, banjo legend; Steve Spurgin, hit songwriter, vocalist and bassist and newcomer John Moore adding expert mandolin, guitar and vocals. Individually these artists are masters at their respective instruments, collectively they are…
The Country Gazette
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine November 1972, Volume 7, Number 5 With few established roots in the hierarchy of bluegrass music, The Country Gazette have entered the scene with the commercial clout to make a difference. Byron Berline never had much time to absorb the fiddle styles of any one person whether it be Chubby…