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IssueM Articles
New Brand Of Misery
Carl Bentley was originally from Eastern Kentucky and grew up in a musical family. While honing his singing skills, he also developed a fondness and talent for songwriting. Unfortunately, he was in an auto accident in 1966 that almost ended his life. After his recovery, he started performing bluegrass music while working in software development….
A Singular Fiddler and More: The Music and Times of Jim Lunsford
Part Two: Early Bluegrass Fiddling, Music Row Songwriting, and a Creative Family Band Fiddler Jim Lunsford’s musical pursuit of excellence and innovation in music took him all over the map, from his native Southeast to Nashville’s music industry, from California’s dancehalls to Vietnam’s U.S. military bases. By the early 1950s, some of the musicians Lunsford…
The Stability and Versatility of The Seldom Scene
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine July 1980, Volume 15, Number 1 Many years ago, John Duffey attended the annual auction of a post office selling items lost or unclaimed in the mail. Through a low bid, he acquired a large box of broken musical instruments. There among the damaged treasures was Duffey’s first mandolin. In…
The Sullivan Family — Goodwill Ambassadors of Bluegrass Gospel
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine October 1980, Volume 15, Number 4 The Sullivan Family of St. Stephens, Alabama, represent a synthesis of two of the strongest and most vital American musics: gospel and bluegrass. It is a powerful combination, the melding of these two musical styles, and the driving, emotional music of the Sullivan Family…
Barry Poss and Sugar Hill Records
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine October 1982, Volume 17, Number 4 Ten years ago, if a gypsy fortune teller had told Barry Poss that he would someday run a small but successful record company with the unlikely name of “Sugar Hill,” he probably would have laughed and asked for his money back. Ten years and…
Alison Krauss & Union Station—Flight Plan Paper Airplane Lands AKUS Back On The Bus
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine October 2011, Volume 46, Number 4 When rock’s Golden God met the Grammys’ all-time winning woman, he had something on his mind. “My first conversation with Robert (Plant) in person was about Ralph Stanley,” Alison Krauss says, sipping tea in the kitchen of her Nashville home. “I loved that. Robert’s…