Articles

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine May 1987, Volume 21, Number 11 Among the musicians who pioneered in the development of bluegrass music, one of the most gifted and enduring was “Smilin’ ” Jim Eanes from Martinsville, Virginia. His contributions to the music are many, both in terms of fronting a very popular and successful band…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine January 1991, Volume 25, Number 7 The great Dobroist LeRoy (Mack) McNees, best known as a member of the Kentucky Colonels from the late ’50s to the early ’60s, is alive and well in Sun Valley, California, in the L.A. area. He’s a prosperous businessman, owner-manager of Rusmar High Lift…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine September 1977, Volume 12, Number 3 Entrepreneur, musician, festival lover and hater, sign painter, instrument builder, collector, author of pointed letters and want ads to BU, Tut Taylor’s wildly varied career is one of bluegrass music’s most fascinating enigmas. His interests and activities are so scattered [and yet usually simultaneous]…

By Russ Hooper and Randy Slacum Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine May 1967, Volume 1, Number 11 The typical bluegrass band consists of a bass, banjo, fiddle, (or mandolin) and guitar. Not typical, but included in some bands is the autoharp, harmonica, or the dobro guitar. The dobro was first made in San Francisco during…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine November 1981, Volume 16, Number 5 According to Webster’s: FLUX —to become fluid; a substance used to promote fusion. Put Jerry Douglas and his Dobro into a band—and you know how he got his nickname. Constantly complementing vocals and other soloists, or ripping off one of the dazzling breaks he…

Alan Munde Rises Above Convention with New Record “Excelsior” When Alan Munde was thinking of a name for his new collection of fifteen tunes building on his long-standing penchant for harmonic adventurousness and embrace of the melodic banjo style, he lit on one word: Excelsior. It’s a direct nod to a short Henry Wadsworth Longfellow…