Terry Eldredge

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine

November 1990, Volume 25, Number 5

One of the members of the Osborne Brothers Band is Terry Eldredge, who joined in February of 1988. When he first appeared you had to look more than once to find him on stage, as he was the slender, handsome young man behind the huge acoustic bass. Since then, two other young musicians have joined the band—Steve Thomas on fiddle and Terry Smith taking over on bass—so Eldredge has now advanced to the front row, playing guitar and doing lead vocals and harmony.

At 26, Terry already has had a life filled with music. He has played with four other fine bluegrass bands, traveling across the country and has performed on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry since he was 17.

When Sonny and Bobby Osborne hired Terry, it was the first time in their 35 years of playing bluegrass that the band had ever had an acoustic-bass player. When interviewed Sonny said of Terry, “He’s made a great difference in our music! He’s brought it into the traditional bluegrass style developed by Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs and Chubby Wise.” Fiddle expert Glen Duncan joined the band in the summer of 1987, and together he and Terry have contributed much to the Osborne Brothers’ new sound. Sonny commented on the Grand Ole Opry in December 1988, “These are the finest guys. We are most proud to have them as part of our band.”

Glen Duncan left the band in January 1989, to perform with Reba McEntire (and now with the Mike Snider Trio) and he was replaced on fiddle by Steve Thomas, who had played with The Whites. Completing the stage roster at that time was ten-year veteran Paul Brewster, who played rhythm guitar and sang bluegrass and country. When Paul left the band in June, 1989, Terry’s responsibilities increased when he moved into Paul’s spot to play guitar and sing lead vocals and harmony. “I enjoy this position very much, even more than playing bass, because I now have more opportunity to sing. I began singing at age thirteen and tried to pattern my singing after Bobby and Sonny’s. I’m now enjoying this role more than ever. I’m doing what I always hoped someday I would do!” Sonny and Bobby decided to keep the acoustic bass and hired Terry Smith, who had been one of the Clinch Mountain Clan with Wilma Lee Cooper. Smith also has sparked the band with his excellent bass-playing and tenor vocals.

Born April 18, 1963, in Paris, Illinois, to Merlin “Bud” and Mary Jane (Liffick) Eldredge, Terry has been involved with acoustic music much of his life. When he was four, his parents moved to Terre Haute, Indiana, where his father was a computer data processor for several companies and his mother was a homemaker. His parents have recently relocated to a suburb of Nashville, where his father continues the same kind of employment. Both parents—especially his father, who played piano for personal enjoyment—encouraged Terry to learn music. He was also influenced by his two older brothers, who played string instruments.

At age eleven, Terry began teaching himself rhythm guitar and his brother Peyton took lessons on the bass. Terry also had a few lessons on the mandolin, but preferred to practice on his brother’s instrument. “The acoustic bass is my favorite,” he says. “It provides the beat and timing and it’s essential for keeping the rhythm of any song.” He much prefers the acoustic bass to the electric, because “the player has to work to get the sound and tone from the acoustic. The electric bass has the tone built in and it’s controlled by where the knobs are set.” Terry continues to play the rhythm guitar and prefers it when singing. “It’s easier than the bass to play and sing with. The bass player has to concentrate on the beat and timing of the song.

Terry’s first experience in a band came at age thirteen, when he joined Louie Popejoy and the Heirs of Bluegrass. Popejoy operated a music store in Terre Haute during the week, but on Friday and Saturday nights his band would perform at local bars and saloons. Another older brother, Grady, played rhythm guitar and sang with the band. Terry’s first travel experience began with Popejoy, as they did many shows on the east coast in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Florida. It was during these early years that Terry became interested in traveling. He remained with Popejoy more than four years, then went to Nashville.

In the capital of Country music, Terry was hired in February 1981, as part of the Lonzo and Oscar show and stayed with the act until 1985, when it temporarily disbanded. Lonzo and Oscar were members of the Grand Ole Opry for 38 years. The opportunity for Terry to join them came because his brother Grady had been playing banjo and rhythm guitar with them since 1979 and from time to time Terry had filled in for absent band members. At about the same time, Terry was considering attending Belmont College in Nashville to study music. In retrospect, he wishes he had gone there and he still may attend college someday. Both as a substitute and a regular member with Lonzo and Oscar, Terry played on the Grand Ole Opry. He had never dreamed of playing there, but the opportunity came. He recalls vividly his first night on the Opry, a very special occasion for a seventeen-year-old. When asked what it was like, he answers with two short words: “Neat! Honor!”

After his separation from Lonzo and Oscar, Terry did not perform with an organized band for about a year. He did play on his own at various places in the Nashville area, including the Station Inn. Terry recalls that when he was about ten, Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper put on a show in his hometown of Terre Haute. He admired their style of music and Wilma Lee came to know Terry while he played for Lonzo and Oscar. Tim Graves—Wilma Lee’s Dobro player and a nephew of former Foggy Mountain Boy Josh Graves—was instrumental in arranging for Terry to join her and the Clinch Mountain Clan. Wilma Lee had been a member of the Opry since 1957, so immediately Terry was back there performing. After a year he left her band to become involved in acting and theater work with another friend in the Nashville area. They were together for four months in 1986, but this short venture ended when the building was sold.

A very close friend of Terry’s is Mike Scott, who played banjo for Jim and Jesse from 1983 to 1986. In 1987, when Mike organized his own group, Mike Scott and the All American Band, he asked Terry to be his bass player. Terry accepted, but this relationship lasted only six months, until the Osborne Brothers asked him for a trial period with their band. Although disappointed in not having a longer career with Mike Scott’s band, Terry didn’t hesitate to accept the offer with the Osborne Brothers. “I had long admired the Osborne Brothers and their genuine music,” he says. “I’d had a desire to play with them for some time.” The Osborne Brothers Band would give stability to Terry’s career, because of their own long career and popularity. The Osbornes became aware of Terry through his acquaintance with band member Raymond Huffmaster, whom he’d met at the Station Inn. The Osborne Brothers have been members of the Grand Ole Opry for 25 years, since 1964 and so once again, with a third band, Terry has returned to the Opry. He is indeed pleased to be performing there again!

As his models on the bass instrument, Terry names Jake Tullock, Cedric Rainwater (Howard Watts) and Jody Rainwater, all of whom were Foggy Mountain Boys with Flatt and Scruggs; Mitch Jayne with the Dillards; Ed Ferris, who for many years was with Bill Harrell and Roy Huskey and Bob Moore, both studio musicians. On guitar, Terry likes the style of Lester Flatt, Billy Grammer and Tony Rice. Terry’s bass-playing can be heard on three albums and tapes, all produced in 1988: “American Virture” by Mike Scott and the All American Band, the gospel album “Singing Shouting Praises” by the Osborne Brothers and one in development by the Bill Sky Family. On “American Virtue,” Terry sings “Your Love Is Like A Flower,” which was the first song he sang as part of the Osborne Brothers show. He dearly loves the old bluegrass songs written and performed by Flatt and Scruggs. Since he moved to guitar, his repertoire of vocals has increased.

Aside from music, Terry lists his hobbies as swimming, tennis, and “running around.” While he was in high school, his music and traveling with Popejoy’s band kept him busy and he had little time to participate in sports or attend sports events. Terry enjoys reading and finds some spare time to read biographies and books of true stories and history, rather than novels. He cares about politics and is becoming more interested in those endeavors.

Terry’s close friend, banjo player Mike Scott, says, “He’s a super all-around guy, a great musician, a fine stage performer and a great person to work with. I’m proud to have had him as part of my band. Any band would be proud to have Terry. I was sorry to have him leave after such a short time with our band, but I’m happy for Terry for his successful climb in his music career.” Sonny Osborne adds “Terry is a real gentleman, well-liked by the fans.” Terry loves the record table, where he enjoys meeting and talking to people.

Terry’s close friend since the fifth grade, Paul Crafton, who works as an employment interviewer at the Opryland Hotel, says Terry is a nice guy. “He’s just as nice now as he was in grade school when he stole my peanut butter sandwich! Terry is down-to-earth and the best friend a person could have. Together, we’ve played music, participated in high school variety shows, had a band named Indiana and cut a couple of songs.”

On stage, Sonny Osborne continues to praise Terry’s work. In late September 1989, at Jackson, Ohio, Sonny said: “What a pleasure he is to have around. He’s a really nice young man. He’s a good singer and he’s interested in old-time bluegrass music. He really does a great job!” At the IBMA Fan Fest show in Owensboro, Kentucky, Sonny told the crowd, “The guys that work for us now are the best we’ve had for a long time. They’re some of the best I’ve ever heard. Their minds are set straight ahead on good ol’ bluegrass music.” Truly the Osborne Brothers sound is terrific. Few would question it. When the Osbornes finished their set in Owensboro, the crowd gave them a standing ovation.

In the future, Terry would like to become involved in photography and acting. He says he’ll continue to develop his career as a bluegrass musician. We can expect to see him perform for a long time to come and to contribute to the development of bluegrass music. Terry continues to say, “The Grand Ole Opry is still my favorite place to perform!”