Tag Archives: bluegrass
CONVERSATION: Rodney Dillard
I was contacted recently by a publicist for Rodney Dillard, who has released a new digital album on Pinecastle titled Old Road New Again. Rodney’s band for the project includes the current Dillards, plus Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, Herb Pederson, … Continue reading
Bluegrass: Country Soul
1971 was a banner year for bluegrass music. It had come of age the decade before, following its invention as a musical style by Bill Monroe in the mid-1940s. Little known, except by country music fans for its first twenty … Continue reading
The Lilly Brothers and Don Stover: Little Annie
What got me excited was Don’s “tag” or ending of his banjo break. It’s four beats of pure delight, sort of going off sideways like a plot twist in an Alfred Hitchcock film! Continue reading
The Origins of Bluegrass Music
I think Bill Monroe might have hired Stringbean more as a comedian to break the ice than for his banjo picking. Either that or because he was a good shortstop! Many early bluegrass bands had at least one member who did the rube comic act . . . a relic from minstrel and medicine show times. Continue reading