You could debate endlessly about which Bluegrass Band was "best" - but from both an historic standpoint as well as unsurpassed musicianship you'd have a hard time picking a band better than Tony Rice, JD Crowe, Doyle Lawson, Bobby Hicks AND Vassar Clements on Twin Fiddles, Jerry Douglas and Mark Schatz. Bluegrass fans owe a debt to the fact that these superstars all put aside their own bands long enough to form THIS band - and then with the possibility of making any music they wanted, they concentrated on "The Classics". Every one of these musicians has made a living for decades pushing the cutting edge of string acoustic music - but for THIS project they paid homage to Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, Osborne Brothers and the first generation of giants. Everyone who plays Bluegrass today stands on these shoulders. Dennis - thanks for sharing this!
Can we just appreciate how Tony flipped the script on those last two verses of Big Spike Hammer? He messed up verse two and was so clear minded WHILE playing the song, that he was able to stitch the last verse together like a champ. What a legend.
It’s painful to watch this but thank goodness we can. I hope the legends on that stage who are now with their Heavenly Father, knew how influential, appreciated and respected they were in Bluegrass music - the mark they’d leave behind. Doyle Lawson played his final show as DL&Q last night, Dec 30/21. He has contributed so much to this genre ,there’s not enough time to cover it. His teachings, leadership, professionalism, it’ll go on (I hope) through the young musicians he’s “turned out” so to speak and the musicians he’s influenced through the years. I have a heavy heart today , but I’ll be forever grateful for the music and memories. Who’s going to fill their shoes? It’s going to be an undertaking ; but I’ll be watching and listening for the future heroes to step up. 🙏God bless these men. And God bless Bluegrass music and all the fans still traveling this road together. ❤️
I'm here by way of billy strings dust in a baggie on a rat sofa but I'm man o man am I glad to be here... Had to edit my comments: NOW THAT IS COUNTRY MUSIC! awesome musicianship and vocals...
I still have a hard time listening to him singing & playing. I grew up listening to him as a kid, then as an adult workin’ on my own music career I got to spend a fair bit of time w/Tony, little brother Wyatt (mostly lol), & good buddy Rickie Simpkins. I miss em all, getting to see them at shows, weather I was there to play or just to listen. Honestly I’d have rather been there to watch as when your playing you don’t have a lot of time to wonder around & visit with the other players. But, boy do I miss him! The Angels finally got the “GREATEST Lead Flattop”, guitar picker to help em’ out!! Godspeed “T”, Godspeed. R.I.P.
Past members トニー・ライス Tony Rice - guitar, vocals J. D.クロウ J. D. Crowe - banjo, vocals ドイル・ローソン Doyle Lawson - mandolin, vocals ボビー・ヒックス Bobby Hicks - fiddle ジェリー・ダグラス Jerry Douglas - Dobro, vocals バッサー・クレメンツ Vassar Clements - fiddle マーク・シャッツ Mark Schatz - bass (トッド・フィリップス Todd Philips - bass)
Love you Tony! R.I.P. I heard the news and immediately came to this video. Brought tears to my eyes.💔 Ive only been playing guitar for three years, And only been listening to Tony’s music for two, but he has changed my life.
Me and some friends went up to Silver Dollar City to a youth bluegrass competition and won it! I love this music. The band is Sylamore Special. I would never have done any of that if it wasn’t for watching Tony. In my opinion, no better music exist in the world!
Thing is, with bluegrass, you can never get so nostalgic you say "Don't make 'em like that nay more." because they still DO! These guys have left the music in good hands.
What makes them something else is not only how talented each individual is.. But the absolute joy you can see they have playing with each other.. Especially for Big Spike Hammer, look how Tony, Mark, and Doyle keep laughing and smiling at each other. And they all cheer for each others solos. Best band in Bluegrass.
Yep, these guys are wow great. An unbelievable group assembled to play bluegrass. Not many, if any, groups today could touch these guys. probably not. mos60
Earls of Leicester? Infamous Stringdusters? Travelin McCoury's? Osborne Brothers? Hot Rize? Time to get outta the house Mos. Because you're missing some outrageous music being played by new generations of musicians.
Jack, your comment is okay. The younger generation of bluegrass are much more progressive. Some may be okay as heard on WAMU or the Opry. But no one will ever replace the guys picking and singing on this vid. JD Crowe, Tony, Doyle, Bobby Hicks, Jerry, I mean this is the cream of the crop. BTW the Osborne Bros (Bobby /Sony) are from the same traditional school. Same with Del McCoury band. But I do hear some of the younger crowd. WAMU Bluegrass plays many of them.
I miss the Great Northern Bluegrass festivals in Mole Lake, Wisconsin. (Potawatomi reservation) What a great time for everybody. They raised much needed money for the reservation (& nearby businesses and towns) I always went a few days early to find a good camping spot (& dig my latrine!) I took lots of people with me who swore that they didn't like Bluegrass. They admitted they were wrong and loved the experience. Four days of music with a $20 wristband. No police on the reservation so it was a special time for us 70's hippies.😁🎶💃
Tony Rice and crew, what else can you say? Sooo great! These guys really restored the great sound of Bluegrass music. Toney, and all the musicians that played music during the 1980s and 90s made such a great contribution to the style Monroe introduced. Long live Bluegrass music. May "Bluegrass rule"!
I was very pleased to see Vassar Clements in this video. When I lived in Nashville we visited one another in our homes from time to time. We attended the same church, the Villages church of Christ in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. He was a very humble and modest man, never but never bragged on his accomplishments. I have an idea that he did not know how famous he was.
Bluegrass Album Band was a bluegrass super group, founded by Tony Rice and J.D. Crowe in 1980. Originally, there was no intention to build a permanent group and the main reason for the collaboration was to record a solo album for Tony Rice. They found that this cooperation could work and the result was an album called The Bluegrass Album, released in 1981, with 5 more volumes of music to follow.
Tony Rice (born David Anthony Rice, June 8, 1951, Danville, Virginia, United States) is an American guitarist and bluegrass musician. He is considered one of the most influential acoustic guitar players in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, new grass and acoustic jazz. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2013
Rice was born in Danville, Virginia but grew up in Los Angeles, California, where his father, Herb Rice, introduced him to bluegrass. Tony and his brothers learned the fundamentals of bluegrass and country music from L.A. musicians like the Kentucky Colonels, led by Roland and Clarence White. Clarence White in particular became a huge influence on Rice. Crossing paths with fellow enthusiasts like Ry Cooder, Herb Pedersen and Chris Hillman reinforced the strength of the music he had learned from his father
The legend, the man,the one man that stands along on his on mountain top because no one comes close to his raw,God given talent... Thank you Mr Rice for your influence your passion.
if you don't like this band, you just don't like music. brings a lump to my throat everytime i hear these ole boys. thank you each and everyone for enriching my life. i can't seem to find this wonderful sound anymore. thanks dennis for the post, kt
i sure miss these ole boys, some have passed on, some retired, some with health problems. i think doyle lawson/quicksilver and jerry douglas/band are the last bands still performing. i'll never forget these super talented entertainers and their wonderful music. thanks for the post.
This is the best version for me. If someone ever asked me who would I like to play bluegrass banjo like it would be J.D. Liven up that Heavenly band my friend.
My vote for "Best Bluegrass Band Ever" is Hot Rize. I choose them (just barely), over these guys because of their longevity, and the incredible body of original songs & tunes the band members have added to the bluegrass canon.
I'm almost sixty-five years old. I've listened to and played a lot of music during my life time and in my opinion Merle Haggard is THE BEST country singer to ever come down the road, just saying.
Always come to this video for the musicianship, comedy, and pure talent. Tony and Vasser gone, and the rest not far behind. It was the best thing I ever heard.
Bill Collings, of Collings Guitars, and I sat together in the audience for this performance, which was "electrifying". During one of the early IBMA shows I met an old guy in a hallway either just before this performance, and perhaps even the next year (I just can't remember, but I only attended two in Owensboro, and I think they were back to back.) The old guy struck up a conversation with me, said he was Michigan. I only knew one person from Michigan who played Bluegrass, so I mentioned his name, and the gentleman said he had played in a band with that guy, so small world. Then another guy stuck his head through a door and said, "Pete, 5 minutes." The old guy stepped through the door and that was that. LaterI learned it was Pete Gobles, who wrote Big Spike Hammer. So I have always wondered if the off-script act, where JD answers, "Surprise" was actually planned. Does anybody know if Pete Gobles got his award the same year as this performance?
Prime stuff by the best of the best! Younger, stronger, healthier back then. Fiddler Mickey Davis (Mississippi and Arkansas) used to say, "Everybody backs up for Vassar!" Yes, they did! So great to hear these guys just one more time!
What an awesome lineup of bluegrass talent with Tony Rice,Jerry Douglas,J.D. Crowe,Doyle Lawson and I'm sorry about the fiddlers I didn't catch. Thanks for sharin their great music.
@@seanmccormick3270 You might have encountered Vassar from his work with Old and In the Way and Garcia Acoustic Band. Pretty sure he played with everybody , ever, thouigh.
A beautiful song. My wife and I just did the Blue Ridge Parkway Drive from Cherokee NC to the NC. VA border. A awesome ride. Next vear we are going to do the Blue Ridge Parkway drive in Va.
