New South (band)
Encyclopedia
The New South is a bluegrass
band formed around 1973 by banjo
player J. D. Crowe
. Their first two albums, Bluegrass Evolution and the eponymous record known by the album number, "Rounder 0044," established them as a dominant force in bluegrass, though the two albums are wildly different.
. Crowe quickly found replacements (rehiring mandolinist/vocalist Dwight McCall and guitarist/ vocalist Rickey Wasson who had both been members previously) and the New South has continued a moderate performance schedule.
Current and past members include: J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson
, Tony Rice
, Larry Rice, Bobby Slone, Ricky Skaggs
, Jerry Douglas
, Keith Whitley
, Jimmy Gaudreau, Mike Gregory, Steve Bryant, Tony King, Phil Leadbetter
, Richard Bennett, Robert Hale, Darrell Webb, Curt Chapman, Dwight McCall, Rickey Wasson, Wayne Fields, Harold Nixon, and Ron Stewart.
, Larry Rice and Doyle Lawson
. The group recorded three albums on Lemco Records: Bluegrass Holiday, Ramblin' Boy, and a gospel album, The Model Church. Lawson left the group in 1971 to join the Country Gentlemen
, and was replaced by Larry Rice's younger brother, Tony Rice
, a guitar prodigy and student of Clarence White
.
and by more mainstream country music; it incorporates drums, pedal steel and electric instruments to a far greater degree than most bluegrass bands of the period.
replaced him, and Jerry Douglas
also joined the group for this 1975 eponymously titled album, more commonly known by its Rounder Records
catalogue number ("Rounder 0044"). Stylisticly this album marked a sharp turn from Bluegrass Evolution, while still experimenting with pedal steel, percussion and a piano on the tracks "You Are What I Am" and "Cryin' Holy", the majority of the album featured songs played with traditional bluegrass instrumentation (although on the slower numbers, Skaggs doubled his fiddle with a viola) by up-and-coming singer songwriters such as Gordon Lightfoot, Utah Phillips and Rodney Crowell, as well as incorporating more traditional songs such as "Old Home Place," "Some Old Day," and "Sally Goodin." This one album changed the nature and direction of bluegrass music to an extent that everything after it has to be viewed in light of this album, and today this album is considered a landmark in bluegrass music without which no collection is complete.
's band. Skaggs and Douglas soon followed suit, forming their own band, Boone Creek. After experimenting with a few lineups, Crowe hired bassist Steve Bryant, mandolinist Jimmy Gadreau, as well as former Ralph Stanley guitarist Keith Whitley
. This band produced three albums: My Home Ain't In the Hall of Fame, Live in Japan, and Somewhere Between. All three of these albums saw the band returning toward the sound of the Bluegrass Evolution album, incorporating more country elements, with Crowe even playing electric guitar more than banjo on "Somewhere Between".
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
band formed around 1973 by banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
player J. D. Crowe
J. D. Crowe
James Dee Crowe is an American banjo player and bluegrass band leader. He first became known during his four year stint with Jimmy Martin in the 1950s.-Biography:...
. Their first two albums, Bluegrass Evolution and the eponymous record known by the album number, "Rounder 0044," established them as a dominant force in bluegrass, though the two albums are wildly different.
Band members
The New South have recorded and toured with a variety of different lineups. One of the most notable lineup changes came in 2002 when the entire band quit out of desire for a more active performing schedule, forming the band WildfireWildfire (band)
Wildfire was formed in 2001 by four departing members of J. D. Crowe & The New South. Phil Leadbetter, Robert Hale, Darrell Webb and Curt Chapman recorded their first CD "Uncontained" for Pinecastle Records as a four-piece band with Scott Vestal filling in on banjo...
. Crowe quickly found replacements (rehiring mandolinist/vocalist Dwight McCall and guitarist/ vocalist Rickey Wasson who had both been members previously) and the New South has continued a moderate performance schedule.
Current and past members include: J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson
Doyle Lawson
Doyle Lawson is an American bluegrass and gospel musician. Doyle is best known as an accomplished mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 5-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.-Biography:...
, Tony Rice
Tony Rice
Tony Rice is an American acoustic guitarist and bluegrass musician. He is considered one of the most influential acoustic guitar players in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and acoustic jazz.Rice spans the range of acoustic music, from traditional bluegrass to jazz-influenced New...
, Larry Rice, Bobby Slone, Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs
Rickie Lee "Ricky" Skaggs is a country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, and banjo.-Early career:...
, Jerry Douglas
Jerry Douglas
Jerry Douglas may refer to:*Jerry Douglas , actor, who was on The Young and the Restless for 25 years*Jerry Douglas, country/bluegrass musician*Jerry Douglas , director and writer of adult films such as, Score...
, Keith Whitley
Keith Whitley
Jackie Keith Whitley , known professionally as Keith Whitley, was an American country music singer. Whitley's brief career in mainstream country music lasted from 1984 until his death in 1989, but he continues to influence an entire generation of singers and songwriters...
, Jimmy Gaudreau, Mike Gregory, Steve Bryant, Tony King, Phil Leadbetter
Phil Leadbetter
Phil Leadbetter is one of the leading players of the resonator guitar.In 1994, Phil received a Grammy Nomination for "Best Bluegrass Album" at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards for his work with J. D. Crowe and the New South on the album "Flashback". In 2005 he was voted International Bluegrass Music...
, Richard Bennett, Robert Hale, Darrell Webb, Curt Chapman, Dwight McCall, Rickey Wasson, Wayne Fields, Harold Nixon, and Ron Stewart.
The Kentucky Mountain Boys
J.D. Crowe formed the prototype for the New South, the Kentucky Mountain Boys, in the late 1960s. Members of the line-up included Red AllenRed Allen (bluegrass)
Harley Allen , better known as Red Allen, was an American bluegrass singer and guitarist known for his powerful tenor voice.-Biography:...
, Larry Rice and Doyle Lawson
Doyle Lawson
Doyle Lawson is an American bluegrass and gospel musician. Doyle is best known as an accomplished mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 5-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.-Biography:...
. The group recorded three albums on Lemco Records: Bluegrass Holiday, Ramblin' Boy, and a gospel album, The Model Church. Lawson left the group in 1971 to join the Country Gentlemen
The Country Gentlemen
The Country Gentlemen were a bluegrass band that originated during the 1950s in the area of Washington, DC, United States, and recorded and toured with various members until the death in 2004 of Charlie Waller, one of the group's founders who in its later years served as the group's "focal point...
, and was replaced by Larry Rice's younger brother, Tony Rice
Tony Rice
Tony Rice is an American acoustic guitarist and bluegrass musician. He is considered one of the most influential acoustic guitar players in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and acoustic jazz.Rice spans the range of acoustic music, from traditional bluegrass to jazz-influenced New...
, a guitar prodigy and student of Clarence White
Clarence White
Clarence White was a guitar player for Nashville West, The Byrds, Muleskinner, and the Kentucky Colonels. His parents were Acadians from New Brunswick, Canada...
.
Bluegrass Evolution
The first album recorded as the "New South" was Bluegrass Evolution. This album seems to have been influenced by the Osborne BrothersOsborne Brothers
The Osborne Brothers, Sonny Osborne and Bobby Osborne , were an influential and popular bluegrass act during the 1960s and 1970s...
and by more mainstream country music; it incorporates drums, pedal steel and electric instruments to a far greater degree than most bluegrass bands of the period.
J.D. Crowe & The New South ("Rounder 0044")
After Bluegrass Evolution, Larry Rice left the band. A young Ricky SkaggsRicky Skaggs
Rickie Lee "Ricky" Skaggs is a country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, and banjo.-Early career:...
replaced him, and Jerry Douglas
Jerry Douglas
Jerry Douglas may refer to:*Jerry Douglas , actor, who was on The Young and the Restless for 25 years*Jerry Douglas, country/bluegrass musician*Jerry Douglas , director and writer of adult films such as, Score...
also joined the group for this 1975 eponymously titled album, more commonly known by its Rounder Records
Rounder Records
Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
catalogue number ("Rounder 0044"). Stylisticly this album marked a sharp turn from Bluegrass Evolution, while still experimenting with pedal steel, percussion and a piano on the tracks "You Are What I Am" and "Cryin' Holy", the majority of the album featured songs played with traditional bluegrass instrumentation (although on the slower numbers, Skaggs doubled his fiddle with a viola) by up-and-coming singer songwriters such as Gordon Lightfoot, Utah Phillips and Rodney Crowell, as well as incorporating more traditional songs such as "Old Home Place," "Some Old Day," and "Sally Goodin." This one album changed the nature and direction of bluegrass music to an extent that everything after it has to be viewed in light of this album, and today this album is considered a landmark in bluegrass music without which no collection is complete.
The Keith Whitley Years
Not long after Rounder 0044's release, Tony Rice departed the band to join David GrismanDavid Grisman
David Grisman is an American bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. In the early 1990s, he started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.-Biography:Grisman grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey...
's band. Skaggs and Douglas soon followed suit, forming their own band, Boone Creek. After experimenting with a few lineups, Crowe hired bassist Steve Bryant, mandolinist Jimmy Gadreau, as well as former Ralph Stanley guitarist Keith Whitley
Keith Whitley
Jackie Keith Whitley , known professionally as Keith Whitley, was an American country music singer. Whitley's brief career in mainstream country music lasted from 1984 until his death in 1989, but he continues to influence an entire generation of singers and songwriters...
. This band produced three albums: My Home Ain't In the Hall of Fame, Live in Japan, and Somewhere Between. All three of these albums saw the band returning toward the sound of the Bluegrass Evolution album, incorporating more country elements, with Crowe even playing electric guitar more than banjo on "Somewhere Between".
Discography
- Bluegrass Evolution (Starday, 1973)
- J.D. Crowe & the New SouthJ.D. Crowe & The New SouthJ. D. Crowe & The New South is an album by American banjo player J. D. Crowe and The New South, released in 1975 . It was reissued on CD in 1992....
(Rounder 0044, 1975) - You Can Share My Blanket (Rounder, 1977)
- My Home Ain't In The Hall of Fame (Rounder, 1978)
- Somewhere Between (Rounder, 1981)
- Live In Japan (Rounder, 1982)
- Straight Ahead (Rounder, 1986)
- Flashback (Rounder, 1994)
- Come On Down To My World (Rounder, 1999)
- At Bean Blossom: Uncle Pen Days (2000)
- Lefty's Old Guitar (Rounder, 2006)