Blue Railroad Train

[billhammond]

[Shannon]

Pretty hot band, right there.

[TKennedy]

Love that. Sam really drives the rhythm.

[billhammond]

Jun 18, 2024 16:52:13 GMT -5 TKennedy said:

Love that. Sam really drives the rhythm.

And his joy is infectious. This clip is a fine example of what a great singer Tony was.

[howard lee]

Jun 18, 2024 17:38:45 GMT -5 billhammond said:

Jun 18, 2024 16:52:13 GMT -5 TKennedy said:

Love that. Sam really drives the rhythm.

And his joy is infectious. This clip is a fine example of what a great singer Tony was.

Sadly, he high-pitched sang himself into dysphonia. He is alleged to have spent too many years singing above his natural range, and this accounted for his voice problems through the 1990s and beyond. On the flip side of that coin is Willie Nelson, who never strained his singing voice, kept it in his natural range, and is still singing pretty darned good at 91.

Don't get me wrong—I'm as huge a fan of Tony Rice as anyone, and could listen to his singing and picking for hours. I only wish he were still with us.

[millring]

Jun 18, 2024 17:38:45 GMT -5 billhammond said:

Jun 18, 2024 16:52:13 GMT -5 TKennedy said:

Love that. Sam really drives the rhythm.

And his joy is infectious. This clip is a fine example of what a great singer Tony was.

I suppose there have been others -- probably lots among the lesser knowns -- of singers who re-interpreted bluegrass in "normal" voices. I wouldn't probably be aware because, other than John Hartford and Norman Blake (and the Flatt & Scruggs that broke through the pop barrier) Tony Rice very well might have been my entry drug into a 20 year bluegrass addiction and it was in large part because, in his voice, I didn't recognize it as "bluegrass" (or, as Dar would refer to it "Hicknoid"). Oh, there was the local "The Johnsons" that featured a very young Jeff White. And they didn't sing with a bluegrass affectation either.

All that to say, I was just as taken with Tony Rice's singing as I was with his guitar. First time I heard "Pride of Man" on folk radio one night and I was hooked. (Heard Kate Wolf that same night).

[theevan]

Jun 19, 2024 15:17:46 GMT -5 millring said:

Jun 18, 2024 17:38:45 GMT -5 billhammond said:

And his joy is infectious. This clip is a fine example of what a great singer Tony was.

I suppose there have been others -- probably lots among the lesser knowns -- of singers who re-interpreted bluegrass in "normal" voices. I wouldn't probably be aware because, other than John Hartford and Norman Blake (and the Flatt & Scruggs that broke through the pop barrier) Tony Rice very well might have been my entry drug into a 20 year bluegrass addiction and it was in large part because, in his voice, I didn't recognize it as "bluegrass" (or, as Dar would refer to it "Hicknoid"). Oh, there was the local "The Johnsons" that featured a very young Jeff White. And they didn't sing with a bluegrass affectation either.

All that to say, I was just as taken with Tony Rice's singing as I was with his guitar. First time I heard "Pride of Man" on folk radio one night and I was hooked. (Heard Kate Wolf that same night).

James Taylor is another great example.

[millring]

Coincidentally, fellow Hoosier and frequent contributor to the likes of Fretboard Journal, Acoustic Guitar, and other magazines that brought this group together initially -- David McCarty (himself a one time 3rd place finisher at Winfield on mandoliin) ... I first met David doing a wandering minstrel bit with a musical partner back in the 80s at the Indianapolis Art Fair. Anyway, this:

bluegrassunlimited.com/article/discovering-tony-rice/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1F_3WQSujunKAbyT_3BjuY2VdKLgogEJv9Y4UIPWUS9PpjpKP0INqJBhg_aem_zzc8NgLmZ0Bxp6z-pQasYQ