Bluegrass Bios D

WALDEN DAHL

From Norco, California (LA area).
Plays mandolin, guitar, fiddle.
Songwriter: his songs have been recorded by Ralph Stanley and Alison Krauss ("So Long, So Wrong").
Former bands: Lost Highway (1975), The High Window Boys (1977, with Craig Smith and Alison Brown).
Has two bands: the Coyote Brothers, Grey Eagle.
Appeared in the movie "High Lonesome Sound."

JAMIE D AILEY

From Gainesboro, Tennessee. He was born in Corbin, Kentucky.
Began singing with his family at age 3.
Age 9, began playing bass with family band "The Four J's." Age 12, played banjo with them.
Age 15, joined Cumberland Connection.
Age 18, Clear Creek.
1996, age 21, formed Highland Rim.
1998, joined Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
2002, formed a web site development company called Ciphertek Entertainment, specializing in bluegrass artist web sites
2007, left Doyle Lawson to form a new band "Dailey & Vincent" with Darrin Vincent.

DAILEY & VINCENT (See also JAMIE DAILEY)

From Nashville.
Formed in 2007 by Jamie Dailey (formerly with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver) and Darrin Vincent (formerly with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder).
2008, released first project on Rounder Records and made first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry.

CHARLIE DANIELS

From Wilmington, North Carolina.
As a teenager, played mandolin and fiddle with a North Carolina bluegrass band called the Misty Mountain Boys.
1972, began solo career as a country artist.
1979, had #1 song with "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." His album "Fire on the Mountain" (which features that song) was certified platinum in 1992.
1979, 1980 won CMA Award for Instrumental Group of the Year. Also won several other CMA and ACM awards.
1994, appeared on Mark O'Connor's "Heroes" CD.
2005, released bluegrass gospel CD "Songs from the Longleaf Pine."

THE DAPPLED GRAYS

From Atlanta, Georgia.
Formed in 2001 by Michael Smith (mandolin) and Casey Cook (guitar).
Won "Best Bluegrass Band" in Atlanta's "Creative Loafing" magazine.
Had several of their songs played on MTV.
Smith has performed and toured with the country band Sugarland.
Cook had a Florida band with his brother called "Special Cookin'" and was inducted into the North Florida Bluegrass Hall of Fame as the youngest professional bluegrass band in Florida. He has also been featured in "Flatpick Guitar" magazine.
Other members of the band: Leah Calvert (fiddle), Keith Morris (bass), Greg Earnest (banjo.)

GAIL DAVIES

From Nashville, Tennessee. (Born in Broken Bow, Oklahoma.).
Began performing at age 9 in a family band.
Late sixties, moved to Los Angeles and performed in several rock, pop and jazz groups, finally returning to country music which she loved best.
Early days: worked with Hoyt Axton and Roger Miller.
Has recorded hits for Warner Brothers, RCA and Capitol Records.
1980, had first #1 single with Paul Craft's "Blue Heartache."
1986, had a group called Wild Choir (recorded for RCA).
2001, recorded a live bluegrass album at the Station Inn in Nashville

BRAD DAVIS (See also WHITEWATER)

From Fort Worth, Texas.
Began playing classical guitar at age 5.
1978, he and his brother formed a bluegrass band called Ten Degrees.
1986, moved to Nashville and worked as a fiddle/guitar player at Opryland USA. Later that year, was offered a job working with The Forester Sisters.
1992, joined Marty Stuart's band.
1994, toured with Sweethearts of the Rodeo. Also formed (with his brother Greg) a band called WhiteWater.
1995, re-joined Marty Stuart's band "The Rock and Roll Cowboys."
Has also recorded with Willie Nelson, Pam Tillis, Dwight Yokem, Steve Earl, Travis Tritt, Emmy Lou Harris, Sheryl Crow, Warren Zevon, Joe Diffee, Mark Chestnut, Billy Bob Thornton, and many others.
2001, joined the Earl Scruggs Family and Friends tour.
2002, toured with Billy Bob Thornton. Turned down an offer to join the Dixie Chicks band.
2003, released solo project and joined the Sam Bush Band.

DAVID DAVIS AND THE WARRIOR RIVER BOYS

A traditional bluegrass band from Cullman, Alabama.
Davis's father and grandfather were both musicians, and his uncle Cleo Davis was in Bill Monroe's first Blue Grass Boys (1939).
The Warrior River Boys were originally formed in the mid-1950's by Garry Thurmond. Due to his declining health, he turned the band over to 23-year-old Davis in 1984.
Davis plays mandolin and sings lead.
Band has included legendary musicians such as fiddler Charlie Cline and former bluegrass boy Tom Ewing.
2004, band lineup includes Owen Sanders (fiddle), formerly with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver.

JASON DAVIS (See also GRASSTOWNE)

From Ford, Virginia.
Began playing banjo professionally while still in high school.
Has worked with Michelle Nixon and Drive, Blue Ridge, Kenny and Amanda Smith.
2006, joined Grasstowne.
2007, released solo project "Steppin' Out."

HUBERT DAVIS (AND THE SEASON TRAVELERS)

From Shelby, North Carolina (same hometown as Earl Scruggs; they grew up together.)
Former banjo player for Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys.
Originally learned to play banjo left-handed; then switched to become one of the best right-handed pickers of his generation.
Until his death in May of 1992, he performed with his band The Season Travelers at his own bluegrass night club in Nashville called "The Bluegrass Inn".

STEVE DAY

From Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Began playing fiddle professionally at age 13.
Won the Kentucky State Fiddling Championship.
1998, joined David Parmley and Continental Divide.

HONI DEATON (AND DREAM)

From Suwannee, Georgia. Originally from Irving, Texas.
While in high school, she had a group called Soul and Country. Also DJ'd at a local country music station.
1992-2001, played bass and sang lead with Idaho-based band The Grasshoppers.
2001, married Jeff Deaton, son of Ray Deaton (Third Tyme Out). Jeff formerly worked with Lou Reid and Carolina, Junior Sisk and Rambler's Choice.
2002, formed Honi Deaton and Dream with husband Jeff (guitar), Kristin Scott Benson (banjo), Dewey Brown (fiddle), and Chris Davis (mandolin).

DEEP RIVER (See KANE'S RIVER)

IRIS DEMENT

Born in Paragould, Arkansas. Grew up in Southern California. Lives in Kansas City, Missouri.
Youngest of 14 children.
Her family was deeply religious. Her older sisters had a gospel group called "The DeMent Sisters."
Her father was a fiddler.
Didn't begin playing guitar, writing songs and performing until age 25 (while in Kansas).
2001, acted and sang in the movie "Songcatcher."
2001, appeared on Ralph Stanley's "Clinch Mountain Sweethearts" album.
2002, appeared on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Vol. III" album.

THE DESERT ROSE BAND (See CHRIS HILLMAN)

BETHANY DICK

Singer/songwriter from Belgrade, Montana.
Began playing fiddle at age 14. Two years later won the Junior National Fiddling Championship (1997) and the Montana Open Fiddle Championships (1997, 1998).
2000, released first album.

BOB DICK (See also FRONT RANGE)

From Waterbury, Connecticut. Lives in Massachusetts.
At age 15, played bass with the Greater Boston Youth Symphony.
1987, attended Berklee College of Music to study jazz.
Former bands: Billings Gap, Rabbit in a Log, Slo-Grass.
1992, joined Front Range as bass player.
2000, formed The Blackstone Valley Bluegrass Band (with his brother Dave, who has played with such bands as Southern Rail and Salamander Crossing).
2000, released solo project of Christmas songs, singing and playing all the instruments on the album.

HAZEL DICKENS

From Mercer County, West Virginia. Lives in Georgetown, Washington D.C.
Daughter of a Primitive Baptist preacher who hauled timber for the coal mines.
Best known for singing and writing songs about coal mines, working-class people and women's rights.
Her songs have been recorded by Emmylou Harris ("Hello Stranger"), New Riders of the Purple Sage ("Don't Put Her Down, You Helped Put Her There") and other artists.
Several of her songs were used in the soundtrack to the Academy Award-winning documentary film, "Harlan County, USA."
Has performed at some of the nation's most impressive venues: the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, Carnegie Hall, the Grand Ole Opry and the White House.
A social activist who continues to organize and perform at benefits for coal miners, labor unions, welfare rights groups and women's organizations.
1998, received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Shepherd College, Shepherdstown, WV.
2007, was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.

THE DILLARDS

From Salem, Missouri.
Rodney Dillard (guitar) and Doug Dillard (banjo) began performing together as The Dillard Brothers in 1958. Their original band included John Hartford on fiddle.
1962, formed The Dillards with Mitch Jayne (bass) and Dean Webb (mandolin). This configuration of the band was together for six years and is considered the "original" Dillards.
1962, decided to try their luck in California. After arriving in Los Angeles (November, 1962) they performed at the famous folk club "The Ash Grove." This led to their record deal with Elektra Records and a job on the "Andy Griffith Show" playing a family of slow-witted hillbillies called "The Darlin' Family."
Their three LP's "Backporch Bluegrass," "Live ... Almost," and "Pickin' and Fiddlin" (with Byron Berline on fiddle) are considered bluegrass classics, including such songs as Dooley, The Old Home Place, There is a Time, Doug's Tune, Dueling Banjos, etc.
1964, also recorded an album for World Pacific Records under the name "The Folkswingers" with Glen Campbell playing 12-string guitar.
Their 1965 "Pickin' and Fiddlin'" album featured Byron Berline on fiddle and introduced him to bluegrass.
They were one of the most influential bluegrass bands of the 1960's—popular on the thriving west coast folk music scene, performing at all the major folk clubs in Los Angeles—the Ash Grove, the Troubador, the Ice House, to name a few.
Among those who have credited the Dillards with many of their musical ideas: the late Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman (The Byrds and the Desert Rose Band), Byron Berline, Bernie Leadon (The Eagles), John McEuen (The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), John Hartford, Steve Martin, Sam Bush, many others.
They were the first (and perhaps only) bluegrass band to incorporate stand-up comedy into its act, featuring storyteller Mitch Jayne, along with the unpredictable antics of Rodney Dillard, who was the butt of most of Mitch's jokes.
1966-67, toured with the Byrds which led to Doug Dillard's departure to form a new band with The Byrds' Gene Clark called The Dillard and Clark Expedition.
1968, Doug Dillard was replaced by Herb Pederson and it was during this period that the Dillards recorded two landmark albums, "Wheatstraw Suite" and "Copperfields."
1972, toured with Elton John.
After Herb Pederson left the Dillards in 1972 (he was replaced by Billy Ray Lathum), the group went through several personnel changes, including the retirement of Mitch Jayne. The group eventually folded and during most of the 80's, Rodney and Dean worked together at Silver Dollar City, a theme park in Branson, Missouri.
Following a reunion tour in 1989, they attempted a comeback with Steve Cooley on banjo, recording two new albums for Vanguard Records.
Rodney lives in Branson and has his own recording studio.
Mitch is a writer and storyteller. Has has authored several books and was, for a time, the official spokesperson for the International Bluegrass Museum.
Doug moved to Nashville and for many years performed with his own band.
Dean is living in Branson and retired from music.
John McEuen produced a documentary video about the original Dillards called "A Night in the Ozarks".
Paul York, the Dillard's drummer from 1968 on, died in 1999 at the age of 58.
2001, Rodney and Doug began booking dates together again as the Dillards.
2002, appeared at Carnegie Hall with Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger.
2007, Mitch published his first novel "Fiddler's Ghost."

THE DILLARD AND CLARK EXPEDITION

A short-lived group (1968-1970) featuring Doug Dillard, formerly of the Dillards, and guitarist Gene Clark, formerly of the Byrds.
One of the first bands to mix bluegrass and country-rock.
Recorded two albums for A&M— "The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard and Clark" and "Through the Morning, Through the Night".

THE DILLARD/HAYNES BAND

From Branson, Missouri
A collaboration between Rodney Dillard and Bruce Haynes, a Christian country artist.
2001, released first album.

DOUG DILLARD (THE DOUG DILLARD BAND; See also THE DILLARDS)

From Salem, Missouri. Lives in Nashville.
An influential banjo player who was an original member of the Dillards (1962-1968)
Before becoming a professional musician, he was an accountant.
Played the part of "Jebbin Darling" on the Andy Griffith TV show.
1968-1970, worked with Gene Clark in the Dillard and Clark Expedition.
1971, went solo, recorded several solo albums and landed a job as a regular on the NBC series "Music Country U.S.A."
Studio credits include work with the Monkees, the Beach Boys, and Glen Campbell.
Appeared in the movie "Popeye" starring Robin Williams. While filming that picture, he fell from a cliff and suffered serious injuries which came very close to ending his life, not to mention his career as a musician
1979, formed the Doug Dillard band. Members have included Byron Berline, Ginger Boatwright, Kathy Chiavola, David Grier, many others.
1992, made a cameo appearance in Tanya Tucker's video "Some Kind of Trouble" in 1992.
1994-2000, did a number of "Original Dillards" reunion shows.
2004, began performing with brother Rodney as the Dillards once again.

DEREK DILLMAN

From Peru, Indiana.
Began playing the banjo at age 4.
1998, released first album at age 15.
1998, appeared at Bean Blossom festival.
2000, joined Jimmy Martin's Sunny Mountain Boys.

THE DIXIE BEE-LINERS

From Southwest Virginia
Features singer/songwriter Brandi Hart, a Kentucky native who began singing in church at age 2.
Also features guitarist Buddy Woodward, formerly an alt-country performer who worked with "The Ghost Rockets" and "Buddy Woodward and the Nitro Express." Also has worked with Steve Earle, Jim Lauderdale, Rosie Flores, John Starling, others.
Other band members: Rachel Renee Johnson (fiddle), Jeremy Darrow (mandollin) and Sam Morrow (banjo).
Their music has been featured on cable TV's Food Network and on the soundtrack to the Civil War film "Freedom."
2008, released "Ripe" on Pinecastle Records, produced by Bil VornDick.

THE DIXIE CHICKS

From Dallas, Texas.
1989, original group debuted on a street corner in Dallas.
1990, won first place in the bluegrass band competition at Telluride.
1998, burst onto the country music scene with several hit records, winning two CMA awards, three ACM awards and two Grammies.
Have been called "The Spice Girls of Country."
Members: Natalie Maines (lead vocal), Martie Seidel (Fiddle), Emily Robison (banjo/Dobro™). Martie and Emily are sisters.
1998, won CMA Horizon Award
1998, 1999, 2000 won CMA award for Vocal Group of the Year.
1998, 1999, won Grammy Award for Best Country Album.
1998, 1999, won Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group.
1998, 1999, won ACM awards for Top Vocal Duet or Group, Country Album of the Year.
1999, 2000, won CMA award for Best Music Video.
2000, won CMA award for Album of the Year.
2000, won CMA award for Entertainer of the Year.
2002, released "Home," a return to their bluegrass roots. It debuted on the Billboard charts at #1.
2003, stirred up controversy and outrage among country music fans when Natalie Maines criticized President George Bush's decision to invade Iraq at a concert in London.

THE DIXIE GENTLEMEN

A legendary Alabama group of the late 50's-early 60's that featured Jake Landers (guitar), Rual Yarbrough (banjo) and Herschel Sizemore (mandolin).
One of the few "major label" bluegrass bands of the period. They recorded for United Artists Records.
Jake Landers wrote several songs that became classics, such as "Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine" and "This Is the Girl I Love." He is a former member of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys.
Herschel Sizemore is an influential mandolin player who has also worked with Del McCoury, The Shenandoah Cut-Ups and the Bluegrass Cardinals. Also has his own band.
Landers has continued to perform and record with his own band in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

JERRY DOUGLAS

From Warren, Ohio. Lives in Nashville.
Nickname: "Flux", which means "to become fluid" (Websters).
Grew up in a musical family; his father plays guitar in a bluegrass band called the West Virginia Travelers.
At age 8, went to a Flatt and Scruggs concert and saw Dobro™ player Josh Graves for the first time. It was then that he knew he wanted to play a Dobro™.
Was a track star in high school.
Age 15, joined the The West Virginia Travelers (with his father) and later that year was offered a job with the Country Gentlemen. He declined to finish his education, but made a few guest appearances with them briefly during the summer of 1973 and met Ricky Skaggs who became one of his best friends.
1974, joined the Country Gentlemen.
1975, joined J.D. Crowe's band, The New South, with friend Ricky Skaggs.
1977, formed Boone Creek with Ricky Skaggs, disbanding when Ricky Skaggs went to work for Emmy Lou Harris the following year.
1978, rejoined the Country Gentlemen.
1980, joined The Whites.
1986, left The Whites to spend more time at home with his wife, Jill.
One of Nashville's top studio musicians and record producers. Can be heard on recordings by dozens of country and bluegrass music's major stars.
Has been nominated several times as "Instrumentalist of the Year" by the Country Music Assocation.
1990-1995, 2001, 2002, won IBMA award for Dobro™ Player of the Year.
1992, album "Slide Rule" won IBMA award for Recorded Event of the Year.
1994, album "Skip, Hop and Wobble" (with Russ Barenberg and Edgar Meyer) won IBMA Award for "Instrumental Recording of the Year."
1995, album "The Great Dobro™ Sessions" (produced by Douglas) won IBMA Awards for "Recorded Event of the Year" and "Instrumental Album of the Year."
Performs in a trio called "Skip, Hop and Wobble" with Russ Barenberg and Edgar Meyer.
1998, joined Alison Krauss and Union Station (replaced Adam Steffey) while continuing to perform with his own band and pursue other musical opportunities (recording, producing, etc.)
1998, won Dobro™ player of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards.
2000, appeared in the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou".
2002, won CMA and Americana awards for Instrumentalist of the Year.
His band is called "the Brickbats."
2005, 2007, won CMA award for Musician of the Year

THE DREADFUL SNAKES

From Nashville.
A studio band that recorded one album for Rounder (1983)
Members: Bela Fleck (banjo), Jerry Douglas (Dobro™), Blaine Sprouse (fiddle), Roland White (mandolin), Pat Enright (guitar) and Mark Hembree (bass).
1984, Enright and Hembree teamed up with Alan O'Bryant to form The Nashville Bluegrass Band.

CASEY DRIESSEN

From Chicago, Illinois.
Started playing fiddle at age 6.
Attended Berklee College of Music; taught by Matt Glaser.
1999, toured with Steve Earle and the Bluegrass Dukes.
2000, moved to Nashville. Has worked there with Tim O'Brien, Abigail Washburn, Darrell Scott, Béla Fleck, Jim Lauderdale, Lee Ann Womack, Mark Schatz, others.
2004, played on the soundtrack to the movie "Walk the Line" (about Johnny Cash).
Has a band of his own called the Colorfools.

DRUHA TRAVA (SECOND GRASS)

From the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslavakia).
Formed in 1991.
Led by singer/songwriter Robert Krestan.
Krestan and banjo player Lubos Malina were formerly in a popular Czech band called Poutnici.
Druha Trava means "second grass." The name originally had nothing to do with bluegrass. This was Krestan and Malina's second band, so they chose a name which meant "second harvest," but it turned out "second grass."
1998, recorded an album with Peter Rowan; signed with Compass Records.
1999, won the annual Czech Music Academy Award (equivalent to our Grammy) for Band of the Year.

THE DRY BRANCH FIRE SQUAD

From Springfield, Ohio.
Formed in 1976 by mandolinist Ron Thomason.
Specializes in raw, mountain-style vocals and the dry humor of emcee Thomason.
Host band for the annual "Grey Fox" Bluegrass Festival in New York.
Thomason's first pro job: 1971, with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys. (Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley were also members of that group.)
For 30 years, Thomason was an English teacher and assistant principal at a junior high school near his home (retired in 1999). He is a prolific writer and story teller.
Other interests: for years, he raised and trained Arabian horses. Lives in Colorado (near Pike's Peak) and is an avid hiker and rock climber.

THE DRY RIVER BOYS

From Winkler, Manitoba Canada
Formed in 2004 by Alvin Elias (Western Canadian banjo champ in 2000 and 2001) and Joe Teichroeb (guitar).
2004, appeared in a TV documentary on Canadian roots music.

DUE WEST

From the San Francisco area.
2003 lineup: Bill Evans (banjo, formerly with Dry Branch Fire Squad), Jim Nunally (guitar, also with John Reischmann and the Jaybirds), Erik Thomas (mandolin), Chad Manning (fiddle) and Cindy Browne (bass).

JOHN DUFFEY (See also THE COUNTRY GENTLEMEN, THE SELDOM SCENE)

From Washington, D.C.
1957, co-founded The Country Gentlemen.
1969, quit the Country Gentlemen so that he could stay home more and pursue his passion for bowling.
1971, formed The Seldom Scene (the name indicating his desire for the band to stay home and not be "seen" on the road more than necessary.)
Besides his aggressive mandolin playing and his unique falsetto tenor voice, he was known for his outrageous stage presence, his wry sense of humor, his bad taste in clothing and his eternal flat top hairdo.
1996, inducted into the IBMA's Hall of Honor as a member of the "Classic" Country Gentlemen.
Died in 1996 at the age of 62.

GLEN DUNCAN

From Columbus, Indiana.
As a band member, he has played fiddle with The Kendalls, Larry Sparks, Bill Monroe, Jim & Jesse, The Osborne Brothers, Reba McIntyre, Garth Brooks, Lonesome Standard Time, and Mike Snider.
Session credits include albums by Reba McIntyre, Garth Brooks, Lyle Lovett, Earl Scruggs, Rodney Crowell, Shania Twain, George Strait, Vince Gill, many others.
First instrument: learned to play steel guitar at age 6.
1997, formed "Longview" with James King, Joe Mullins, Dudley Connell, Marshall Wilburn and Don Rigsby.
2000, performed with Earl Scruggs on his album, video, personal appearances.
2001, won Grammy for his performance on Earl Scrugg's "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" (Best Country Instrumental)
2001, formed "Rock County" with Don Rigsby.
2002, featured on Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Volume 3"
2003, a member of Earl Scruggs' "Family and Friends" tour.

STUART DUNCAN (See also THE NASHVILLE BLUEGRASS BAND)

From Vista, California (near San Diego). Lives in Nashville.
One of the top fiddle players in bluegrass music.
Age 10, played in a San Diego bluegrass band made up entirely of kids under the age of 14 called "The Pendleton Pickers." John Moore (of California and Bluegrass Etc.) was also a member of this group.
1980, played fiddle with Lost Highway.
1983, joined Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers.
1985-present, the Nashville Bluegrass Band.
1991-1996, 2005, won IBMA award for "Fiddle Player of the Year."
As a session musician, he is one of Nashville's "A-list" musicians and has performed and recorded with hundreds of the top country and popular artists.