A pivotal member of the hugely successful bluegrass band Flatt and Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys, Dobro pioneer Josh Graves (1927-2006) was a living link between bluegrass music and the blues. In Bluegrass Bluesman, this influential performer shares the story of his lifelong career in music. In lively anecdotes, Graves describes his upbringing in East Tennessee and the climate in which bluegrass music emerged during the 1940s. Deeply influenced by the blues, he adapted Earl Scruggs's revolutionary banjo style to the Dobro resonator slide guitar and gave the Foggy Mountain Boys their distinctive sound. Graves' accounts of daily life on the road through the 1950s and 1960s reveal the band's dedication to musical excellence, Scruggs' leadership, and an often grueling life on the road. He also comments on his later career when he played in Lester Flatt's Nashville Grass and the Earl Scruggs Revue and collaborated with the likes of Boz Scaggs, Charlie McCoy, Kenny Baker, Eddie Adcock, Jesse McReynolds, Marty Stuart, Jerry Douglas, Alison Krauss, and his three musical sons. A colorful storyteller, Graves brings to life the world of an American troubadour and the mountain culture that he never left behind. Born in Tellico Plains, Tennessee, Josh Graves (1927-2006) is universally acknowledged as the father of the bluegrass Dobro. In 1997 he was inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame. | Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Foreword Neil V. Rosenberg Editor's Introduction Fred Bartenstein Author's Introduction 1. 1927-1942, A Tennessee Childhood 2. 1942-1955, A Musical Apprenticeship 3. 1955-1969, Part 1, Foggy Mountain Boy 4. 1955-1969, Part 2, Life on the Road and the Breakup Illustrations follow p. 44. 5. 1969-1994, King of the Dobro 6. A Man of Many Talents 7. Reflections on Bluegass Old and New 8. A Family Musical Legacy 9. Testimony from Josh Graves's Contemporaries and Those He Influenced APPENDIX A: Josh,"Julie," and "Cliff" (with the Seahorse Inlay), the Two Main Instruments Played by APPENDIX B: Josh's Repertoire: Tunes and Songs He Featured While a Member of the Foggy Mountain Boys Notes Index Back Cover | Certificate of Merit for Excellence for Best Research in Recorded Country Music, Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) Awards, 2013. Fred Bartenstein (editor), Bluegrass/Media Person of the Year, International Bluegrass Music Awards (IBMA), 2013. — Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC)
Certificate of Merit for Excellence for Best Research in Recorded Country Music, Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) Awards, 2013. Fred Bartenstein (editor), Bluegrass/Media Person of the Year, International Bluegrass Music Awards (IBMA), 2013. — International Bluegrass Music Awards for Fred Bartenstein (editor)
| Fred Bartenstein has performed many roles in bluegrass music, including magazine editor, broadcaster, musician, festival MC, talent director, scholar and consultant. He lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio.