Mike Compton (Musician)
Encyclopedia
Mike Compton is an American
bluegrass
mandolin
player and former protege of the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe
. He is considered a modern master of bluegrass mandolin.
fiddler. Initially, Compton began playing the trombone but switched to guitar instead and later to mandolin playing old-time music with his cousin. He became interested in bluegrass music and eventually learned to play like Bill Monroe. At the Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival in 1975, he finally met Monroe. After Compton had finished his education at the Meridian Junior College he moved to Nashville
and joined Hubert Davis and the Season Travelers in 1977. Four year later, in 1981, he left Davis' band. He spent the early 1980s, working as a cook and a printer and only occasionally as a musician. In the mid-1980s, he joined the Nashville Bluegrass Band
but left the band in 1988 due to a road accident where bass player Mark Hembree was injured. Compton moved to the Catskill Mountains
in 1991 working as a cottage caretaker. The next year, he returned to Nashville to record an album with David Grier
. Because session work was scarce, Compton began teaching mandolin. In 1995, he recorded with Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. Compton joined John Hartford
in the mid 1990s recording several albums together with him. In 2000, Compton returned to the Nashville Bluegrass Band as a replacement for the mandolin player Roland White
.
, an album containing one of his songs, was awarded the Grammy Award
for best album. In recognition of his achievements, he received a commendation from the Mississippi
State Senate.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bluegrass
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...
mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
player and former protege of the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe
Bill Monroe
William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
. He is considered a modern master of bluegrass mandolin.
Biography
Compton learned music from an early age as his great-grandfather was an old-timeOld-time music
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre also...
fiddler. Initially, Compton began playing the trombone but switched to guitar instead and later to mandolin playing old-time music with his cousin. He became interested in bluegrass music and eventually learned to play like Bill Monroe. At the Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival in 1975, he finally met Monroe. After Compton had finished his education at the Meridian Junior College he moved to Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and joined Hubert Davis and the Season Travelers in 1977. Four year later, in 1981, he left Davis' band. He spent the early 1980s, working as a cook and a printer and only occasionally as a musician. In the mid-1980s, he joined the Nashville Bluegrass Band
Nashville Bluegrass Band
The Nashville Bluegrass Band is an American bluegrass music ensemble founded in 1984.The group's members first played together in 1984 as a backing band for Vernon Oxford and Minnie Pearl; each of the members were established musicians from the Nashville bluegrass community. They signed to Rounder...
but left the band in 1988 due to a road accident where bass player Mark Hembree was injured. Compton moved to the Catskill Mountains
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
in 1991 working as a cottage caretaker. The next year, he returned to Nashville to record an album with David Grier
David Grier
David Grier is an American acoustic guitarist. He is considered to be one of the premier flatpicking guitarists in the world. His unique phrasing and his ability to create multiple variations on a theme are hallmarks of his playing style...
. Because session work was scarce, Compton began teaching mandolin. In 1995, he recorded with Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. Compton joined John Hartford
John Hartford
John Cowan Hartford was an American folk, country and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive knowledge of Mississippi River lore...
in the mid 1990s recording several albums together with him. In 2000, Compton returned to the Nashville Bluegrass Band as a replacement for the mandolin player Roland White
Roland White
Roland White is an American bluegrass music artist, performing principally on the mandolin.-Biography:At an early age, White formed himself, his two brothers and his sister into a bluegrass band which performed locally...
.
Awards
In 2001 and 2002, Compton was nominated as IBMA Mandolinist of the Year. In 2002, O Brother, Where Art Thou?O Brother, Where Art Thou? (soundtrack)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? is the soundtrack of music from the 2000 American film of the same name, written, directed and produced by the Coen Brothers and starring George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Goodman....
, an album containing one of his songs, was awarded the Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for best album. In recognition of his achievements, he received a commendation from the Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
State Senate.
Collaborations
- It's Hard To Tell the Singer From the Song, Hazel DickensHazel DickensHazel Jane Dickens was an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, double bassist and guitarist. She was the eighth child of an eleven-child mining family in West Virginia. Her music was characterized not only by her high, lonesome singing style, but also by her provocative pro-union, feminist songs...
(1986) Rounder RecordsRounder RecordsRounder 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...
0226 - Climbing The Walls, with David GrierDavid GrierDavid Grier is an American acoustic guitarist. He is considered to be one of the premier flatpicking guitarists in the world. His unique phrasing and his ability to create multiple variations on a theme are hallmarks of his playing style...
(1989) Rounder Records 0280 - Stomp, with David Long (2006) Acoustic DiskAcoustic DiscAcoustic Disc is the name of the record label founded by mandolinist David Grisman, in 1990. This independent record label's focus is acoustic music from all genres of music....
B000E8N8OI - Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, Elvis CostelloElvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
(2009) - Country MusicCountry Music (Willie Nelson album)- Personnel :* Willie Nelson - vocals; gut string acoustic guitar* Jim Lauderdale - vocal harmonies on 1, 2, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15* Buddy Miller - electric guitar; vocal harmonies on 5, 6, 8, 9* Chris Sharp - acoustic guitar; vocal harmonies on 11...
, Willie NelsonWillie NelsonWillie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
(2010)
John Hartford
- Wild Hog in the Red BrushWild Hog in the Red BrushWild Hog in the Red Brush is a bluegrass and old-time music album by John Hartford, released in 1996.-Track listing:# "Squirrel Hunters" – 2:28# "Birdie" – 2:25# "Grandmammy Look at Uncle Sam" – 3:06...
(1996) Rounder RecordsRounder RecordsRounder 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...
0392 - No End of LoveNo End of LoveNo End of Love is a bluegrass album by American musician John Hartford, released in 1996 .-Track listing:# "Dialog" – 0:07# "No End of Love" – 4:04# "Dialog" – 0:17# "When Guiding Star Came to Tell City" – 5:26# "Dialog" – 0:14...
(1996) Small Dog A-Barking SD-696CD - The Speed of the Old Long BowThe Speed of the Old Long BowThe Speed of the Old Long Bow is an album by John Hartford of traditional American fiddle music, released in 1998...
(1998) Rounder RecordsRounder RecordsRounder 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...
0438 - Good Old BoysGood Old Boys (John Hartford album)Good Old Boys is an album by American musician John Hartford, released in 1999.-Track listing:All songs written by John Hartford#"Good Old Boys" – 6:35#"On the Radio" – 5:31#"The Cross-Eyed Child" – 10:28#"Watching the River Go By" – 5:21...
(1999) Rounder RecordsRounder RecordsRounder 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...
0462 - Hamilton IronworksHamilton IronworksHamilton Ironworks is last album by John Hartford, recorded before his death in 2001. Along with the Hartford Stringband, Hartford interprets 22 traditional fiddle tunes.-Reception:...
(2001) Rounder RecordsRounder RecordsRounder 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...
0442 - Live from Mountain StageLive from Mountain StageLive from Mountain Stage is a live album by John Hartford, released in 2000.-Track listing:All songs by John Hartford unless otherwise noted.#"I Wish We Had Our Time Again" – 2:47#"Lorena" – 3:56...
(2002) Blue Plate Records SHCD-3959
Nashville Bluegrass Band
- Idle Time (1986) Rounder RecordsRounder RecordsRounder 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...
0232 - My Native Home (1985) Rounder RecordsRounder RecordsRounder 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...
0212 - To Be His Child (1987) Rounder RecordsRounder RecordsRounder 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...
0242 - 20 Year Blues (2004) Sugar Hill Records SHCD-3959
See also
- Bluegrass musicBluegrass musicBluegrass 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...
- Country musicCountry musicCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
- MandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
- Grammy Awards
- International Bluegrass Music AssociationInternational Bluegrass Music AssociationThe International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association to promote bluegrass music.Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1988 they announced plans to create the International Bluegrass Music Museum as a joint venture with...
- Americana Music AssociationAmericana Music AssociationThe Americana Music Association is a trade organization developed to provide professional support and to promote awareness of Americana music. Toward these ends the organization works with artists, radio stations, record labels, publishers, and others to create networking opportunities and to...
- Grand Ole OpryGrand Ole OpryThe Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...