Nashville Bluegrass Band
Encyclopedia
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 Records
and recorded their Béla Fleck
-produced debut, My Native Home, in 1985. Incorporating elements of black gospel
and spiritual
s, then a rarity in bluegrass, they became critical and popular successes both in America and abroad. The group toured in some 20 countries and were the first bluegrass band to ever play in China
.
The group continued to record for Rounder and Sugar Hill into the 1990s; two of the albums, 1993's Waitin' for the Hard Times to Go and 1995's Unleashed, won Grammy Awards for Best Bluegrass Album
. Other albums were nominated for Grammys in the same category in 1988, 1990, 1991, 1998 and 2004. After the departure of bassist Gene Libbea and mandolinist Roland White
in 1998, the group went on a brief hiatus, but after vocalist Pat Enright sang as one of the Soggy Bottom Boys from O Brother, Where Art Thou?
, the group's career saw a revival. They played as the backing group for many performers on the Down from the Mountain
tour and album, and toured again on their own in the 2000s.
Later members
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...
ensemble founded in 1984.
The group's members first played together in 1984 as a backing band for Vernon Oxford
Vernon Oxford
Vernon Oxford is an American country music singer and guitarist.-Biography:Oxford was raised in Wichita, Kansas, where his father played old-time fiddle. He began playing professionally in Utah in 1960, mostly playing in the Kansas area in the early 1960s, then relocated to Nashville in 1964...
and Minnie Pearl
Minnie Pearl
Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon , known professionally as Minnie Pearl, was an American country comedienne who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years and on the television show Hee Haw from 1969 to 1991.-Early life:Sarah Colley was born in Centerville, in Hickman County, Tennessee,...
; each of the members were established musicians from the 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...
bluegrass community. They signed to 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...
and recorded their Béla Fleck
Béla Fleck
Béla Anton Leoš Fleck is an American banjo player. Widely acknowledged as one of the world's most innovative and technically proficient banjo players, he is best known for his work with the bands New Grass Revival and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.-Early life and career details:Fleck was born in...
-produced debut, My Native Home, in 1985. Incorporating elements of black gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
and spiritual
Spiritual (music)
Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...
s, then a rarity in bluegrass, they became critical and popular successes both in America and abroad. The group toured in some 20 countries and were the first bluegrass band to ever play in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
The group continued to record for Rounder and Sugar Hill into the 1990s; two of the albums, 1993's Waitin' for the Hard Times to Go and 1995's Unleashed, won Grammy Awards for Best Bluegrass Album
Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album
The Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works in the bluegrass music genre...
. Other albums were nominated for Grammys in the same category in 1988, 1990, 1991, 1998 and 2004. After the departure of bassist Gene Libbea and mandolinist 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...
in 1998, the group went on a brief hiatus, but after vocalist Pat Enright sang as one of the Soggy Bottom Boys from O Brother, Where Art Thou?
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a 2000 comedy film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Charles Durning. Set in 1937 rural Mississippi during the Great Depression, the film's story is a modern satire loosely...
, the group's career saw a revival. They played as the backing group for many performers on the Down from the Mountain
Down from the Mountain
The soundtrack album, Down from the Mountain: Live Concert Performances by the Artists & Musicians of O Brother, Where Art Thou? was released to complement the documentary concert film...
tour and album, and toured again on their own in the 2000s.
Members
Original members- Alan O'Bryant - banjo
- Pat Enright - guitar, vocals
- Mike ComptonMike Compton (Musician)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.-Biography:...
- 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... - Mark Hembree - bass
Later members
- Gene Libbea - bass
- Roland WhiteRoland WhiteRoland 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...
- mandolin - Stuart DuncanStuart DuncanStuart Duncan is a bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar and banjo. Born in Quantico, Virginia and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school band, he has been a member of the Nashville Bluegrass Band since 1985, and is a much-in-demand session musician...
- fiddle - Dennis Crouch - bass
- Andy Todd - bass
Discography
| Released | Title | Label | Number | Notes |
| 1985 | My Native Home | Rounder 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... |
0212 | LP |
| 1986 | Idle Time | Rounder 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... |
0232 | LP |
| 1987 | To Be His Child | Rounder 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... |
0242 | gospel LP, reissued on CD |
| 1988 | New Moon Rising | Sugar Hill Sugar Hill Records Sugar Hill Records may refer to:*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in rap music*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in bluegrass and country music... |
CD 3762 | Grammy nominee, with Peter Rowan |
| 1990 | The Boys Are Back in Town | Sugar Hill Sugar Hill Records Sugar Hill Records may refer to:*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in rap music*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in bluegrass and country music... |
CD 3778 | Grammy nominee |
| 1991 | The Nashville Bluegrass Band | Rounder 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... |
CD 0232 | CD compiled from My Native Home and Idle Time LPs |
| 1991 | Home of the Blues | Sugar Hill Sugar Hill Records Sugar Hill Records may refer to:*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in rap music*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in bluegrass and country music... |
CD 3793 | Grammy nominee |
| 1993 | Waitin' for the Hard Times to Go Waitin' for the Hard Times to Go Waitin' for the Hard Times to Go is an album by the Nashville Bluegrass Band, released through Sugar Hill Records in 1993. In 1994, the album won the group the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.-Track listing:# "Backtrackin'" – 2:58... |
Sugar Hill Sugar Hill Records Sugar Hill Records may refer to:*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in rap music*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in bluegrass and country music... |
CD 3809 | Grammy winner |
| 1995 | Unleashed Unleashed (Nashville Bluegrass Band album) Unleashed is an album by the Nashville Bluegrass Band, released through Sugar Hill Records in October 1995. In 1996, the album won the group the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.-Track listing:# "Tear My Stillhouse Down" – 2:27... |
Sugar Hill Sugar Hill Records Sugar Hill Records may refer to:*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in rap music*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in bluegrass and country music... |
CD 3843 | Grammy winner. Some sources list the pre-release title as Still Unplugged |
| 1998 | American Beauty | Sugar Hill Sugar Hill Records Sugar Hill Records may refer to:*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in rap music*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in bluegrass and country music... |
CD 3882 | Grammy nominee |
| 2004 | Twenty Year Blues | Sugar Hill Sugar Hill Records Sugar Hill Records may refer to:*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in rap music*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in bluegrass and country music... |
CD 3959 | Grammy nominee |
| 2007 | Best of the Sugar Hill Years | Sugar Hill Sugar Hill Records Sugar Hill Records may refer to:*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in rap music*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in bluegrass and country music... |
CD 4036 | compilation, 1990–2004 |