The Lilly Brothers & Don Stover
Encyclopedia
The Lilly Brothers, were bluegrass musicians born in Clear Creek, West Virginia
. They have been credited with bringing bluegrass to New England and with influencing such future bluegrass artists as Peter Rowan, Joe Val and Bill Keith
, among others.
. Other radio works followed at WKLS in Beckley, West Virginia
and on several other Southern radio stations during the 1940s. In 1945, they appeared on the Molly O'Day
radio show at WNOX in Knoxville, Tennessee
. In 1948, the brothers signed with the WWVA Jamboree
in Wheeling, West Virginia
as members of "Red Belcher's Kentucky Ridge Runners", but they quit two years later because of a financial dispute and the brothers retired temporarily. In 1951, Everett joined Flatt & Scruggs as mandolin player. The next year, in 1952, 'Tex' Logan
, whom they had met at the WWVA Jamboree, persuaded the brothers to reunite.
The Lilly Brothers moved to Boston and formed a group called the "Confederate Mountaineers" who consisted of the brothers on guitar and mandolin, Logan on fiddle, and Don Stover on banjo. They performed on WCOP’s Hayloft Jamboree and as a house band at local clubs such as the Plaza Bar, the Mohawk Ranch, and the Hillbilly Ranch. Soon, they were making records for the Folkways
, Prestige
and Event labels. Somewhere along the line they changed the group's name to the Lilly Brothers.
In the 1960s they appeared in concerts at several major colleges and at folk festivals. The personnel of the Lilly Brothers didn't change between 1952 and 1970 and is considered one of bluegrass music's most stable lineups. The death of Everett Lilly’s son, Jiles, in a car crash in 1970 brought to an end the brothers’ career in Boston and Everett left the town. For the remainder of the 1970s, the brothers would reunite on several occasions. In 1973 the Lilly Brothers made a tremendously successful tour of Japan, including the release of three live albums. The Lilly Brothers’ career was later chronicled in a 1979 documentary "True Facts in a Country Song". In the 1980s, as Bea retired, Everett and his son Mark played together in the group "Clear Creek Crossin'".
As of 2009, Everett Lilly continues to play and perform with his sons in a band called Everett Lilly and the Lilly Mountaineers.
"Bea" Lilly's correct name and birth date are Michael Burt Lilly born December 5, 1921.
The Lilly Brothers’ singing has been described as rich, mountain-flavoured bluegrass and their brand of dynamic, no holds barred traditional bluegrass has been noted as haunting and earthy.
Clear Creek, West Virginia
Clear Creek is an unincorporated community in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. Clear Creek is west of Pax. Clear Creek has a post office with ZIP code 25044....
. They have been credited with bringing bluegrass to New England and with influencing such future bluegrass artists as Peter Rowan, Joe Val and Bill Keith
Bill Keith (musician)
Bill Keith is a five-string banjoist who made a significant contribution to the stylistic development of the instrument. In the 1960s he introduced a variation on the popular "Scruggs style" of banjo playing which would soon become known as melodic style, or "Keith style." -Professional...
, among others.
Biography
Influenced by the traditional music they heard in their youth, Bea began playing the guitar and Everett the mandolin. In 1938, they made their radio debut on the Old Farm Hour show at WCHS in Charleston, West VirginiaCharleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
. Other radio works followed at WKLS in Beckley, West Virginia
Beckley, West Virginia
Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States, which was founded on April 4, 1838. The 2008 population was estimated to be 16,832 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Early in its history, the town was known as Beckleyville and Raleigh Court House...
and on several other Southern radio stations during the 1940s. In 1945, they appeared on the Molly O'Day
Molly O'Day (singer)
Molly O'Day was an American country music vocalist who had some degree of fame and commercial success in the late 1940s. Despite her short recording career, 5 years, she became a legend in her own lifetime...
radio show at WNOX in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
. In 1948, the brothers signed with the WWVA Jamboree
WWVA Jamboree
WWVA Jamboree, renamed Jamboree U.S.A. in the 1960s, and the Wheeling Jamboree in 2009, is a pioneering American radio show that featured country music from 1933–2008, and again since January 2009...
in Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
as members of "Red Belcher's Kentucky Ridge Runners", but they quit two years later because of a financial dispute and the brothers retired temporarily. In 1951, Everett joined Flatt & Scruggs as mandolin player. The next year, in 1952, 'Tex' Logan
Benjamin F. Logan
Benjamin F. "Tex" Logan, Jr. is an American electrical engineer and bluegrass music fiddler.Born in Coahoma, Texas, Logan earned a B.Sc. in electrical engineering at Texas Tech University, then Texas Technological College, in Lubbock, Texas, studied for a B.Sc. in engineering at Massachusetts...
, whom they had met at the WWVA Jamboree, persuaded the brothers to reunite.
The Lilly Brothers moved to Boston and formed a group called the "Confederate Mountaineers" who consisted of the brothers on guitar and mandolin, Logan on fiddle, and Don Stover on banjo. They performed on WCOP’s Hayloft Jamboree and as a house band at local clubs such as the Plaza Bar, the Mohawk Ranch, and the Hillbilly Ranch. Soon, they were making records for the Folkways
Folkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
, Prestige
Prestige Records
Prestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...
and Event labels. Somewhere along the line they changed the group's name to the Lilly Brothers.
In the 1960s they appeared in concerts at several major colleges and at folk festivals. The personnel of the Lilly Brothers didn't change between 1952 and 1970 and is considered one of bluegrass music's most stable lineups. The death of Everett Lilly’s son, Jiles, in a car crash in 1970 brought to an end the brothers’ career in Boston and Everett left the town. For the remainder of the 1970s, the brothers would reunite on several occasions. In 1973 the Lilly Brothers made a tremendously successful tour of Japan, including the release of three live albums. The Lilly Brothers’ career was later chronicled in a 1979 documentary "True Facts in a Country Song". In the 1980s, as Bea retired, Everett and his son Mark played together in the group "Clear Creek Crossin'".
As of 2009, Everett Lilly continues to play and perform with his sons in a band called Everett Lilly and the Lilly Mountaineers.
"Bea" Lilly's correct name and birth date are Michael Burt Lilly born December 5, 1921.
Afterwords
Joe Val once said of the Confederate Mountaineers’ influence on urban Massachusetts, Those guys hit on like a bombshell. Nobody’d ever heard anything like that before.The Lilly Brothers’ singing has been described as rich, mountain-flavoured bluegrass and their brand of dynamic, no holds barred traditional bluegrass has been noted as haunting and earthy.
Inductions
- In 1986. the Lilly Brothers were inducted into the Massachusetts Country Music Hall of Fame and Don Stover was inducted the following year.
- On October 17, 2002, the Lilly Brothers and Don Stover were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.
- In November 2008, the Lilly Brothers were inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall Of Fame.
78 RPM
| Year | Song Titles | Label | Number |
| 1948 | "What Are They Doing In Heaven" / "They Sleep Now Together At Rest" | Page | 505 |
| 1957 | "Tragic Romance" / "Are You Tired of Me, My Darling" | Event | E-4261 |
| 1959 | "John Henry" / "Bring Back My Blue-Eyed Boy To Me" | Event | E-4272 |
Albums
| Year | Title | Label | Number | Notes |
| 1962 | Folk Songs From the Southern Mountains | Folkways Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:... |
FA 2433 | one side with Don Stover |
| 1963 | Bluegrass Breakdown | Prestige Prestige Records Prestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several... Folklore |
FL14010 | with Don Stover |
| 1964 | The Country Songs of the Lilly Brothers | Prestige Prestige Records Prestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several... Folklore |
FL14035 | |
| 1970 | Early Recordings | County County Records County Records also expanded into the bluegrass music genre, although Freeman preferred those artists who stayed the closest to their old-time roots. The label's first bluegrass release was 1965's Blue Ridge Bluegrass featuring Larry Richardson and the Blue Ridge Boys.-Related businesses:Freeman... |
729 | with Don Stover, recorded 1956-57 |
| 1973 | What Will I Leave Behind | County County Records County Records also expanded into the bluegrass music genre, although Freeman preferred those artists who stayed the closest to their old-time roots. The label's first bluegrass release was 1965's Blue Ridge Bluegrass featuring Larry Richardson and the Blue Ridge Boys.-Related businesses:Freeman... |
742 | with Don Stover |
| 1974 | Holiday in Japan, Part 1 | Towa | TWA 101S | with Don Stover, live in Japan |
| 1974 | Holiday in Japan, Part 2 | Towa | TWA 102S | with Don Stover, live in Japan |
| 1974 | Holiday in Japan, Part 3 | Towa | TWA 103S | with Don Stover, live in Japan |
| 1996 | Live at Hillbilly Ranch | Hay Holler | HHCD1333 | recorded in Boston, July 1967 |
| 2001 | Live at Tamarack 2001 | Lilly Bros | 5704 | with the Lilly Mountaineers |
| 2002 | On the Radio 1952-1953 | 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... |
1109 | with Don Stover |
| 2003 | West Virginia, Oh How I Miss You | Lilly Bros | with the Lilly Mountaineers |
Compilations and reissues
| Year | Title | Label | Number | Notes |
| 1977 | Bluegrass Breakdown | 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... |
SS01 | reissue of Prestige FL14010 |
| 1977 | The Lilly Brothers - Country Songs | 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... |
SS02 | reissue of Prestige FL14035 |
| 1991 | Early Recordings | Rebel Rebel Records In 1980, Freeland sold the label to David Freeman, the founder of County Records. Rebel currently has 140 titles in print from more than 35 different artists and groups. In 2008, the label released 8 new titles, including ones from Ralph Stanley and Larry Sparks.-Notable artists:... |
1688 | reissue of County 729 |
| 1999 | The Prestige/Folklore Years, Vol 5: Have a Feast Here Tonight | Prestige Prestige Records Prestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several... |
9919 | CD reissue of Prestige FL14010 and FL14035 |
| 2001 | Newport Folk Festival - Best Of Bluegrass 1959-66 | Vanguard Vanguard Records Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary... |
VCD-187-89-2 | 2-CD set, includes 5 live tracks by the Lilly Brothers |
| 2003 | What Will I Leave Behind | Rebel Rebel Records In 1980, Freeland sold the label to David Freeman, the founder of County Records. Rebel currently has 140 titles in print from more than 35 different artists and groups. In 2008, the label released 8 new titles, including ones from Ralph Stanley and Larry Sparks.-Notable artists:... |
1788 | reissue of County 742 |
| 2005 | Bluegrass at the Roots | Folkways Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:... |
SWF40158 | reissue of Folkways FA2433 plus 2 unreleased tracks |
Video appearances
| Year | Title | Label | Formats | Notes |
| 1979 | "True Facts in a Country Song" | Burt/Chadwick | VHS | short documentary by Susan Burt & Doug Chadwick |
| 2005 | Festival! | Eagle Vision | DVD | Newport Folk Festival 1963-66, various artists |
| 2006 | Bluegrass Country Soul | Time Life | DVD | Camp Springs, NC Bluegrass Festival 1971, various artists |