Don Rigsby | |
---|---|
Birth name | Donald Glen Rigsby |
Born | Isonville, Kentucky | February 18, 1968
Genres | Bluegrass music |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Mandolin, fiddle, guitar, vocals |
Years active | 1998–present |
Donald Glen Rigsby is an American mandolinist, fiddler, guitarist, vocalist, and producer in the bluegrass tradition. He is known for his solo career, and for his work with the Lonesome River Band and Longview.
Growing up in Eastern Kentucky, Rigsby discovered bluegrass music early on. At age 5, Rigsby learned to sing from a 1959 tape of Ralph Stanley singing "Hills of Home" and "Little Maggie." [1]
Rigsby befriended two of Ralph Stanley's Clinch Mountain Boys: Ricky Skaggs (Rigsby's cousin) and Keith Whitley. Rigsby learned guitar at age 12, then fiddle, dulcimer, and mandolin. [2]
While attending Morehead State University, Rigsby was a member of TruGrass, which included Johnie Lewis (banjo) and Tim Gilliam (guitar), with Rigsby on mandolin. [3]
In 1987, Rigsby joined Charlie Sizemore's bluegrass band and stayed for two years. When he graduated in 1990, Rigsby moved to Nashville and joined Vern Gosdin's road band. [4]
Rigsby's first national exposure was with Bluegrass Cardinals from 1991 until 1993, then he joined J. D. Crowe and the New South from 1993 until 1995. [5]
Rigsby joined the Lonesome River Band when Dan Tyminski left the band. Rigsby stayed for six years and appeared on three of their albums: One Step Forward (1996), Finding The Way (1998), and Talkin' To Myself (2000). The band included Rigsby, Ronnie Bowman, Sammy Shelor, and Kenny Smith. [4] When John Duffey suddenly died, Rigsby filled in with the Seldom Scene.
Along with Dudley Connell and James King, Rigsby was a member of Longview. The band released three albums: Longview (1997), High Lonesome (1999), and Lessons In Stone (2002). Other members included Joe Mullins (banjo), Glen Duncan (fiddle), and Marshall Wilborn (bass). Rigsby and Connell sing Stanley Brothers-style high-baritone harmonies behind King. [6]
Rigsby's first solo album A Vision, released in 1999, was a collection of bluegrass gospel music. J. D. Crowe, Ralph Stanley, Sammy Shelor, Roy Huskey Jr., and Ricky Skaggs provide support. The album won the Association of Independent Music's Gospel Album of the Year award. He also received the 1999 Bluegrass Now Magazine Fans' Choice Award for Vocal Tenor of the Year, and the 2001 Governor's Kentucky Star Award. [7]
In 2000, the title track from the album Empty Old Mailbox won the 2001 SPBGMA Song of the Year award. Guest artists on the album included Jerry Douglas, Tim Stafford, Stuart Duncan, J. D. Crowe, and Larry Sparks. [8]
2003's The Midnight Call featured Jim Hurst (guitar), Stuart Duncan (fiddle], Carl Jackson, Rob McCoury (mandolin), Kenny Malone (percussion), and Vassar Clements. [9]
Rigsby recorded two albums with Dudley Connell (The Seldom Scene) in the Appalachian brother duet style: Meet Me By The Moonlight (1999) and Another Saturday Night (2001). [10]
In 2010, Rigsby released Doctor’s Orders: A Tribute to Ralph Stanley. Stanley appears on the album, as do former Clinch Mountain Boys Larry Sparks, Ricky Skaggs, Charlie Sizemore, Steve Sparkman and Stanley’s lead guitarist, James Alan Shelton. [11]
In 2016, Rigsby and David Thom collaborated on the album New Territory which also featured Peter Rowan, Randy Kohrs, and Tim Crouch. [12]
Rock County was formed by Rigsby in 2001. Other members included Glen Duncan (fiddle), Dale Vanderpool (banjo) Ray Craft (guitar), and Robin Smith (bass). They released two albums: Rock County (2002) and Rock Solid (2003). In 2003, Vanderpool was replaced by Scott Vestal, and Ray Craft was replaced by Keith Tew. The band broke up in 2004. [13]
In 2006, Rigsby released Hillbilly Heartache, his first album as the leader of his new band Midnight Call. [1] The band includes Shayne Bartley (guitar), Jesse Wells (fiddle), Robert Maynard (bass), and Dale Vanderpool (banjo). [14]
In 2016, Rigsby formed Flashback, a band consisting of former members of The New South. The band consists of Rigsby, Richard Bennett (guitar, lead vocals), Phil Leadbetter (resonator guitar), and Curt Chapman (bass). The band name was inspired by the title of the album J. D. Crowe released in 1995. [15]
In 2001 Rigsby accepted a director position at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead State University. He remastered a series of local radio shows hosted more than three decades ago by Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley to be released on Sugar Hill. He also taught vocal harmony and folk/country music listening. [1] In 2010, Rigsby left the program to pursue music full time. [16]
Rigsby produced the album 40 by Larry Sparks, which in 2005 was awarded Recorded Event of the Year and Album of the Year by the IBMA. [3]
Rigsby sang on Alan Jackson's The Bluegrass Album in 2013, and a tour with Jackson included an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman on CBS. [17]
Rigsby still lives in Isonville with his daughter and son. [3]
Ralph Edmund Stanley was an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing. He began playing music in 1946, originally with his older brother Carter Stanley as part of The Stanley Brothers, and most often as the leader of his band, The Clinch Mountain Boys. Ralph was also known as Dr. Ralph Stanley.
Longview is an American bluegrass supergroup that was formed in 1995. The group's name is derived from the Long View Recording Studio complex in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, where they recorded their first album.
James Dee Crowe was an American banjo player and bluegrass band leader. He first became known during his four-year stint with Jimmy Martin in the 1950s. Crowe led the bluegrass group New South from 1971 until his death in 2021.
The New South is a bluegrass band formed in 1971 by banjo player J. D. Crowe. Their first two albums, Bluegrass Evolution and the eponymous record known by the album number, "Rounder 0044," established them as a dominant force in bluegrass, though the two albums are wildly different.
Louis Reid Pyrtle is an American bluegrass singer and musician, bandleader of The Seldom Scene.
James Arnott “Jimmy” Gaudreau is a singer and mandolinist playing traditional and progressive bluegrass music. He is best known for his solo albums, and his work with The Country Gentlemen, Tony Rice, and J. D. Crowe.
Terry Baucom was an American bluegrass singer, banjo player, and band leader. He was nicknamed "The Duke of Drive" for his propelling banjo style. He led his band, The Dukes of Drive, and was a founding member of Boone Creek, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, and IIIrd Tyme Out.
Ronnie Bowman is an American singer and composer of bluegrass music. Besides his solo albums, he is known for his work with the Lonesome River Band.
Kenny Smith is an American guitarist and vocalist in the bluegrass tradition.
Sammy Shelor is an American banjoist in the bluegrass tradition. He is best known as leader of the Lonesome River Band and for his solo recordings, music instruction, and session work.
James Elroy King was an American bluegrass music singer. Tom T. Hall dubbed King the "Bluegrass Storyteller", for his ability to infuse his story songs with emotion and authenticity.
Dudley Dale Connell is an American singer in the bluegrass tradition. He is best known for his work with the Johnson Mountain Boys, Longview, and The Seldom Scene.
Marshall Wilborn is an American bluegrass music bass player and composer best known for his work with the Johnson Mountain Boys, Longview, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, and the Lynn Morris Band.
David McLaughlin is an American multi-instrumentalist. His mandolin prowess has helped clarify how Bill Monroe's style of playing can be applied to progressive bluegrass music.
Ron Stewart is an American multi-instrumentalist in the bluegrass tradition. He plays fiddle, guitar, banjo, and mandolin, and has won the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) award for Fiddle Player of the Year in 2000 and Banjo Player of the Year in 2011.
Scott Vestal is an American banjoist, songwriter and luthier, known for his innovative approach to playing and designing the banjo.
Randy Alan Kohrs is an American multi-instrumentalist best known for his resonator guitar prowess, but he plays 13 instruments. He is also a Grammy-winning producer and recording engineer.
David L. Parmley is a bluegrass vocalist, guitarist, and award-winning bandleader. He is best known for being a co-founder of both the Bluegrass Cardinals and Continental Divide.
Rickie Hal Simpkins is an American fiddler and mandolinist in the bluegrass tradition. He is best known for his solo albums and his work with the Lonesome River Band and the Seldom Scene.
Joe Mullins is an American banjo player, vocalist, band leader, and radio broadcaster. He plays bluegrass and gospel music.