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. His most successful song is "Gentle on My Mind", which won three Grammy Awards and was listed in "BMI's Top 100 Songs of the Century". Hartford performed with a variety of ensembles throughout his career, and is perhaps best known for his solo performances where he would interchange the guitar, banjo, and fiddle from song to song. He also invented his own shuffle tap dance move, and clogged on an amplified piece of plywood while he played and sang.
OKeh Records is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Otto K. E. Heinemann but later changed to "OKeh". In 1965, OKeh became a subsidiary of Epic Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music. OKeh has since become a jazz imprint, distributed by Sony Masterworks.
The New Lost City Ramblers, or NLCR, was an American contemporary old-time string band that formed in New York City in 1958 during the folk revival. Mike Seeger, John Cohen and Tom Paley were its founding members. Tracy Schwarz replaced Paley, who left the group in 1962. Seeger died of cancer in 2009, Paley died in 2017, and Cohen died in 2019. NLCR participated in the old-time music revival, and directly influenced many later musicians.
Norman L. Blake is a traditional American stringed instrument artist and songwriter. He is half of the eponymous Norman & Nancy Blake band with his wife, Nancy Blake.
Charles Samuel Bush is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame a second time in 2023 as a solo artist.
Vassar Carlton Clements was an American jazz, swing, and bluegrass fiddler. Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borrows from swing, hot jazz, and bluegrass along with roots also in country and other musical traditions. He was posthumously inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2018.
Appalachian music is the music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. Traditional Appalachian music is derived from various influences, including the ballads, hymns and fiddle music of the British Isles, and to a lesser extent the music of Continental Europe.
Kenneth Charles "Jethro" Burns was an American mandolinist and one-half of the comedy duo Homer and Jethro with Henry D. "Homer" Haynes.
Tom Gray is a bluegrass musician widely considered one of the best bass players in the genre. He is best known for his bass playing with The Country Gentlemen and The Seldom Scene. In 1996, as a member of The Country Gentlemen, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor.
Allan Thomas Paley was an American guitarist, banjo and fiddle player. He was best known for his work with the New Lost City Ramblers in the 1950s and 1960s.
Claudia Schmidt is an American musician, originally from New Baltimore, Michigan, United States, who has recorded folk, jazz, blues, and spoken word albums. She plays guitar and Appalachian dulcimer and sings. She has appeared numerous times on the radio program, A Prairie Home Companion. She has recorded with Paul Cebar and Peter Ostroushko as well as Steve Tibbetts. She also appeared in a documentary film, Gap-Toothed Women, by Les Blank.
Aereo-Plain is a 1971 studio album by American bluegrass singer-songwriter and instrumentalist John Hartford. It reached number 193 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Steam Powered Aereo-Takes is a collection of outtakes, demos and jam-sessions from John Hartford's groundbreaking 1971 album Aereo-Plain, released in 2002. The music is a blend of traditional bluegrass musicianship, and the hippie spirit of the '70s. The other members of the Aereo-Plain Band were Norman Blake, Vassar Clements, Tut Taylor, and Randy Scruggs.
Robert Arthur "Tut" Taylor Sr. was an American bluegrass musician.
Kenny Kosek, is an American fiddler who plays bluegrass, country, klezmer, folk music and roots music. In addition to his solo career, he has performed with many other well-known performers and contributed to film and television soundtrack music. He is also a musical educator. Beyond the field of music, he is also known for his humor. He is a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science and City College of New York.
Then and Now is a 1973 studio album by American country music artists, and father-and-son team, Doc Watson and Merle Watson. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording in 1974.
Herbert Joseph Pedersen is an American musician, guitarist, banjo player, singer-songwriter, and actor who has played a variety of musical styles over the past fifty years including country, bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, folk, folk rock, country rock, and has worked with numerous musicians in many different bands.
The Elementary Doctor Watson! is a studio album by the American country music artists Doc Watson and Merle Watson, released in 1972.
Northern Lights was an American progressive bluegrass band formed in 1975 in New England, whose musical career spanned more than three decades. Known for a progressive style of bluegrass playing, the band went through a number of line-up changes through the years and included such personalities as Alison Brown and multiinstrumentalist Jake Armerding, son of founding member Taylor Armerding, who started playing with the band full-time aged 14, but played occasionally when he was 12. As of 2009, there is no founding member left in the group. Guitarist Bill Henry, who joined the band in 1982 assumed the leadership role and Northern Lights continue to play without interruption as a quintet, consisting of two generation of musicians - Bill Henry, John Daniel and Alex MacLeod as well as young players Eric Robertson and Mike Barnett. The band has issued 10 studio and 1 live recording with Vassar Clemonts. Most of which are, unfortunately, out of print today. From 1990's "Take You to the Sky," to recently released One Day(Fifty-Fifty Music), the band has fused an eclectic mix of traditional roots music, rock, country, soul and gospel with the high, lonesome vocal sound and instruments of bluegrass. Three of their records also reached the top ten of Bluegrass Unlimited's National Bluegrass Survey.
Amazingrace Coffeehouse was an influential counterculture music and performance venue in Evanston, Illinois, during the 1970s. Run by a collective called the Amazingrace Family, it was known for its welcoming atmosphere, eclectic menu, excellent sound system, and respectful audiences. Amazingrace was the top music club in the Chicago Reader poll 1973-1975, plus Number 3 in the 1975 wrap-up of "Who's Who in Chicago's Alternative Culture". Performers from a wide variety of genres played at Amazingrace from its beginning on the campus of Northwestern University until its final incarnation at The Main on Chicago Avenue in Evanston.
