Jerry Douglas

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Jerry Douglas
Jerry Douglas 2009 Rivercity.jpg
Douglas in 2009
Background information
Birth nameGerald Calvin Douglas
Born (1956-05-28) May 28, 1956 (age 67)
Warren, Ohio, U.S.
Genres Americana, bluegrass, country
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s) Dobro, resonator guitar, lap steel guitar, guitar
Years active1970s–present
Labels Rounder, MCA, Sugar Hill, Entertainment One, Koch
Member of Alison Krauss & Union Station
Formerly of The GrooveGrass Boyz
Website jerrydouglas.com

Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. [1] He is widely regarded as "perhaps the finest Dobro player in contemporary acoustic music, and certainly the most celebrated and prolific." [2] A fourteen-time Grammy winner, he has been called “dobro’s matchless contemporary master,” by The New York Times, and is among the most innovative recording artists in music, [3] both as a solo artist and member of numerous bands, such as Alison Krauss and Union Station and The Earls of Leicester. He has been a co-director of the Transatlantic Sessions since 1998.

Contents

Career

Watson Stage - MerleFest 2018 Jerry Douglas (26955774667).jpg
Watson Stage - MerleFest 2018
Jerry Douglas playing one of his resonator guitars Jerry Douglas 2006.jpg
Jerry Douglas playing one of his resonator guitars

In addition to his fourteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums. [4] [5] As a sideman, he has recorded with artists as diverse as Garth Brooks, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Phish, Dolly Parton, Susan Ashton, Paul Simon, Mumford & Sons, Keb' Mo', Ricky Skaggs, Elvis Costello, Tommy Emmanuel, James Taylor and Johnny Mathis, as well as performing on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack and the follow-up "Down From the Mountain" tour with Alison Krauss and Union Station. [6] He has collaborated with various groups including The Whites, New South (band), The Country Gentlemen, Strength in Numbers, and Elvis Costello's "Sugar Canes".

From 1996 to 1998, Douglas was a member of The GrooveGrass Boyz. [7]

Douglas produced a number of records, including some at Sugar Hill Records. He oversaw albums by Alison Krauss, the Del McCoury Band, Maura O'Connell, Jesse Winchester and the Nashville Bluegrass Band, The Earls of Leicester, Gary Morris, The Steep Canyon Rangers. Along with Aly Bain, he serves as Music Director of the popular BBC Television series, "Transatlantic Sessions".

Since 1998, Douglas has been a member of Alison Krauss and Union Station, touring extensively and playing on a series of platinum-selling albums. When not on the road with Alison Krauss and Union Station, Douglas tours in support of his extensive body of work with his bands The Jerry Douglas Band and The Earls of Leicester, following the continued success of the latter's 2014 release The Earls of Leicester and 2015's Rattle and Roar.

Jerry Douglas appeared with Vince Gill on Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival 2004 ("Oklahoma Borderline" and "What the Cowgirls Do").

Douglas also made a cameo in the third "United Breaks Guitars" consumer protest video, all of which went viral.

Personal life

Douglas was born in Warren, Ohio, United States, and now lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Jill.

Awards and honors

As of 2021, Douglas has been nominated for thirty-two Grammy Awards, winning fourteen. [8]

He has received the Country Music Association's 'Musician of the Year' award three times, in 2002, 2005 and 2007.

Douglas is a 10-time recipient of the International Bluegrass Music Association ("IBMA") Dobro Player of the Year Award.

In 2004, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Douglas a National Heritage Fellowship, which is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. [9]

Douglas was named Artist in Residence for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2008.

Douglas was honored at the 36th annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado for his twenty-fifth consecutive year playing in and at the festival.

Douglas received the Bluegrass Star Award, presented by the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation of Dallas, Texas, on October 15, 2016. The award is bestowed upon bluegrass artists who do an exemplary job of advancing traditional bluegrass music and bringing it to new audiences while preserving its character and heritage. [10]

The Americana Music Association honored Jerry Douglas with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. [11]

Douglas received the key to the city of Manchester, Tennessee as well as to Coffee County during a performance at the 2015 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. [12]

Discography

Studio recordings

TitleDetailsPeak chart positions
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
US Grass US Country US US Heat US Indie US New Age
Fluxology
Fluxedo
Under the Wire
  • Release date: 1986
  • Label: MCA
Changing Channels
  • Release date: 1987
  • Label: MCA
Plant Early
  • Release date: 1989
  • Label: MCA
Slide Rule
Restless on the Farm
Lookout for Hope 105
The Best Kept Secret
  • Release date: September 20, 2005
  • Label: Koch
3
Glide
  • Release date: August 19, 2008
  • Label: Koch
469
Jerry Christmas
  • Release date: October 13, 2009
  • Label: Koch
7
Traveler
  • Release date: June 26, 2012
  • Label: Koch
1168329
What If
  • Release date: August 18, 2017
  • Label: Rounder
1

Compilations

TitleDetails
Everything Is Gonna Work Out Fine
  • Release date: 1987
  • Label: Rounder
  • Compilation of Fluxology (1979) and Fluxedo (1982) on one CD
Best of the Sugar Hill Years

Other recordings

With Alison Krauss or Alison Krauss and Union Station

The Transatlantic Sessions

Awards

Grammy Awards

Americana Music Association Awards

CMA Awards

IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Awards

National Endowment for the Arts

Country Music Hall of Fame

Further reading

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References

  1. Geoff Harrison (May 11, 2002). "An Interview with Jerry Douglas: Bluegrass for a New Century". Jambase.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. Huey, Steve. "Jerry Douglas Biography". AllMusic.com. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  3. "Artist Information - Jerry Douglas". OPRY.com. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  4. "Welcome to the Official Jerry Douglas Website". Jerrydouglas.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  5. "REVIEW: Jerry Douglas gives bluegrass the cordon bleu treatment". Cam Fuller, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, June 28, 2018
  6. "'Mountain' Summer Tour Dates Come on Down". Billboard . March 18, 2002.
  7. Ankeny, Jason. "GrooveGrass biography". Allmusic . Retrieved August 21, 2008.
  8. "Artist: Jerry Douglas". www.grammy.com. The Recording Academy. 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Jerry Douglas: Dobro player". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. n.d. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  10. "Bluegrass Heritage Foundation official website". 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  11. "Robert Plant, Buddy Miller and Justin Townes Earle Win Big at 10th Annual Americana Honors & Awards Show". Americana Music. Archived from the original on January 14, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  12. / By Brittney McKenna (June 15, 2015). "Dispatches From The BGS Stage at Bonnaroo 2015". The Bluegrass Situation. Archived from the original on October 9, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  13. "The Earls Of Leicester". Rounder.com. August 18, 2014. Archived from the original on July 8, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  14. "Leftover Feelings: Credits". AllMusic. 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  15. "Artist-in-Residence: Jerry Douglas". Country Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
Awards
First
None recognized before
AMA Instrumentalist of the Year
2002
Succeeded by
Jerry Douglas
Preceded by
Jerry Douglas
AMA Instrumentalist of the Year
2003
Succeeded by