Tom Gray (bluegrass musician)

Tom Gray
Tom Gray
	Tom Gray teaching at the DC Bass Strummit in McLean, VA.
Background information
Born	February 1, 1941 (age 84); Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres	Bluegrass music
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instrument	Bass

Last updated December 31, 2025

Tom Gray (born February 1, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois) is a bluegrass musician widely considered one of the best bass players in the genre.^[1] 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.^[2]

Discography

As a member of The Country Gentlemen

1961: Folk Songs & Bluegrass (Folkways)
1962: Bluegrass at Carnegie Hall (Starday)
1963: On the Road (Folkways)
1963: Hootenanny (Design)
1963: Folk Session Inside (Design)
1964: Nashville Jail (Copper Creek) released 1990
1989: Classic Country Gents Reunion (Sugar Hill)

As a member of The Seldom Scene

1972: Act I (Rebel)
1973: Act 2 (Rebel)
1973: Act III (Rebel)
1974: Old Train (Rebel)
1975: Live at The Cellar Door (Rebel)
1976: The New Seldom Scene Album (Rebel)
1978: Baptizing (Rebel)
1979: Act Four (Sugar Hill)
1981: After Midnight (Sugar Hill)
1983: At the Scene (Sugar Hill)
1985: Blue Ridge (Sugar Hill) with Jonathan Edwards
1986: 15th Anniversary Celebration (Sugar Hill)
2014: Long Time...Seldom Scene (Smithsonian Folkways)

Also appears on

1968: Emerson and Waldron - New Shades of Grass (Rebel)
1972: Mike Auldridge - Dobro (Takoma)
1973: Jim Eanes and the New World Bluegrass Band - The New World Of Bluegrass (Folly)
1974: Mike Auldridge - Blues And Blue Grass (Takoma)
1974: Charlie Cline - Country Dobro (Adelphi)
1974: The Country Grass - Livin' Free (Rebel)
1975: Bill Clifton - Going Back To Dixie (Bear Family)
1975: Mike O'Roark and the Free Born Men - Pickin' With Feelin' (King Bluegrass)
1975: Tony Rice - California Autumn (Rebel)
1975: Ricky Skaggs - That's It (Rebel)
1976: Bill Keith - Something Auld, Something Newgrass, Something Borrowed, Something Bluegrass (Rounder)
1976: Bill Clifton And Red Rector - Another Happy Day (County)
1977: Jimmy Arnold - Guitar (Rebel)
1977: Bryan Bowers - The View From Home (Flying Fish)
1977: Jaime Brockett - North Mountain Velvet (Adelphi)
1978: Jerry Stuart and the Green Valley Ramblers- Rocky Run (County)
1978: Fred Geiger - Fred Geiger (Ridge Runner)
1980: Bryan Bowers - Home, Home On The Road (Flying Fish)
1980: The Ladies Choice Bluegrass Band - First Choice (Boot)
1980: Peter Rowan - Medicine Trail (Flying Fish)
1980: John Starling - Long Time Gone (Sugar Hill)
1982: Mike Auldridge - Eight String Swing (Sugar Hill)
1983: John McCutcheon - Howjadoo (Rounder)
1983: Phil Rosenthal - A Matter of Time (Sierra Records)
1988: Paul Adkins and the Borderline Band - Lay It On The Line (Old Homestead)
1989: Bill Emerson and Pete Goble - Dixie In My Eye (Webco)
2007: John Starling and Carolina Star - Slidin' Home (Rebel)

References

↑ Biography at The DC Bluegrass Union Retrieved September 1, 2021
↑ International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor

External links

Tom Gray discography at Discogs

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[1] Biography at The DC Bluegrass Union Retrieved September 1, 2021

[2] International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor

[1]

[2]

v t e The Country Gentlemen
Charlie Waller John Duffey Eddie Adcock Tom Gray Bill Emerson Doyle Lawson
Studio albums	Country Songs, Old and New (1960) Folk Songs & Bluegrass (1961) Bluegrass at Carnegie Hall (1962) Hootenanny (1963) Folk Session Inside (1963) Traveler and Other Favorites (1968) Play It Like It Is (1969) New Look, New Sound (1970) One Wide River to Cross (1971) Sound Off (1971) The Award Winning Country Gentlemen (1972) Remembrances & Forecasts (1974) Joe's Last Train (1976) Calling My Children Home (1978) Sit Down, Young Stranger (1980) River Bottom (1981) Good as Gold! (1983) Return Engagement (1988) Classic Country Gents Reunion (1989) Nashville Jail (1990) Let the Light Shine Down (1991) New Horizon (1992) Souvenirs (1995) Crying in the Chapel (2001) Songs of the American Spirit (2004)
Live albums	On the Road (1963) Live In Japan (1970) Going Back to the Blue Ridge Mountains (1973)
Compilation albums	The Best of the Early Country Gentlemen (1971) Yesterday & Today Volume 1 (1973) Yesterday & Today Volume 2 (1973) Yesterday & Today Volume 3 (1974) 25 Years (1980) The Country Gentlemen Featuring Ricky Skaggs on Fiddle (1987) Sugar Hill Collection (1995) Early Rebel Recordings: 1962–1971 (1998) High Lonesome (1998) Complete Vanguard Recordings (2002) 45 Years of Memories (2002)
Related articles	Discography Members

v t e The Seldom Scene
Lou Reid Dudley Connell Ronnie Simpkins Fred Travers Ron Stewart John Duffey Mike Auldridge Tom Gray Ben Eldridge John Starling Phil Rosenthal T. Michael Coleman Moondi Klein Rickie Simpkins
Studio albums	Act I (1972) Act II (1973) Act III (1973) Old Train (1973) The New Seldom Scene Album (1976) Baptizing (1978) Act IV (1979) After Midnight (1981) At the Scene (1983) Blue Ridge (1985) A Change of Scenery (1988) Scenic Roots (1990) Like We Used to Be (1994) Dream Scene (1996) Scene It All (2000 Scenechronized (2007) Long Time... Seldom Scene (2014)
Live albums	Live at The Cellar Door (1975) 15th Anniversary Celebration (1986) Scene 20: 20th Anniversary Concert (1992)
Compilation albums	The Best of The Seldom Scene, Vol. 1 (1987) Different Roads (2007)
Collaboration albums	Blue Ridge (1985) Tony Rice ‎– Plays And Sings Bluegrass (1993)

v t e Bluegrass music
Typical instruments	Guitar acoustic resonator Banjo Double bass Fiddle technique Mandolin resonator technique
Stylistic origins	Blues Country music Jazz Old-time music
Sub- and fusion genres	Traditional bluegrass Czech bluegrass
Notable festivals	High Sierra Music Festival Festival of the Bluegrass Merlefest Podunk Bluegrass Festival Telluride Bluegrass Festival Tottenham Bluegrass Festival List of bluegrass music festivals
Notable performers	List of bluegrass musicians List of bluegrass bands List of bluegrass mandolinists
Other	International Bluegrass Music Museum International Bluegrass Music Association International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame Bluegrass Unlimited magazine Central Canadian Bluegrass Awards International Bluegrass Music Awards
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