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Groupe Bluegrass US formé en 1967 et composé de Lonnie Peerce,
Dan Crary,
Tony Rice, Curtis Burch, Courtney Johnson,
Sam Bush et Ebo Walker. Bluegrass
Alliance s'est dissous en 1978 pour se reformer en 1998.
Simply
listing some of the players who have passed through the Bluegrass Alliance in
its various incarnations provides ample evidence of how important this outfit
was in the development of bluegrass. Top-flight pickers who have worked in the
Bluegrass Alliance include multi-instrumentalist Chuck Nation, mandolinist
Sam Bush, flatpicking whiz
Dan Crary, rambunctious fiddler Hoot Hester, banjoists
Buddy Spurlock and Courtney Johnson, progressive bluegrass guitarist and
bandleader
Tony Rice, and even Vince Gill,
a bluegrass flatpicker and frontman who eventually went on to carve out a career
in country & western music. The band was originally formed by fiddler Lonnie
Peerce in the late '60s and within a few years was already busy with gigs at
fairs, clubs, festivals, and colleges. The group appeared on the Grand Ole Opry
at least a dozen times over the next decade and cut three albums. One of the
first groups to be stuck with the gimmicky label of "new grass," the band went
on hiatus in the late '70s that, unfortunately for lovers of grass new or blue
lasted much longer than anyone intended it to. Peerce had to retire from
performing for health reasons and many of the band's former members had too many
projects going on their own to worry about a re-formation. For example, four
former members, including mandolinist Bush, formed the New Grass Revival,
indicating their own fondness for this genre label. Instead, reviving the band
became the goal of a young a banjoist named Barry Palmer. Palmer was a fanatic
of the original version and had befriended Peerce and his wife when the band was
riding high in popularity. He was born in early 1960 in Cleveland, GA, and from
an early age had two sets of musical activities going in both bluegrass and a
much different style of music, jazz. His strong interest in old-time country and
bluegrass music came from his family. Both his grandmother and father had played
the vintage two-finger style of banjo. Palmer first started picking banjo at the
age of 14, but also learned to play the bass trombone in the high school jazz
band, as well as going on to play that instrument professionally with Stan
Kenton's band. Already the genre barriers begin melting, as Kenton is one of few
jazz artists to have experimented with country & western music, which can at
least be considered a kissin' cousin of bluegrass. Palmer went on playing jazz
for the next 18 years. During the last part of Peerce's life — in which he was
building fiddles, judging fiddle contests, and coming up with innovative sets of
guidelines and rules for these events — Palmer and he discussed the possibility
of a new Bluegrass Alliance which would revive the band's musical repertoire.
Because of the young man's obviously sincere dedication, it was decided by
Peerce and his wife that Palmer would be allowed to create a new version of the
band. It finally came together in October of 1998, almost exactly 30 years after
the group was originally formed. The so-called "re-allied" group features
Palmer, bassist La Rita Buchanan, frontman and guitarist Johnny Martin,
mandolinist Tom Hicks, and one member of the original Bluegrass Alliance group:
fiddler, mandolinist, and guitarist Chuck Nation. Another former member, Hoot
Hester, also plays with the group on the new record, ironically the first time
this player actually got to record with the Bluegrass Alliance, since his
contributions in the first stage of the group were never documented on record.
In the manner of many an efficient combo, the new version of the band also has a
list of alternative players on tap in case of date or other conflicts over
individual gigs. Musicians such as fiddlers Randall Collins or David Blackmon
and guitarist Scott Morgan are all so-called substitute members of this
alliance.
Talents : Lonnie Peerce : Fiddle - Dan Crary : Guitar - Tony Rice : Guitar - Curtis Burch : Guitar - Courtney Johnson : Banjo - Sam Bush : Mandolin, Fiddle - Ebo Walker : Mandolin
Style musical : Bluegrass
SWEET SUNNY SOUTH (1969)
FOX ON THE RUN (1972)
GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY (1974)
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Years in activity :
| 1910 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 2000 | 10 | 20 |
DISCOGRAPHY
Singles
| 1969 | SP RONDO 108 (US) | Naugahyde / Reuben James |
| 1970 | SP AMERICAN HERITAGE 7-285 (US) | You Ain't Going Nowhere / One Tin Soldier |
| 1972 | SP BRIDGES 45-2202 (US) | City Of New Orleans / Sugar Daddy |
| 1972 | SP PLANTATION PL-82 (US) | Whisper My Name / The Night They |
| 1972 | SP PLANTATION PL-90 (US) | Fox On The Run / Morning Comin' |
| 1974 | SP MOUTAIN MUSIC MMP-1001 (US) |
Ghost Riders In The Sky
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High Mountain Road |
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Albums
| 1969 | LP 12" AMERICAN HERITAGE AH-021 (US) |
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BLUEGRASS ALLIANCE - East Virginia Blues / Naugahyde / Love Come Home / Proud Mary / Beaumont Rag / Little Sadie / Orange Blossom Special / Reuben James / Red Haired Boy / Sweet Sunny South / Joanie Hill / Hills Of Roan Country / Cold wind A' blowin' |
| 1970 | LP 12" AMERICAN HERITAGE AH-10-30S (US) |
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NEW GRASS - Where Were You / West Montana Hannah / Gentle On My Mind / Freeborn Man / One Tin Soldier / But You Know I Love You / Stagolee / Early Morning Rain / You Ain't Goin' Nowhere / Randy Buck / Likes Of Me |
| 07/1973 | LP 12" BRIDGES BG-2701-498 (US) |
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TALL GRASS - Fox On The Run / Faded Love / What Am I Doing Hanging Around / Dueling Banjos / Sugar Daddy / Sounds Of Silence / City Of New Orleanes / Rambler / Look Away Beyond The Sun / I'll Never Find Another You / I've Counted My Blessings |
| 1974 | LP 12" OLD HOMESTEAD OHS 90038 (US) |
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GARLAND SHUPING ON BANJO WITH THE BLUEGRASS ALLIANCE - Reuben Had A Train / Eternal Love / Gypsies, Tramps And Thieves / Foxfire / Foggy Mountain Breakdown / Dueling Banjos / Scarborough Fair / Pea Soup Reel / Heartbreak Mountain / Sounds Of Silence |
| 1975 | LP 12" AMERICAN HERITAGE AH-401-522 (US) |
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KENTUCKY BLUE - Lonesome Feeling / Tennessee Blues / Riverboat Reel / Why Don't You Tell Me So / It Doesn't Matter Anymore / Louise / Frodo's Journey / Not Seeing You Again / Lonesome River |
| 1982 | LP 12" OLD HOMESTEAD OHS-90115 (US) |
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THE BLUEGRASS ALLIANCE - Don't Cry Blue / Ghost Riders / High Mountain Road / Morning Coming Around / No Way Of Knowing / On Your Mind / Paradise / Pea Soup Reel / Ramblin' Man / Swing Low / Take It Easy / You'll Find Her Name Written There |
| 1982 | LP 12" OLD HOMESTEAD OHS-90118 (US) |
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LOVE OF THE MOUNTAINS - Black Mountain Rag / Blue Lonely River / Blue Ridge Mountains Turning Green / Bus Fare To Kentucky / Diamonds And Rust / East Bound And Down / Love Of The Mountains / Rolling Midnight Train / Shenandoah Breakdown / Song Of The Wildwood |
| 1995 | CD OLD HOMESTEAD OHCD 4007 (US) |
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GARLAND SHUPING & THE BLUEGRASS ALLIANCE - BLUEGRASS FAVORITES THROUGH THE YEARS - Love Of The Mountains / Blue Lonely River / Shenandoah Breakdown / Blue Ridge Mountain Turning Green / Bus Fare To Kentucky / East Bound And Down / Rolling Midnight Train / Diamond And Rust / Song Of The Wildwood / Black Mountain Rag / Reuben Had A Train / Eternal Love / Gypsies, Tramps And Thieves / Foxfire / Foggy Mountain Breakdown / Pea Soup Reel / Scarborough Fair / Heartbreak Mountain / Sounds Of Silence |
| 07/2001 | CD COOPER CREEK CCCD 0187 (US) |
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RE-ALLIANCE - Friend Of The Devil / Ready For The Times / Sea Of Heartbreak / Panhandle Rag / Satan's Jeweled Crown / I Still Miss Someone / Black Still Waters / The Lonesome River / Sugar Daddy / Wayfaring Stranger / The Seeker / If You're Ever In Oaklahoma |
© Rocky Productions 16/06/2011
