Groupe Bluegrass US

"If I Should Wander Back Tonight" could be the theme song of any road warrior and it certainly describes the Pinnacle Boys, a hearty bluegrass outfit that not only toured extensively, but filled bluegrass record bins as well. The band has been described as both a bluegrass supergroup and the creators of a kind of bluegrass techno, in which the individual personalities of players is secondary to teeth-gnashing group dynamics. No wonder the band's cuts are popular on compilations such as The Banjos That Destroyed the World, although the Pinnacle Boys also came up with numbers that were off the rural route entirely, the best example of which is the oddball "Latin Leprechaun." The group was based out of Knoxville, a town with a history of residents who were pioneers of country and bluegrass music.
The Pinnacle Boys was one of two Knoxville bands in the '70s that were considered among the best in the current bluegrass crop, the other being the Knoxville Grass. Yet the actual lineup in either band on a given day could change whimsically, the comings and goings of various star sidemen in these and every other bluegrass band in the Appalachian area too complicated for anyone to follow aside from a forensics detective. At the height of the Pinnacle Boys popularity, the frontman was Bud Brewster, one of two Brewster Brothers who had backed up country legend Carl Story. Banjo picker Larry Mathis had been lodged close by in the record section with the the Bailey Brothers, while other bandmembers had already cut records of their own for labels such as County and Atteiram. There was something at the heart of the group's music other than flashy virtuosity, perhaps a bit of their hometown's sentimental old-time music atmosphere, and this came through whenever the group harmonized on a Louvin Brothers tune. Or perhaps it is better to say it almost always came through, as was the opposite case when the group attempted its breakthrough to the mainstream audience with a mid-'70s Rounder album. The label somehow managed to smooth much of the excitement out of a twin fiddle lineup featuring both Randall Collins and Jerry Moore, and the record got a pretty weak response.

Style musical : Progressive Bluegrass, Traditional Bluegrass, Contemporary Bluegrass

Sunny Mountain Chimes (1975) Tell Her Lies (1976)

Years in activity :

DISCOGRAPHY

Singles

Albums

08/1974	LP 12" ATTEIRAM API-L 1510 (US)		TAKE A LOOK & LISTEN TO THE PINNACLE BOYS - Take A Look / Till Death Do Us Part / Seven Year Blues / Before I Met You / Uncle Pen / Help Me Jesus / Six Feet Under / That’s All He’s Asking Of Me / I Don’t Worry About You Anymore / Childish Love / Tipton Station / Insured Beyond The Grave
1975	LP 12" ROUNDER 0049 (US)		THE PINNACLE BOYS - Bluegrass Women / Riches And Wealth / Sunny Mountain Chimes / Down, Down, Down / Family Who Prays / Moving On / Tennessee Mountain Home / I Wish It Had Been A Dream / Windy Mountain / Run-A-Muck / What A Wonderful Savior / Cheater Of The Year / Pitfall
1976	LP 12" ATTEIRAM API-L 1525 (US)		AWARD WINNING PINNACLE BOYS - Must You Throw Dirt In My Face / Don’t Laugh / Dixie Breakdown / When I Stop Dreaming / Let Me Live My Life Again / Swanee River / Tell Her Lies / Sawing On Strings / My Baby’s Gone / Rearing And Tearing / Home
11/1977	LP 12" ATTEIRAM API-L 1552 (US)		I SEE A BRIGE - I See A Bridge / Rocking On The Waves / Rock Of Ages / I'll Live With God / They've Got The Church Outnumbered / Mama Won't Be Leaving A Light / Echoes From The Burning Bush / Were You There / Thank God For The U.S.A. / It's Love / If We Forget God / Born Again
1978	LP 12" CMH CMH-6230 (US)		WESTBOUND AND DOWN - Westbound And Down / Ring Of Fire / If I Should Wander Back Tonight / Old Southern Cotton Town / I Wish It Had Been A Dream / Scotland / Southbound Hobo / Cheyenne / Life Of A Poor Boy / Sittin' On Top Of The World / Sloe Creek / Maryville Breakdown
03/1980	LP 12" CMH CMH-6242 (US)		HIGH LONESOME BLUEGRASS - Charlotte's Web / Hoping That You're Hoping / Faded Love (instr.) / Hanging 'round / Blue Bells Of Scotland (instr.) / I Don't Know (If The World Will End Tomorrow) / Long Time Lonesome / Latin Leprechaun (instr.) / I Feel The Same Way Too / Wheels (instr.) / Bluegrass Melodies (instr.) / Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone

© Rocky Productions 26/03/2012