Alan Munde (pronounced "mun-dee") (born November 4, 1946) is an American five-string

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

player and

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...

ian.

Biography

Born in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...

, Munde learned banjo from a well-regarded Oklahoman banjo player, Ed Shelton. He frequently played amateur gigs around the state where he first met

Byron Berline Byron Douglas Berline (July 6, 1944 – July 10, 2021) was an American fiddle player who played many American music styles, including old time, ragtime, bluegrass, Cajun, country, and rock. Life and career Berline was born in Caldwell, Kansas ...

at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

. Shelton introduced Munde to three fine Dallas bluegrass players - Mitchell Land, Louis "Bosco" Land and Harless "Tootie" Williams - and the four of them joined to form "The Stone Mountain Boys" in 1965. Alan moved to Kentucky in January 1969 after he had graduated from college to play with Wayne Stewart and Sam Bush in a group called Poor Richard's Almanac. ''"Wayne Stewart had this idea for a group with this kid he knew in Kentucky named Sam Bush, who was probably 15. So I moved to Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and we formed Poor Richard's Almanac. Not long after, I got my draft notice, but before I left, Sam, Wayne and I made this tape, later released by Ridge Runner Records, called Poor Richard's Almanac, that was a lot of the instrumental things we were doing. I then went back to Oklahoma, was rejected by the Army, and worked in Norman that summer."'' Munde joined the legendary bluegrass musician

Jimmy Martin James Henry Martin (August 10, 1927 – May 14, 2005) was an American bluegrass musician, known as the "King of Bluegrass". Early years Martin was born in Sneedville, Tennessee, United States, and was raised in the hard farming life of rural ...

in 1969. He played with Martin as one of the Sunny Mountain Boys from October 1969 to October 1971, and in the meantime earned his living by working as a school teacher in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. In 1972, Munde became a member of the

Flying Burrito Brothers The Flying Burrito Brothers are an American country rock band, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, ''The Gilded Palace of Sin''. Although the group is perhaps best known for its connection to band founders Gram Parsons and Chris ...

, performing with Byron Berline. After a European tour, the Burritos split up and Munde joined

Country Gazette ''The Country Gazette'' is a weekly newspaper serving the Massachusetts towns of Bellingham, Foxborough, Franklin, Medway, Millis, Norfolk, Plainville and Wrentham. The free paper is distributed to residents of these towns located along the ...

, then consisting of Roger Bush on bass, Kenny Wertz on guitar, and on the fiddle,

, who had formed Country Gazette earlier in the year. Country Gazette went on to record their first album "Traitor In Our Midst" in 1972. For the next twenty years Alan remained a central figure in Country Gazette, playing with notable musicians such as

Roland White Roland Joseph White (né LeBlanc; April 23, 1938 – April 1, 2022) was an American bluegrass music artist, performing principally on the mandolin. Biography White was born in Madawaska, Maine, on April 23, 1938, as Roland Joseph LeBlanc, and ...

Clarence White Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 15, 1973) was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the Byrds, ...

, Joe Carr and

Gene Wooten Gene Wooten (June 5, 1953 in Franklinton, North Carolina – November 7, 2001 in Nashville, Tennessee) was an American dobro player and multi-instrumentalist. Biography Wooten became serious about playing music professionally while a student at ...

. In 1977, Alan Munde and mandolinist

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) 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. ...

recorded "Together Again for the First Time" with Roland White, Curtis Burch and John Cowan (both members of legendary

New Grass Revival New Grass Revival was an American progressive bluegrass band founded in 1971, and composed of Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson, Ebo Walker, Curtis Burch, Butch Robins, John Cowan, Béla Fleck and Pat Flynn. They were active between 1971 and 1989, r ...

with Sam Bush). Alan currently serves on the board of directors of the

International Bluegrass Music Association The International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association to promote bluegrass music. Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1988 they announced plans to create the International ...

. He taught full-time in the bluegrass and country music program at

South Plains College South Plains College (SPC) is a public community college in Levelland, Texas. It operates satellite branches in Plainview, at the Reese Technology Center, formerly Reese Air Force Base, in western Lubbock, and the Lubbock Center near centra ...

from 1986 to May 2007. Munde wrote and hosted a monthly 5 string Banjo column for Frets Magazine during the 1980s His current band is called Alan Munde Gazette. The band features Alan Munde on banjo, Elliott Rogers on guitar and vocals, Bill Honker on bass and vocals, Steve Smith on mandolin and vocals, and Nate Lee on fiddle vocals. In 2021, Alan won the Steve Martin Banjo Prize.

Discography

* Alan Munde Gazette, "Made To Last", Munde's Child Records (2008) * Alan Munde & Wayne Shrubsall, "Old Friends", CBP-2003-CD (2003) * Alan Munde, "Solo Banjo, Just Banjo, All Banjo, Nothing But Banjo", CPB-2002-CD (2002) * Various Artists, "Long Journey Home: Bluegrass Songs of the Stanley Brothers", Rounder Records, ROUN0349 (2002) * Various Artists, "Knee Deep in Bluegrass: The AcuTab Sessions", Rebel Records, (2000) * Alan Munde, "Texas Fiddle Favorites for Banjo", Mel Bay, MELBY02984 (2000) * Alan Munde & Joe Carr, "Welcome to West Texas", Rounder Records, FLY 669 (1998) * Joe Carr & Alan Munde, "Windy Days and Dusty Skies", Rounder Records, FLY 644 (1995) * Alan Munde, "Blue Ridge Express", Rounder Records, ROUN0301 (1994) * Alan Munde, "Festival Favorites Revisited", Rounder Records, ROUN0311 (1993) * Alan Munde & Country Gazette, "Keep on Pushing", Rounder Records, FLY 561 (1991) * Country Gazette, "Strictly Instrumental", Flying Fish, FF 446 (1987) * Country Gazette, "Bluegrass Tonight", Flying Fish, FF 383 (1986) * Alan Munde, "In the Tradition", Ridge Runner, RRR 0035 * Country Gazette, "America's Bluegrass Band", Flying Fish, FF 295 (1983) * Alan Munde, "Festival favorites, Southwest sessions", Ridge Runner, RRR 0032 (1983) * Alan Munde, "Festival favorites, Nashville sessions", Ridge Runner, RRR 0031 (1982) * Country Gazette, "American and Clean", Flying Fish, FF 253 (1981) * Alan Munde, "Festival favorites, Volume 2", Ridge Runner, RRR 0027 (1980) * Alan Munde, "Festival favorites, Volume 1", Ridge Runner, RRR 0026 (1980) * Alan Munde, "The banjo kid picks again", Ridge Runner, RRR 0022 * Country Gazette, "What a Way to Make a Living", Ridge Runner, RRR 0008 (1977) * Sam Bush & Alan Munde, "Together again for the first time", Ridge Runner, RRR 0007, (1977) * Country Gazette, "Out to Lunch", Flying Fish, FF027 (1976) * Alan Munde, "Banjo Sandwich", Ridge Runner, RRR 0001 (1975) * Country Gazette, "Live", United Artists Records, (1974) * Country Gazette, "Don't Give Up Your Day Job", United Artists Records, (1973) * Country Gazette, "Traitor in Our Midst", United Artists Records, UAS 5596 (1972) * Sam Bush & Alan Munde, "Poor Richards Almanac", Ridge Runner, RRR 0002 (1968)

References

*''Trischka, Tony, Wernick, Pete (1988), "Masters of the 5-String Banjo", Oak Publications. .

External links

* * * * * http://www.melbay.com/authors.asp?author=223 * http://www.eddiecollins.biz/mundsm95.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20080828020359/http://www.thebluegrassjournal.com/ts-art-alanmunde.html
Country Gazette Discography
* Recording: Country Gazette Reunion 2007 Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival: , , , , , , ,

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Munde, Alan 1946 births Living people Musicians from Norman, Oklahoma American bluegrass musicians American banjoists Country musicians from Oklahoma