Barry Turner Bales (born August 23, 1969 in

Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,442. Lying along the Holston River, Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the Mountain Empire, w ...

, United States) is an American musician best known as the long time bass player and harmony vocalist for

Alison Krauss and Union Station Alison Krauss & Union Station is an American bluegrass and country band associated with singer Alison Krauss. It was initially composed of Krauss, Jeff White, Mike Harman and John Pennell. Later additions included Tim Stafford, Ron Block, Ada ...

. He has been in the band for around 25 years. The 2012 Grammy was awarded as a member of the Union Station band on ''

Paper Airplane A paper plane (also known as a paper airplane in American English or paper aeroplane in British English) is a toy aircraft, usually a glider made out of single folded sheet of paper or paperboard. A simple nose-heavy paper plane, thrown like ...

''. He is also a member of The Earls of Leicester.

Career

Bales grew up in

Colonial Heights, Tennessee Colonial Heights is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. It is surrounded by the city of Kingsport. The population was 3,055 at the 2020 census down from 6,934 at the 2010 census, due to annexation by the ...

, outside of

and attended Sullivan South High School. Early memories of music include listening to the records of

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

Flatt & Scruggs Flatt and Scruggs were an American bluegrass duo. Singer and guitarist Lester Flatt and banjo player Earl Scruggs, both of whom had been members of Bill Monroe's band, the Bluegrass Boys, from 1945 to 1948, formed the duo in 1948. Flatt and Sc ...

, the

Stanley Brothers The Stanley Brothers were an American bluegrass duo of singer-songwriters and musicians, made up of brothers Carter Stanley (August 27, 1925 – December 1, 1966) and Ralph Stanley (February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016). Ralph and Carter perfo ...

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although S ...

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for the Buckaroos, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 ...

and Hank Thompson from his father's extensive collection. He started experimenting with various instruments at the age of 10, starting with guitar. By age 15, Bales had found the bass and was playing regionally in various groups. Bales attended

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an institutional Board of Tr ...

, participating in the Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music program, as did future Union Station members Tim Stafford and

Adam Steffey Adam Steffey (born November 24, 1965) is an American mandolin player, best known for playing in the bluegrass and old-time styles. He spent time as a member of bands such as Alison Krauss & Union Station, Mountain Heart, Lonesome River Band, ...

Over the years, Bales has become one of the most in-demand

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s in acoustic music. He has recorded and performed with such artists as

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

Susan Ashton Susan Ashton (born Susan Rae Hill; July 17, 1967) is an American contemporary Christian music and country music artist who topped the Christian charts throughout the 1990s. In 1991 she began using her mother's maiden name, Ashton, when she rec ...

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...

, Ronnie Bowman,

The Cox Family The Cox Family is an American country/ bluegrass music group from Cotton Valley in Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, United States. The Cox Family can be heard on the ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' soundtrack. Their 1994 collaboration ...

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

Dan Tyminski Daniel John Tyminski (born June 20, 1967) is an American bluegrass composer, vocalist, and instrumentalist. He is a member of Alison Krauss's band Union Station, and has released three solo albums, ''Carry Me Across the Mountain'' (2000), on ...

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

amongst others. He currently resides in

Greene County, Tennessee Greene County is a county located on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 70,152. Its county seat is Greeneville. Greene County comprises the Greeneville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

with his wife Aliceson (née Osborn) and their young son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bales, Barry 1969 births Living people People from Kingsport, Tennessee Alison Krauss & Union Station members American country bass guitarists East Tennessee State University alumni Guitarists from Tennessee American male bass guitarists 20th-century American bass guitarists Country musicians from Tennessee 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American double-bassists 20th-century American double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians