The Bluegrass Cardinals were a Bluegrass band from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The group is credited with being the first bluegrass band to record bluegrass gospel in a cappella. Founded in 1974, the Bluegrass Cardinals disbanded in 1997 when founding member Don Parmley announced his retirement from music.

History

The Bluegrass Cardinals were formed by Don Parmley in 1974. Parmley was a member of

The Hillmen The Hillmen (a.k.a. the Golden State Boys) were a southern Californian bluegrass group. Formed in 1962, the original line-up of the Golden State Boys consisted of Vern Gosdin on guitar and lead vocals, his brother Rex Gosdin on double bass, Ha ...

prior to forming the group, playing alongside members Vern Gosdin and Chris Hillman. Parmley was working as a musician for the television show

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family f ...

and is credited with all banjo work on the show with the exception of the intro theme song. Hillman had moved on from The Hillmen, finding success with the group

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

. The original group was formed with Parmley,

Randy Graham Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of them ...

, and Parmley's 15 year old son David Parmley. The group released its first album in 1976, shortly after moving from southern California to Virginia. The self-titled album was released on Copper Creek Records label. They released their second album, ''Welcome to Virginia'', on Rounder Records in 1977. The group went through numerous lineup changes and through the years included members Dennis Fetchet,

Bill Bryson William McGuire Bryson (; born 8 December 1951) is an American–British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has b ...

, and

Larry Stephenson Larry Stephenson is an American singer-songwriter. He sings, plays mandolin, and writes songs in the bluegrass tradition. Biography Early years Stephenson learned how to play the mandolin as a young boy. At age 13, he recorded a 45 rpm single ...

. The Bluegrass Cardinals released numerous more albums throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, all of which were on the

CMH Records CMH Records is a Los Angeles-based, independent country and bluegrass label with several subsidiary labels, including Vitamin Records, Crosscheck, Dwell, and Rockabye Baby!. The label release diverse styles of music including string quartet tribu ...

label. It also made numerous appearances on the Grand Ole Opry. They recorded three additional albums in the 1980s under the Sugar Hill Records label. The group stopped performing for a short time in 1991 after Don and David left to record an album with

Del McCoury Delano Floyd McCoury (born February 1, 1939) is an American bluegrass musician. As leader of the Del McCoury Band, he plays guitar and sings lead vocals along with his two sons, Ronnie McCoury and Rob McCoury, who play mandolin and banjo resp ...

. David would never return to the Bluegrass Cardinals, pursuing a solo career as a musician instead, co-founding the group ''Continental Divide'' in 1992. The Bluegrass Cardinals eventually disbanded in 1997 when Don Parmley left the group. CMH released a collection of the group's music in 2002. Entitled ''The Essential Bluegrass Cardinals'', the album was put together by David Parmley. Following the release, the group performed several reunion shows at various locations in the United States.

Discography

Albums

References

External links

Bluegrass Cardinals biography on AllMusic
{{Authority control American bluegrass music groups Musical groups established in 1974 Musical groups disestablished in 1997 1974 establishments in California 1997 disestablishments in California