Cindy Cashdollar is an American musician specializing in

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

and

Dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

. She grew up in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...

, where she perfected her skills by playing with bluegrass musician

John Herald John Herald (September 6, 1939 – July 18, 2005) was an American folk music, folk and Bluegrass music, bluegrass songwriter, solo and studio musician and one-time member of The Greenbriar Boys trio. Biography Herald was born in Manhattan in 193 ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

musicians

Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and band leader. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his n ...

, and

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...

and

Rick Danko Richard Clare Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. During ...

of The Band. After residing in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, for 23 years, she has now returned to her native

. Cashdollar received five

Grammy awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

while playing for eight years with

Asleep at the Wheel Asleep at the Wheel is an American Western swing group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception, released over twenty albums, and has charted more t ...

, and has also backed such noted performers as

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Leon Redbone Leon Redbone (born Dickran Gobalian; August 26, 1949 – May 30, 2019) was a singer-songwriter and musician specializing in jazz, blues, and Tin Pan Alley classics. Recognized by his hat (often a Panama hat), dark sunglasses, and black tie, Red ...

Redd Volkaert Redd Volkaert (born 1958) originally from Canada, is widely regarded as one of the greatest guitar players in the modern era and is "among the country’s top Telecaster guitar slingers." particularly in the genres of Western Swing and Honky Tonk. ...

, Carla Olson and

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left ...

as a member of his band

The Cardinals The Cardinals were an American R&B group of the 1950s. Sharing a legacy with the Orioles, The Cardinals are remembered as one of the best R&B ballad acts to come out of Baltimore. Origins The Cardinals’ career began in 1946 (one year before ...

. In August 2019, Cashdollar recorded dobro and lap steel on "Save Your Love For Me", the new Grayson Hugh record. In 2003, the

Academy of Western Artists The Academy of Western Artists, based in Gene Autry, Oklahoma, is an organization that honors individuals who have preserved and perpetuated the heritage of the American cowboy, through rodeo, music, poetry, campfire and chuckwagon cooking, and w ...

recognized Cashdollar as Instrumentalist of the Year Award in the Western Swing Music genre. She was inducted into ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' Hall of Fame in 2011–12. She authored a series of instructional videos on her instruments and released her first solo album, ''Slide Show'', in 2004. During the fall of 2004 she was a member of

's band The Cardinals playing the steel guitar live on stage. She also went into the studio with this band and played on the album ''

Cold Roses ''Cold Roses'' is the sixth studio album by alt-country singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, released on May 3, 2005 on Lost Highway. The album is his first with backing band The Cardinals, and the first of three albums released in 2005. ''Cold Roses' ...

'', although she did not tour the album with Adams & The Cardinals and was replaced in 2005 by

Jon Graboff Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Elana James Elana James (born Elana Jaime Fremerman, October 21, 1970, Kansas City, Missouri, United States) is an American songwriter, Western swing, folk and jazz violinist, vocalist, and a founding member of the band Hot Club of Cowtown. Biography James ...

(and, sometimes, Nate Rowe), as The High Flyers, appearing on ''

A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' is a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...

'' twice, as well as playing Austin area venues. In 2006, she toured with

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

promoting his

country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

album, ''

Pay the Devil ''Pay the Devil'' is the thirty-second studio album by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in 2006 by Lost Highway. The album features twelve cover versions of American country and western tunes and three original ...

''. She appeared with him at the

Austin City Limits Music Festival The Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas on two consecutive three-day weekends. Inspired by the KLRU/PBS music series of the same name, the festival is produced by Austin-based ...

, on September 15, 2006 (subsequently released on Van Morrison's ''

Live at Austin City Limits Festival ''Live at Austin City Limits Festival'' by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison is a limited edition live album recorded from the Austin City Limits Festival concert at which he was the first night headliner on 15 September 2006. It has ...

'' limited edition recording), and on the television show ''

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show t ...

'' featuring Van Morrison, broadcast in November 2006. Cashdollar plays steel guitar on two of the tracks on Morrison's March 2008 studio album, ''

Keep It Simple ''Keep It Simple'' is the thirty-third album by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison, released in March 2008. It was Morrison's first US Top 10 album, and made the Top 10 in the UK, Canada and in some European countries. It was his firs ...

''. She is an eponymous member of

Dave Alvin David Albert Alvin (born November 11, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is a former and founding member of the roots rock band the Blasters. Alvin has recorded and performed as a solo artist since the late 1980s a ...

's 2009 project, Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women.

Discography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official Cindy Cashdollar Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cashdollar, Cindy American bluegrass guitarists American blues guitarists Living people Steel guitarists 1956 births The Cardinals (rock band) members People from Woodstock, New York Asleep at the Wheel members 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American women guitarists 21st-century American women