Herschel Lee Sizemore (August 6, 1935 – September 9, 2022) was an American mandolinist in the bluegrass tradition.
Biography
Early years
Sizemore was raised in Leighton, Alabama, near Muscle Shoals. When he was age eight, Sizemore's parents took him to see a performance by
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 ...
at the
Grand Ole Opry
The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...
.
Music career
The first portion of Sizemore's career was spent playing in established bluegrass bands. From 1957 until 1965, Sizemore played with the
Dixie Gentlemen with Jake Landers and
Rual Yarbrough
Rual Holt Yarbrough (January 13, 1930 – September 21, 2010) was an American five-string banjo player who worked with some of the most famous bluegrass musicians.
Biography
Yarbrough was born in Bonnertown, Tennessee. He grew up listening to B ...
.
In 1971, the Dixie Gentlemen reunited for a period of time.
Sizemore was a member of The Boys from Shiloh in 1966, along with Bobby Smith (lead vocal, guitar), Rual Yarbrough (baritone vocal, banjo), Charlie Nixon (resonator guitar), and Johnny Montgomery (bass). Sizemore then played with
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 ...
from 1967 until 1968.
From 1968 until 1974, Sizemore played with the Shenandoah Cut-Ups, trading solos with fiddler Tater Tate and flatpicker Wesley Golding.
Sizemore, Wesley Golding, and Tom McKinney left the Shenandoah Cut-Ups to form Country Grass, which lasted from 1974 until 1976. Other members included
Tom Gray
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
(bass, vocals),
Ricky Skaggs
Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ma ...
(fiddle), and Ronnie Bucke (drums). Sizemore was also one of
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 respec ...
's Dixie Pals from 1978 until 1979. Other Pals included Jerry McCoury (upright bass), Dick Smith (banjo), and the late Sonny Miller (fiddle). The Dixie Pals (with Mike Hargrove) reunited at a 2012 benefit concert for Sizemore.
Sizemore was a member of the
Bluegrass Cardinals
The Bluegrass Cardinals were a Bluegrass band from Los Angeles, California. 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 foundi ...
from 1991 until 1995.
Solo recordings
In 1995, Sizemore formed the Herschel Sizemore Band. His first solo album ''Bounce Awa'' was released in 1979, and in 2000, Sizemore released the album ''My Style'' on Hay Holler with Jim Haley (guitar),
Terry Baucom
Terry Baucom is an American bluegrass singer, banjo player, and band leader. He is nicknamed "The Duke of Drive" for his propelling banjo style. He leads his band, The Dukes of Drive, and was a founding member of Boone Creek, Doyle Lawson and Qui ...
(banjo), and Eddie Biggerstaff and
Ron Stewart
Ronald George Stewart (July 11, 1932 – March 17, 2012) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1952 to 1973, as well as a coach. He spent the first half of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, ...
(fiddle).
In 2009, Sizemore released the album ''B-Natural'' with Terry Baucom (banjo), Jimmy Haley (guitar), Ron Stewart (fiddle), (Mike Bub) (bass),and
Alan Bibey
Alan Bibey (born August 24, 1964) is a mandolinist, singer, songwriter, and band leader in the bluegrass tradition.
Biography Early years
Bibey was raised in Walnut Cove, North Carolina. His dad and his mother's brothers were bluegrass musici ...
(guitar, mandolin).
Mandolin in B
Sizemore and his wife Joyce were both diagnosed with cancer on the same day in fall 2011. On February 19, 2012, a benefit concert for the Sizemores was staged in Roanoke, Virginia. The documentary film ''Mandolin in B'' focused on Sizemore's life and music. The film was directed by Rick Bowman and released by Backyard Green Films.
Songwriting
Sizemore's best-known composition is the mandolin instrumental "Rebecca," named after his mother. It has been covered by several other artists.
Personal life and death
Sizemore died on September 9, 2022, at the age of 87.
Awards
In 2011, Sizemore was inducted into the Alabama Bluegrass Hall of Fame.
Discography
Solo albums
* 1979: ''Bounce Away'' (
County
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
) listed on the album as "Hershel Sizemore"
* 1993: ''Back in Business'' (Hay Holler)
* 2000: ''My Style'' (Hay Holler)
* 2009: ''B-natural'' (self-released)
Jake Landers and Herschel Sizemore
* 2013: ''For Old Times Sake'' (B Sharp)
The Blue Ridge Mountain Boys
* 1963: ''Blue Grass Back Home'' (Time)
* 1963: ''Hootenanny N' Blue Grass'' (Time)
Shenandoah Valley Quartet
* 1970: ''Shenandoah Valley Quartet with Jim Eanes'' (County)
The Shenandoah Cut-Ups
* 1971: ''Bluegrass Autumn'' (Revonah)
* 1971: ''Plant Grass (In Your Ear)'' (MRC)
* 1971: ''Curly Seckler Sings Again'' (County) recorded with the Shenandoah Cut-Ups
* 1973: ''The Shenandoah Cutups Sing Gospel'' (Revonah)
* 1973: ''Shenandoah Cut Ups'' (
Rebel
A rebel is a participant in a rebellion.
Rebel or rebels may also refer to:
People
* Rebel (given name)
* Rebel (surname)
* Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution
* American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; s ...
)
* 1974: ''Traditional Bluegrass'' (Revonah)
* 1980: ''Keep It Bluegrass'' (Grassound)
The Dixie Gentlemen
* 1963: ''The Country Style of the Dixie Gentlemen'' (
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...
)
* 1973: ''Together Once More'' (
Old Homestead)
* 1973: ''Blues and Bluegrass'' (Old Homestead) with
Tut Taylor
Robert Arthur "Tut" Taylor Sr. (November 20, 1923 – April 9, 2015) was an American bluegrass musician.
Taylor played banjo and mandolin as a child, and began playing dobro at age 14, learning to use the instrument with a distinctive flat-pick ...
and
Vassar Clements
Vassar Carlton Clements (April 25, 1928 – August 16, 2005) was an American jazz, swing, and bluegrass fiddler. Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borrows from swing, hot jazz, and ...
The Country Grass
* 1974: ''Livin' Free'' (Rebel)
Roby Huffman and the Bluegrass Cutups
* 1978: ''Colorado River'' (Grassound)
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 respec ...
and the Dixie Pals
* 1981: ''Take Me To the Mountains'' (Leather)
Bluegrass Cardinals
The Bluegrass Cardinals were a Bluegrass band from Los Angeles, California. 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 foundi ...
* 1997: ''Mountain Girl'' (BGC)
As composer
* 1971: Jake Landers and Tom McKinney - ''Present Original Songs and New Banjo Sounds of the 70's'' (Tune) - track 11, "Bluegrass Minor"
* 1976: Bottle Hill - ''Light Our Way Along the Highway'' (
Biograph) - track 12, "Bluegrass Autumn"
* 1976: The Conner Brothers - ''The Conner Brothers'' (County) - track 10, "Bluegrass Minor"
* 1981: The Landers Family - ''Old Folks Don't Live Here'' (Old Homestead) - track 4, " I Thank God For America Today" (co-written with Jake Landers)
* 1981: Al Wood and the Smokey Ridge Boys - ''Kentucky Country Home'' (Rich-R-Tone) - track 1, "Kentucky Country Home"
* 1998:
Jim Mills - ''Bound to Ride'' (
Sugar Hill) - track 6, "Rebecca"
Also appears on
* 1968:
Rual Yarbrough
Rual Holt Yarbrough (January 13, 1930 – September 21, 2010) was an American five-string banjo player who worked with some of the most famous bluegrass musicians.
Biography
Yarbrough was born in Bonnertown, Tennessee. He grew up listening to B ...
- ''5 String Banjo By Rual Yarbrough'' (Tune)
* 1969:
Jim Eanes
Jim Eanes (December 6, 1923 – November 21, 1995) was an American bluegrass and country music singer and guitarist.
Biography
Homer Robert Eanes Jr. was born in Mountain Valley, Virginia and grew up in Martinsville.
Eanes learned to play t ...
- ''Rural Rhythm Presents Jim Eanes'' (
Rural Rhythm)
* 1969: Clarence "Tater" Tate - ''Rural Rhythm Presents Fiddling Clarence "Tater" Tate: More Favorite Waltzes'' (Rural Rhythm)
* 1986: Tim Smith - ''Favorite Pastimes'' (Heritage)
* 1994:
David Parmley
David Parmley (born February 1, 1959) is a bluegrass vocalist, guitarist, and award-winning bandleader. He is best known for being a co-founder of both the Bluegrass Cardinals and Continental Divide.
Biography
Parmley was born in White House ...
- ''Southern Heritage'' (Rebel)
* 1998: Bill Harrell - ''The Cat Came Back'' (Rebel)
* 2004: John Lawless - ''Five & Dime'' (
Copper Creek)
* 2005:
Curly Seckler
John Ray Sechler, known as Curly Seckler, (December 25, 1919 – December 27, 2017) was an American bluegrass musician. He played with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs in their band the Foggy Mountain Boys from 1949 to 1962, among other bluegrass ac ...
- ''Down in Caroline'' (Copper Creek)
* 2005: Curly Seckler - ''That Old Book of Mine'' (County)
* 2007: Curly Seckler - ''Bluegrass, Don't You Know'' (Copper Creek)
* 2008: Lynwood Lunsford - ''Pick Along'' (Hay Holler)
Music instruction
* 2001: ''Acutab Transcriptions Vol. 1'' (
Mel Bay
Mel Bay (February 25, 1913 – May 14, 1997) was an American musician and publisher best known for his series of music education books. His '' Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords'' remains a bestseller.
Biography
Early life
Melbourne E. Bay was bo ...
)
* 2010: ''Herschel Sizemore: In His Own Style'' DVD (
Mel Bay
Mel Bay (February 25, 1913 – May 14, 1997) was an American musician and publisher best known for his series of music education books. His '' Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords'' remains a bestseller.
Biography
Early life
Melbourne E. Bay was bo ...
)
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sizemore, Herschel
1935 births
2022 deaths
American bluegrass mandolinists
American mandolinists
Bluegrass musicians from Alabama
Country musicians from Alabama
People from Sheffield, Alabama