James Dee Crowe (August 27, 1937December 24, 2021) was an American
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 band leader. He first became known during his four-year stint 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 ...
in the 1950s. Crowe led the bluegrass group
New South
New South, New South Democracy or New South Creed is a slogan in the history of the American South first used after the American Civil War. Reformers used it to call for a modernization of society and attitudes, to integrate more fully with the ...
from 1971 until his death in 2021.
Life and career
James Dee Crowe was born on August 27, 1937, in
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
.
He began playing the banjo early on and was offered a job 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 ...
's Sunny Mountain Boys (or Sunnysiders), a backup group, in 1954.
Before starting in Martin's band, Crowe played with
Pee Wee Lambert Pee Wee Lambert (born ''Darrell Lambert''; August 5, 1924 – June 15, 1965) was a mandolinist who worked with The Stanley Brothers. He left the group in 1950. He sang in a "high voice" like Bill Monroe. He highly admired Monroe. In addition to sing ...
and Curly Parker.
Crowe recorded with Martin between 1956 and 1960. In 1961, he formed the Kentucky Mountain Boys, principally performing in the Lexington region.
In 1971, Crowe changed the band's name to
The New South
New South, New South Democracy or New South Creed is a slogan in the history of the American South first used after the American Civil War. Reformers used it to call for a modernization of society and attitudes, to integrate more fully with the ...
. As of 1975, the New South began to add
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
and
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
influences to its bluegrass repertoire, as well as
country
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 ...
and
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
elements drawn from the work of
Gram Parsons
Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) who was known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist who recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, ...
and
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960 ...
, respectively.
Crowe stopped releasing new records between the late 1980s and 1992, when he founded a new band.
Kentucky Educational Television in 2008 aired a biography of James Dee Crowe, ''A Kentucky Treasure: The James Dee Crowe Story'', produced by H. Russell Farmer.
Crowe received the Bluegrass Star Award, presented by the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation of Dallas, Texas, on October 15, 2011. The award is bestowed upon bluegrass artists who do an exemplary job of advancing traditional bluegrass music and bringing it to new audiences while preserving its character and heritage.
He died from pneumonia on December 24, 2021, in
Nicholasville, Kentucky
Nicholasville is a home rule city in and the county seat of Jessamine County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 31,490 during the 2020 U.S. Census, making Nicholasville the 10th-largest settlement in the state.
Since the late 20th ce ...
, at the age of 84.
Discography
*1968: ''Bluegrass Holiday'' (Lemco)
*1969: ''The Model Church'' (Lemco)
*1971: ''Ramblin' Boy'' (Lemco) – reissued in 1978, with a different song order, as ''Blackjack'' (Rebel)
*1973: ''Bluegrass Evolution'' (Starday)
*1973: ''Bluegrass Holiday'' (King Bluegrass)
*1975: ''
J. D. Crowe & The New South'' (Rounder)
*1978: ''You Can Share My Blanket'' (Rounder)
*1980: ''My Home Ain't in the Hall of Fame'' (Rounder)
*1981: ''Somewhere Between'' (Rounder)
*1982: ''Live in Japan'' (Rounder)
*1986: ''Straight Ahead'' (Rounder)
*1994: ''Flashback'' (Rounder)
*1999: ''Come on Down to My World'' (Rounder)
*2006: ''Lefty's Old Guitar'' (Rounder)
Citations
Sources
*
External links
* Home page:
* Feature story on J. D. Crowe:
J.D. Crowe InterviewNAMM Oral History Library (2016)
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowe, J. D.
1937 births
2021 deaths
American banjoists
American country singer-songwriters
Bluegrass Album Band members
Bluegrass musicians from Kentucky
Country musicians from Kentucky
Longview (American band) members
Musicians from Lexington, Kentucky
New South (band) members
Rounder Records artists
Singer-songwriters from Kentucky
Deaths from pneumonia in Kentucky