The Kentucky Colonels were a bluegrass band that was popular during the

American folk music revival The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Billie Holiday, Richard Dyer-Benn ...

of the early 1960s. Formed in Burbank, California in 1954, the group released two albums, ''The New Sound of Bluegrass America'' (1963) and '' Appalachian Swing!'' (1964). The band featured the influential bluegrass guitarist

Clarence White Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 15, 1973) was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the Byrds, ...

, who was largely responsible for making the

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

a lead instrument within bluegrass, and who later went on to join the Los Angeles

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 ...

band

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 Kentucky Colonels disbanded in late 1965, with two short-lived reunions taking place in 1966 and 1973.

History

Early years

In 1954, the three White brothers,

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

(

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

Clarence Clarence may refer to: Places Australia * Clarence County, New South Wales, a Cadastral division * Clarence, New South Wales, a place near Lithgow * Clarence River (New South Wales) * Clarence Strait (Northern Territory) * City of Clarence, a l ...

(

), and Eric Jr. (

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 ...

and

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

) formed a

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 ...

trio called Three Little Country Boys. The family group, which was occasionally augmented by the brothers' sister Joanne on bass, won a talent contest early on in their career, on radio station KXLA in Pasadena, and, by 1957, had managed to attract the interest of country guitarist

Joe Maphis Otis Wilson "Joe" Maphis (May 12, 1921 – June 27, 1986), was an American country music guitarist. He married singer Rose Lee Maphis in 1953 and they performed together, later referred to as "Mr & Mrs Country Music". One of the flashiest c ...

. With Maphis's help, the Three Little Country Boys made several appearances on the popular television program ''

Town Hall Party ''Town Hall Party'' was an American country music program, firstly broadcast on radio and then television The first radio broadcast was in Autumn 1951 by stations KXLA-AM in Pasadena, California and KFI-AM in Los Angeles, California The televis ...

''. As a result of Roland's growing interest in

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...

, the group soon switched to an entirely bluegrass repertoire. In 1957, banjoist Billy Ray Latham 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 ...

player LeRoy Mack were added to the line-up, with the group renaming themselves the Country Boys soon after. In 1961,

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

Roger Bush Roger Bush OBE (1918–2000) was a British-born Australian Methodist minister and media personality. Early life Bush was born in England and his family migrated to Sydney, Australia, the following year. He was the oldest of a family of four ...

replaced Eric Jr., who had left the band to get married. That same year, the quartet had become popular enough to appear twice on ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...

''. Between 1959 and 1962, the Country Boys released three singles on the Sundown, Republic and Briar International

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

Commercial success

In September 1962, the Country Boys recorded their debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

for Briar International. At Maphis's suggestion, the band decided to change their name to the Kentucky Colonels, with their album being released in early 1963, under the title ''The New Sound of Bluegrass America''. Around this time, Clarence's

flatpicking Flatpicking (or simply picking) is the technique of striking the strings of a guitar with a pick (also called a plectrum) held between the thumb and one or two fingers. It can be contrasted to fingerstyle guitar, which is playing with indi ...

guitar style became a more prominent part of the group's sound, with his speed and virtuosity on the instrument being largely responsible for making the guitar a lead instrument within bluegrass music. In addition to being accomplished musicians, the Kentucky Colonels' music often featured close

harmony vocals Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical chora ...

, with Clarence singing

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

, Roland singing lead and

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

, Roger on lead and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, and Billy Ray singing lead, tenor, and high baritone. Following the release of their debut album, the Kentucky Colonels became well known on the bluegrass circuit during 1963 and 1964, performing at a multitude of folk and country venues throughout California and the United States, including an appearance at the prestigious Monterey Folk Festival in May 1963. While they may not have enjoyed the same level of commercial success as their contemporaries

the Dillards The Dillards are an American bluegrass and country rock band from Salem, Missouri. The band is best known for introducing bluegrass music into the popular mainstream with their appearance as "The Darlings" on ''The Andy Griffith Show''. Band ...

, the group were highly influential and their strict adherence to a traditional, purist bluegrass repertoire saw their albums become underground classics. In 1964, while continuing to make live appearances, the band were signed to

World Pacific Records Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles-based record company and label best known for cool jazz or West coast jazz. It was founded in 1952 by producer Richard Bock (1927–1988) and drummer Roy Harte (1924–2003). Harte, in 1954, also co-founded N ...

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Jim Dickson, who would later become the manager of the

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

band

. After the recruitment of

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

player Bobby Slone, the Colonels released their second album, the purely

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

'' Appalachian Swing!'' in April 1964. Although it failed to chart, the album was a commercial success, with White's flatpicking permanently expanding the language of bluegrass guitar. Writing for the

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

website, critic Thom Owens has described the album as "one of the most influential albums in the whole of bluegrass music, primarily because of the stunning playing of Clarence White." Owens also noted that White's playing on the album "helped pioneer a new style in bluegrass; namely, he redefined the acoustic guitar as a solo instrument." By the close of the year, the Kentucky Colonels were considered by fans and critics to be one of the best bluegrass groups in the United States. Although they were now a successful recording act, it was becoming increasingly hard for the Colonels to make a living playing bluegrass. The folk music revival of the late 1950s and early 1960s—which had helped facilitate the Colonels' commercial success—had been dealt a serious blow in 1964 by the popularity of the

beat music Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle ...

of the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...

. However, it wasn't until mid-1965, with the release of the Byrds' folk rock single "

Mr. Tambourine Man "Mr. Tambourine Man" is a song written by Bob Dylan, released as the first track of the acoustic side of his March 1965 album '' Bringing It All Back Home''. The song's popularity led to Dylan recording it live many times, and it has been includ ...

" and

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 ...

's " Subterranean Homesick Blues", that the folk revival's popularity began to seriously wane. Before long, many young folk performers and some bluegrass acts were switching to electric instrumentation. The Kentucky Colonels followed suit, plugging in with electric instruments and hiring a

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

, in order to keep a concert booking as a country dance band at a bowling alley. The band added fiddle player

Scotty Stoneman Calvin Scott "Scotty" Stoneman (1932–1973) was an American bluegrass and country fiddler, five-time National Fiddle Champion and a member of the Bluegrass Champs, the Kentucky Colonels and the Stoneman Family band. He was one of 23 childre ...

to their line-up in mid-1965, as a replacement for Slone, but some months later, the Kentucky Colonels dissolved as a band after a show on October 31, 1965. In 1966, Clarence, Roland and Eric Jr. reunited, with

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

ist Dennis Morris, banjo player Bob Warford, and fiddle player Bobby Crane to form a new version of the Kentucky Colonels. This line-up of the band made sporadic concert appearances and also recorded a series of

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * plural for Demo (computer programming) ...

that were eventually released in 1979 on the archival album ''Kentucky Colonels 1966''. The group continued to make concert appearances until 1967 when Clarence was asked to play with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Although Clarence declined the offer, his brother Roland took the job and, as a result, the Colonels once more disbanded.

1973 reunion

In early 1973, Roland, Eric Jr. and Clarence reunited once again for a series of shows as the White Brothers (a.k.a. The New Kentucky Colonels). The trio was augmented by Herb Pedersen on guitar and Alan Munde on banjo. After playing a handful of shows in California, including one at the Ash Grove folk club in Los Angeles, the White Brothers departed for Europe in May 1973. One of the band's Swedish shows was later released in 1976 as ''The White Brothers: The New Kentucky Colonels Live in Sweden 1973'', while a concert recording from

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...

in the Netherlands was issued in 2013 as ''Live in Holland 1973''. Returning to the United States, the New Kentucky Colonels took part in a four-date

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...

package tour in June 1973, with Gram Parsons,

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

Country Gazette ''The Country Gazette'' is a weekly newspaper serving the Massachusetts towns of Bellingham, Foxborough, Franklin, Medway, Millis, Norfolk, Plainville and Wrentham. The free paper is distributed to residents of these towns located along the ...

, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Gene Parsons, Byron Berline, and Chris Ethridge among others. Clarence White died on July 15, 1973, after being struck by a

drunk driver Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is invo ...

, while he loaded his gear into the back of a car, in Palmdale, California, following a concert by the New Kentucky Colonels. This tragic event marked the end of the Kentucky Colonels.

Members

* Roland White -

, vocals (1954–67, 1973) *

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, vocals (1954–67, 1973) *Eric White Jr. -

, vocals (1954–61, 1966–67, 1973) * Billy Ray Latham - banjo, vocals (1957–65) *LeRoy Mack -

(1957–65) *

- double bass, vocals (1961–65) *Bobby Slone -

(1964–65) *

- banjo, fiddle (1965) *Dennis Morris - guitar (1966–67) *Bob Warford - banjo (1966–67) *Bobby Crane - fiddle (1966–67) * Herb Pedersen - banjo (1973) * Alan Munde - banjo (1973)

Discography

Albums

* ''The New Sound of Bluegrass America'' (1963, Briar International 109) * '' Appalachian Swing!'' (1964, World Pacific 1821) * ''Kentucky Colonels'' (1974, United Artists UAS 29514 ) — UK reissue of ''Appalachian Swing!'' with two bonus tracks. * ''Livin' in the Past'' (1975, Briar BT-7202) — various live recordings from 1961–1965. * ''The Kentucky Colonels 1965–1966'' (1976, Rounder 0070) — live recordings. * ''The White Brothers: The New Kentucky Colonels Live in Sweden 1973'' (1976, Rounder 0073) — live recordings from a 1973 concert in Sweden. * ''Scotty Stoneman, Live in LA with the Kentucky Colonels'' (1978, Sierra Briar SBR 4206) — live recording from 1965. * ''Kentucky Colonels 1966'' (1979, Shiloh SLP-4084) — studio demo recordings for an unreleased album. * ''Clarence White and the Kentucky Colonels'' (1980, Rounder 0098) — live recordings. * ''On Stage'' (1984, Rounder 0199) — live recordings. * ''Long Journey Home'' (1991, Vanguard VCD 77004) — live recordings from the 1964 Newport Folk Festival. * ''Live in Stereo'' (1999, Double Barrel DBL/BRL 1001 ) — live recordings from a 1965 concert in Vancouver, Canada. * ''Bush, Latham & White'' (2011, Sierra 6033) — live recordings from 1964. * ''Live in Holland 1973'' (2013, Roland White Music RW0001) — live recordings from a 1973 concert in Breda, Netherlands.

Singles

* "Head Over Heels in Love with You"/"Kentucky Hills" (1959, Sundown 131) eleased under the name the Country Boys* "The Valley Below"/"High On a Mountain" (1960, Republic 2013) eleased under the name the Country Boys* "To Prove My Love For You"/"Just Joshing" (1962, Briar International 45-150) eleased under the name the Country Boys* "Ballad of Farmer Brown"/"For Lovin' Me" (1965, World Pacific 427)

References

External links

Roland White homepage

The Clarence White Forum
* * American bluegrass music groups Musical groups established in 1961 Musical groups from Los Angeles 1961 establishments in California {{authority control