Muleskinner was an American
bluegrass supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to:
* Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields
* Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry
* Supergroup ...
, active during the early 1970s.
Early history
In the late 1960s,
Peter Rowan
Peter Rowan (born July 4, 1942) is an American bluegrass musician and composer. Rowan plays guitar and mandolin, yodels and sings.
Biography
Rowan was born in Wayland, Massachusetts to a musical family. From an early age, he had an interes ...
and
David Grisman
David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...
played together in a psychedelic band
Earth Opera
Earth Opera was an American psychedelic rock group, active between 1967 and 1969 and featuring Peter Rowan and David Grisman.
History
Both Rowan and Grisman were virtuoso folk and bluegrass performers in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, ...
. The band didn't last longer than couple of years and Rowan went on to join
Seatrain, where he met
Richard Greene
Richard Marius Joseph Greene (25 August 1918 – 1 June 1985) was a noted English film and television actor. A matinée idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series '' ...
. After two albums with
Seatrain, Greene and Rowan went on to form Muleskinner with banjoist
Bill Keith, whom Greene had played with in
Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band in the early 1960s, and
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 Byrd ...
, former guitarist of
Kentucky Colonels
The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...
and
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 ...
, along with bassist
John Kahn
John Kahn (June 13, 1947 – May 30, 1996) was an American electric and acoustic bassist. From 1970 to 1995, Kahn was Jerry Garcia's principal musical collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead.
Biography
John Kahn was born in Memphis, Tennessee ...
and drummer
John Guerin
John Payne Guerin (October 31, 1939 – January 5, 2004) was an American percussionist. He was a proponent of the jazz-rock style.
Biography
Guerin was born in Hawaii and raised in San Diego. As a young drummer he began performing with Buddy De ...
, who also worked for
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 ...
.
Planned show with Bill Monroe
This lineup can be considered as a bluegrass supergroup, a term not often used with bluegrass. The original start of the group was connected with
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 ...
, as
Richard Greene
Richard Marius Joseph Greene (25 August 1918 – 1 June 1985) was a noted English film and television actor. A matinée idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series '' ...
(who played for his Bluegrass Boys before), was asked to put a band together to join him in a
television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...
. However, Monroe's bus had some technical problems and Muleskinner had to play the whole evening on their own and it was a success.
Recording contract
All this resulted in a recording contract with
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
and the band recorded its first studio album, ''
Muleskinner
A muleskinner or mule skinner is a muleteer or mule-driver. The word may also refer to:
* Muleskinner, the mascot of St. John's Military School, Kansas, U.S.
* ''Muleskinner'', an alternate title for the album '' Jack Takes the Floor'' by Ramblin' ...
'', which included elements from jazz, country and progressive bluegrass. This recording can be noted as the first one in the bluegrass genre to include drums.
Clarence White death
The album was successful, but the band ended under tragic circumstances: 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 Byrd ...
was killed by a drunken driver just couple of months after the record was released.
The band also recorded a
live 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 ...
in 1973,
which was released 25 years later.
Discography
* ''
Muleskinner
A muleskinner or mule skinner is a muleteer or mule-driver. The word may also refer to:
* Muleskinner, the mascot of St. John's Military School, Kansas, U.S.
* ''Muleskinner'', an alternate title for the album '' Jack Takes the Floor'' by Ramblin' ...
'' (1973) (re-released as ''A Potpourri of Bluegrass Jam'' in 1994)
* ''
Muleskinner Live: Original Television Soundtrack'' (1998, recorded 1973)
Members
*
David Grisman
David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...
- mandolin
*
Peter Rowan
Peter Rowan (born July 4, 1942) is an American bluegrass musician and composer. Rowan plays guitar and mandolin, yodels and sings.
Biography
Rowan was born in Wayland, Massachusetts to a musical family. From an early age, he had an interes ...
- guitar, vocals
*
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 Byrd ...
- guitar, vocals
*
Richard Greene
Richard Marius Joseph Greene (25 August 1918 – 1 June 1985) was a noted English film and television actor. A matinée idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series '' ...
- violin, vocals
*
Bill Keith - banjo
*
John Kahn
John Kahn (June 13, 1947 – May 30, 1996) was an American electric and acoustic bassist. From 1970 to 1995, Kahn was Jerry Garcia's principal musical collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead.
Biography
John Kahn was born in Memphis, Tennessee ...
- bass
* Stuart Schulman - bass
*
John Guerin
John Payne Guerin (October 31, 1939 – January 5, 2004) was an American percussionist. He was a proponent of the jazz-rock style.
Biography
Guerin was born in Hawaii and raised in San Diego. As a young drummer he began performing with Buddy De ...
- drums
References
External links
* Muleskinner on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
New Camptown Races, Dark Hollow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muleskinner
American bluegrass music groups
1973 disestablishments in California
Musical groups disestablished in 1973
Progressive bluegrass music groups