progressive bluegrass
Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it lar ...
band that originated during the 1950s in the area of
Washington, D.C.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, United States, and recorded and toured with various members until the death in 2004 of Charlie Waller, one of the group's founders who in its later years served as the group's leader.
The classic line-up from 1960–64 consisted of co-founders Charlie Waller on guitar and
John Duffey
John Humbird Duffey Jr. (March 4, 1934 – December 10, 1996) was a Washington D.C. based bluegrass musician.
Duffey was born in Washington, D.C., and lived nearly all his life in the Washington D.C. area. He graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Cha ...
on mandolin, with
Eddie Adcock
Eddie Adcock (born June 21, 1938) is an American banjoist and guitarist.
His professional career as a 5-string banjoist began in 1953 when he joined Smokey Graves & His Blue Star Boys, who had a regular show at a radio station in Crewe, Virginia ...
on banjo and
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 ...
on bass. They were inducted into the
International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor
Induction to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, called the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor from its creation in 1991 through 2006, is managed by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and the Hall itself is mainta ...
in 1996.
Early history
The band started on July 4, 1957 as a replacement group for
Buzz Busby and the Bayou Boys
Bernarr Graham Busbice (September 6, 1933 – January 5, 2003), known professionally as Buzz Busby, was an American bluegrass musician, known for his mandolin style and high tenor voice. He was nicknamed the "Father of Washington, D.C. Bluegra ...
when several members of that band were injured in a car accident. The band’s original members were
Charlie Waller on
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 ...
and lead vocals,
John Duffey
John Humbird Duffey Jr. (March 4, 1934 – December 10, 1996) was a Washington D.C. based bluegrass musician.
Duffey was born in Washington, D.C., and lived nearly all his life in the Washington D.C. area. He graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Cha ...
on
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 ...
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 ...
vocals,
Bill Emerson
Norvell William Emerson (January 1, 1938 – June 22, 1996) was an American politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri from 1981 until his death from lung cancer in Bethesda, Maryland in 19 ...
on
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
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 ...
vocals, and Larry Lahey on bass. After a few early changes, the band settled into a somewhat permanent lineup consisting of Waller, Duffey,
Eddie Adcock
Eddie Adcock (born June 21, 1938) is an American banjoist and guitarist.
His professional career as a 5-string banjoist began in 1953 when he joined Smokey Graves & His Blue Star Boys, who had a regular show at a radio station in Crewe, Virginia ...
on banjo, and
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 ...
on bass.
First classic lineup breakup
They toured both the bluegrass and folk circuits during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1964,
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 ...
left the group to pursue his career as
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
cartographer. Until end of sixties, Ed Ferris, Ed McGlothlin and Bill Yates were the bass players for the group. In 1969, just as the band was scheduled to tour Japan,
John Duffey
John Humbird Duffey Jr. (March 4, 1934 – December 10, 1996) was a Washington D.C. based bluegrass musician.
Duffey was born in Washington, D.C., and lived nearly all his life in the Washington D.C. area. He graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Cha ...
quit, citing his fear of flying.
Jimmy Gaudreau
Jimmy Gaudreau is a singer and mandolinist playing traditional and progressive bluegrass music. He is best known for his solo albums, and his work with The Country Gentlemen, Tony Rice, and J. D. Crowe.
Biography Early life
In high school in the ...
was brought in on mandolin.
Doyle Lawson
Doyle Lawson (born April 20, 1944) is an American traditional bluegrass and Southern gospel musician. He is best known as a mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 6-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Lawson was inducted into ...
went to Japan and played the mandolin and sang on the live recorded album for the group's first trip to Japan.
Eddie Adcock
Eddie Adcock (born June 21, 1938) is an American banjoist and guitarist.
His professional career as a 5-string banjoist began in 1953 when he joined Smokey Graves & His Blue Star Boys, who had a regular show at a radio station in Crewe, Virginia ...
left the band in 1970 and moved to California to create a band Clinton Special.
Second generation
Charlie Waller assembled the "second classic lineup" of the Country Gentlemen soon after, with Bill Emerson returning on banjo, Lawson on mandolin, Bill Yates on bass and
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 ...
on fiddle. The band also switched labels from Rebel to Vanguard. Emerson left again to join the Navy after one album, and was replaced by James Bailey.
Jerry Douglas
Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer.
Career
In addition to his fourteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums. As a sideman, he has ...
joined the band on Dobro during the summer of 1973 and stayed with the band after graduating from high school in May 1974. He continued with the band until June 1975. He rejoined the band in May 1978 and was with the band until December 1978. Lawson left in 1979 to form his own band.
Death of Charlie Waller
In the band's later years Charlie Waller served as the group's "focal point and leader" until his death in August 2004. His son Randy Waller, whose voice is very similar to his father's, continues to play as "Randy Waller & The Country Gentlemen".
Members
Discography
Material
The Country Gentlemen play music ranging from traditional bluegrass to pop, sometimes adapting music from other genres to their bluegrass style. They also borrowed from singer-songwriters, with songs such as Gordon Lightfoot's "Redwood Hill" and Steve Goodman's "
Seldom Scene
The Seldom Scene is an American bluegrass band that formed in 1971 in Bethesda, Maryland. The band's original line-up comprised John Starling on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Auldridge on Dobro and baritone vocals, Ben Eldridge on banjo, Tom Gra ...
, II Generation, and
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Doyle Lawson (born April 20, 1944) is an American traditional bluegrass and Southern gospel musician. He is best known as a mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 6-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Lawson was inducted in ...
.
In 2008, Adcock and Gray, two members of the "Classic" Country Gentlemen Hall of Honor lineup, together with former member Gaudreau and Waller's son Randy, combined in 2008 to record as the Country Gentlemen Reunion Band.
Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fou ...