The Dixie Dregs is an American rock band from Augusta, Georgia. Formed in 1970, the band's performance consists entirely of instrumentals that fuse elements of diverse genres such as rock,

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

, country, jazz and bluegrass into an eclectic sound that is difficult to categorize. Recognized for their

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...

playing, the Dixie Dregs were identified with the southern rock, progressive rock and

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

scenes of the 1970s. In 1975, the band recorded their demo album '' The Great Spectacular'' and self-released it in the following year in a limited pressing. The demo soon garnered attention from record labels, including Capricorn Records, with whom the Dixie Dregs would sign in 1976, and three albums were released for the label: '' Free Fall'' (1977), '' What If'' (1978) and '' Night of the Living Dregs'' (1979); the latter album, which was split between studio and live recordings, was nominated for a Grammy Award for

Best Rock Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance was an honor presented to recording artists for quality instrumental rock performances at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Award ...

, and each of the band's next three albums would subsequently receive further Grammy nominations. After Capricorn declared bankruptcy in 1979, the band signed with

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

, releasing the album '' Dregs of the Earth'' in 1980. The following year, the band changed their name to The Dregs, releasing two albums under this name, '' Unsung Heroes'' (1981) and '' Industry Standard'' (1982), which was the only album by the band to feature vocals. The band disbanded in 1983. After reuniting in 1988, the Dixie Dregs released their last studio album to date '' Full Circle'' in 1994, and the live albums ''Bring 'Em Back Alive'' (1992) and ''California Screamin'' (2000).

Musical style

Dixie Dregs' performances consist entirely of instrumentals, with '' Industry Standard'' (1982) being the only album by the band to contain vocals. The band members are noted for their virtuoso playing, and Dixie Dregs' music incorporates elements of many genres, which makes the band's sound difficult to singularly classify. The band's influences include The Allman Brothers Band and Mahavishnu Orchestra. According to the band themselves, their music fuses elements of

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

, progressive rock and country. '' The Boston Herald'' described the band's music as a fusion of rock, jazz, country, and

. The '' Chicago Tribune'' categorized Dixie Dregs' music as a fusion of jazz rock and country music. '' The Christian Science Monitor'' defined Dixie Dregs' music as being a fusion of bluegrass and classical music. ''The Times'' described Dixie Dregs' music as a fusion of progressive rock, heartland rock and jazz. This sound has been classified as southern rock, progressive rock, jazz fusion or jazz rock,

baroque rock Baroque pop (sometimes called baroque rock) is a fusion genre that combines rock music with particular elements of classical music. It emerged in the mid 1960s as artists pursued a majestic, orchestral sound and is identifiable for its appropria ...

, experimental rock,

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

, instrumental rock, progressive metal and roots rock.

History

Formation and early years

Dixie Dregs evolved from an Augusta, Georgia, band called Dixie Grit, formed by Steve Morse and Andy West in 1970. The band featured Morse's older brother Dave on drums, Frank Brittingham (guitar and vocals) and Johnny Carr (keyboards). Carr was later replaced by Mark Parrish. Shortly after Steve Morse's enrollment at University of Miami's School of Music in 1971, Dixie Grit was disbanded. Morse and West continued performing as a duo, calling themselves Dixie Dregs (the "Dregs" of "Dixie Grit"). In 1973, Steve Morse (guitar), Andy West (bass), Allen Sloan (violin) and Bart Yarnal (drums) met while students at the University of Miami's School of Music to play as Rock Ensemble II. West also attended Georgia State University for a year while studying cello and music theory and composition along with Parrish. Parrish remained at GSU during the academic school years only to return to Augusta, Georgia, during summer breaks - re-establishing the guitar/bass/keyboards/drums quartet with Morse, West, Parrish, and Gilbert Frayer (drums) performing as opening acts for concerts and headlining local gigs as Dixie Dregs. During subsequent academic school years, the remaining members of the Dregs, including Andy West, returned to the University of Miami and Mark Parrish returned to Atlanta, Georgia, to complete his degree in music performance and composition at Georgia State University, under the study of William Masselos, with additional studies of electronic music at Columbia University in New York City under Alice Shields, a protégée of Wendy Carlos.

First recording

At the time, the University of Miami hosted a lively musical community, including future professional musicians Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Danny Gottlieb, T Lavitz and Bruce Hornsby. Rod Morgenstein was asked to fill in as drummer after a surfing accident disabled Yarnal. In 1974, during the school years at UofM, keyboardist Frank Josephs was added to their line-up. In 1975, the group's first effort, '' The Great Spectacular'' (named by ex-"Dixie Grit" second guitarist and singer, Frank Brittingham) was recorded at the University. Approximately 1,000 copies of the original LP were pressed. The album was reissued in 1997 in CD form.

Signed to Capricorn

Based on the strength of a three-song demo and a tip from former Allman Brothers Band members

Chuck Leavell Charles Alfred Leavell (born April 28, 1952) is an American musician. A member of the Allman Brothers Band throughout their commercial zenith in the 1970s, he subsequently became a founding member of the band Sea Level. He has served as the pri ...

and Twiggs Lyndon, Capricorn Records signed them in late 1976 to record their debut album '' Free Fall'' (1977). Steve Davidowski was the keyboardist on ''Free Fall''. When Davidowski left to work with fiddler Vassar Clements, former Dixie Grit/Dixie Dregs keyboardist Mark Parrish rejoined the group later that year. The moderate success and critical acclaim of ''Free Fall'' led to their 1978 effort, '' What If'', supported by their first tour with dates in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, Arizona, Massachusetts, Mississippi, and California. Their third album, '' Night of the Living Dregs'' (featuring Morse, West, Sloan, Parrish, and Morgenstein), was released in April 1979, gaining the band their first

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nomination for

, won that year by Paul McCartney's band Wings. ''Night of the Living Dregs'' included studio recordings as well as compositions performed live and recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 23, 1978. Ken Scott, The Beatles' and producer/arranger George Martin's right-hand man and engineer, produced both Dixie Dregs albums, ''What If'' and ''Night of the Living Dregs''.

Switch to Arista

In October 1979, Capricorn Records declared bankruptcy, and the band was signed by

in January 1980, to create three more albums. At that time, keyboardist Parrish left and was replaced by T Lavitz. Later that year, '' Dregs of the Earth'' (featuring Morse, West, Sloan, Lavitz, and Morgenstein) was released. Parrish went on to play piano and keyboards for vocalists

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

, Roberta Flack, Natalie Cole,

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

, Peabo Bryson, Celine Dion, Regina Belle, Deborah Gibson, Pat Boone and daughter Debby Boone, Glen Campbell and for guitarist

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist. Early life Larry Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas, United States. He never knew his biological father, a musician. He w ...

. He won an Angel Award as co-producer of a Christian album, where he arranged and played all the instrumental parts. He has also been musical director, conductor, and keyboard instrumentalist with the touring stage shows of ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

'', '' Meet Me in St. Louis'', ''The Wizard of Oz'', ''

Little Shop of Horrors Little Shop of Horrors may refer to: * '' The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 film directed by Roger Corman ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (film), a 1986 film adaptat ...

'', '' Nunsense'', '' Brigadoon'', '' The Phantom of the Opera'', '' Anything Goes'', and other Broadway stage shows.

Name change

For '' Unsung Heroes'', released in 1981, the band changed their name to The Dregs in an effort to gain more commercial appeal. Violinist Sloan was replaced by Mark O'Connor, winner of

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

's Grand Masters Fiddle Championship for their 1982 release, '' Industry Standard''. This album introduced vocals for the first time, as a further attempt to gain more airtime. Guest vocalists included the Doobie Brothers's Patrick Simmons and Alex Ligertwood ( Santana). ''Industry Standard'' provided the Dregs with another Grammy nomination for Best Rock/Jazz Instrumental Performance. The recent name change, vocal additions and a grueling touring schedule did nothing to improve sales, and in 1983, the members of The Dregs decided to disband the group, parting for individual projects.

Reunion

During the early 1980s, the British disc jockey Tommy Vance started using the Dixie Dregs track "Take It Off the Top" as his signature tune for the BBC radio show ''The Friday Rock Show''. In the late 1980s, the group reunited for a tour featuring former members Morse, Morgenstein (who was also playing with Winger), Lavitz and Sloan. Their return was complemented by a "Best Of" release entitled ''Divided We Stand'' (1989). Bassist Dave LaRue completed the line-up for a seven date tour culminating in the 1992 live album ''Bring 'em Back Alive'', which garnered them a third Grammy nomination for

in January, 1993 - awarded to Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble for " Little Wing." Violinist Jerry Goodman, of

The Mahavishnu Orchestra The Mahavishnu Orchestra were a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of activity, from 1971 to 1976 a ...

fame, filled in for Sloan, who was frequently absent as a result of his busy medical career. They signed a deal with former label Capricorn Records for their first studio album in years entitled ''Full Circle'' in 1994.

Today

The Dregs to this day remain a loose collection of its former members, reuniting briefly for short tours and rare studio work. 1997's releases were ''The Great Spectacular'' in April and ''King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents'' (originally recorded in 1979 for the King Biscuit radio show) in September. ''California Screamin (2000) is a curious mix of live recordings from the performances at the

Roxy Theatre Roxy Theatre or Roxy Theater may refer to: Australia *Roxy Theatre (Warner Bros. Movie World), a movie theatre within Warner Bros. Movie World, Queensland *Roxy Community Theatre in Leeton, New South Wales, originally called the Roxy Theatre *Roxy ...

in August 1999. This release features older compositions and covers of the Allman Brothers Band's " Jessica", and

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

's " Peaches en Regalia" (with Dweezil Zappa sharing guitar lead). ''20th Century Masters: The Best of the Dixie Dregs'' and the DVD ''Sects, Dregs and Rock 'n' Roll'' were released in 2002. On July 3, 2017, Rod Morgenstein announced a reunion tour beginning February 2018 in a YouTube video for Rock, Roots, & Blues - Live. The first show of the reunion tour dubbed "Dawn of the Dregs" took place on February 28, 2018, in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...

. It featured the original lineup of Steve Morse (guitar), Andy West (bass), Rod Morgenstein (drums), Allen Sloan (violin), and Steve Davidowski (keyboards)

Personnel

Members

;Current members * Steve Morse - guitar (1970–1983, 1988-present) * Andy West - bass guitar (1970-1983, 1988, 2017–present) * Rod Morgenstein - drums (1973–1983, 1988-present) * Allen Sloan - violin (1973-1981, 1988-1992, 2017-present) * Steve Davidowski - keyboards (1975-1977, 2017–present) ;Former members * Frank Brittingham - guitar, vocals (1970-1971) * Dave Morse - drums (1970-1971) * Johnny Carr - keyboards (1970) * Mark Parrish - keyboards (1970-1971, 1973, 1977-1978) * Bart Yarnall - drums (1973) * Gilbert Frayer - drums (1973) * Frank Josephs - keyboards (1974-1975) * T Lavitz - keyboards (1978-1983, 1988-2010; his death) * Mark O'Connor - violin (1981-1983) * Dave LaRue - bass guitar (1988-2017) * Jerry Goodman - violin (1992-2017) ;Substitute musicians * Jordan Rudess - keyboards (1994; filled in for T Lavitz)

Timeline

Lineups

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Free Fall'' (May 27, 1977) (Note: the LP label lists the title as ''Freefall'') * '' What If'' (March 1978) * '' Night of the Living Dregs'' (1979) * '' Dregs of the Earth'' (1980) * '' Unsung Heroes'' (1981) * '' Industry Standard'' (1982) * '' Full Circle'' (June 7, 1994)

Demo releases

* '' The Great Spectacular'' (1976 - released on CD April 1997) * ''Off the Record'' (1988) (demo for

Ensoniq Ensoniq Corp. was an American electronics manufacturer, best known throughout the mid-1980s and 1990s for its musical instruments, principally Sampler (musical instrument), samplers and synthesizers. Company history In spring 1983, former MO ...

synthesizers)

Live albums

* ''Bring 'Em Back Alive'' (1992) * ''King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents'' (September 16, 1997) * ''California Screamin' '' (February 1, 2000) * ''From the Front Row... Live!'' (Dolby 5.1 DVD-Audio, 2003)

Compilations

* ''Best of the Dixie Dregs'' (1987) * ''The Best of the Dregs: Divided We Stand'' (1989) * ''20th Century Masters: The Best of the Dixie Dregs'' (March 26, 2002)

Video albums

* ''Sects, Dregs and Rock 'n' Roll'' (DVD, December 2002) * ''Live at Montreux 1978'' (DVD, 2005)

Singles

* 1976: "Cruise Control"/"Refried Funky Chicken"/"Cosmopolitan Traveler" (self-released) * 1978: "Take It Off the Top"/"Little Kids" * 1979: "Punk Sandwich"/"Country House Shuffle" * 1980: "Pride O' the Farm"/"The Great Spectacular" * 1981: "Cruise Control"/"Go for Baroque" * 1982: "Crank It Up"/"Bloodsucking Leeches"

References

External links

*
The Dixie Dregs first promo photograph, by Michael Mastro, who also shot the photographs on the back of ''What If''
{{Authority control Arista Records artists American southern rock musical groups American progressive rock groups American jazz-rock groups Musical groups established in 1970 Rock music groups from Georgia (U.S. state) Articles which contain graphical timelines Capricorn Records artists