Old & In the Way was a bluegrass group formed in 1973. It was composed of

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 interest ...

(guitar, vocals),

Vassar Clements Vassar Carlton Clements (April 25, 1928 – August 16, 2005) was an American jazz, swing, and bluegrass fiddler. Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borrows from swing, hot jazz, and ...

(fiddle), Jerry Garcia (banjo, vocals), David Grisman (mandolin, vocals), and

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 ...

(string bass). When the group was forming, it was intended that

John Hartford John Cowan Hartford (December 30, 1937 – June 4, 2001) was an American folk, country, and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive kn ...

would be the fiddle player. Based on Hartford's engagements, and Clements' reputational stature in the bluegrass community, Clements became the group's fiddler. The group performed traditional tunes such as "Pig in a Pen" as well as bluegrass-flavored versions of

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

' " Wild Horses" and Peter Rowan's "Panama Red". The group had a short existence playing a total of approximately 50 live shows through much of 1973 then briefly reconvening for one bluegrass festival in 1974. All the official Old & In The Way releases consist of live recordings made in San Francisco in October 1973. Old & in the Way's self-titled debut album, which was released in 1975, went on to become one of the best selling bluegrass albums of all time. The group, without Jerry Garcia and John Kahn, released a reunion album in 2002, called '' Old & In the Gray''. On July 31, 2015, Peter Rowan and David Grisman (the last two surviving members of Old and in the Way) performed a set with

the String Cheese Incident The String Cheese Incident (SCI) is an American jam band from Crested Butte and Telluride, Colorado, formed in 1993. The band is composed of Michael Kang (acoustic/electric mandolin, electric guitar, and violin), Michael Travis (drums and percus ...

, Chris Pandolfi (banjo) and Blaine Sprouse (fiddle) at the 20th annual Gathering of the Vibes in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They performed many Old & in the Way songs in addition to other covers and original compositions.

Personnel

Old & In the Way

* Jerry Garcia – banjo, vocals * David Grisman – mandolin, vocals *

– vocals, guitar *

– fiddle *

– bass *

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 ' ...

– fiddle (original player during the group's first three months) *

– fiddle (relieved Richard Greene during rehearsal sessions)

2002 reunion: Old & In the Gray

* David Grisman – mandolin, vocals *

– vocals, guitar *

– fiddle *

Herb Pedersen Herbert Joseph Pedersen (born April 27, 1944 in Berkeley, California) is an American musician, guitarist, banjo player, and singer-songwriter who has played a variety of musical styles over the past fifty years including country, bluegrass, p ...

– banjo, guitar, vocals * Bryn Bright – bass

Discography

References

External links

The Jerry Site
for complete set lists of live Old & In the Way concerts. {{DEFAULTSORT:Old and In the Way American bluegrass music groups Jerry Garcia Musical groups from San Francisco 1973 establishments in California 1974 disestablishments in California Musical groups established in 1973 Musical groups disestablished in 1974