![]() ![]() “I’ve been so happy coming back and playing real music again,” he says. As he aged out of that field, he reevaluated his life and returned to bluegrass in 1996. Crowe and Emmylou Harris before becoming a hot solo act in commercial country music in the ’80s. That was a long time ago, but we’ve just followed each other around for years in different bands.” It was before the Newgrass (aka Progressive bluegrass) revival got started. “I remember seeing Sam with the Bluegrass Alliance, out of Louisville. ![]() Skaggs met Bowling Green native Sam Bush in the 1970s, when Skaggs played the bluegrass circuit as a member of Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys. Her brother Darrin, who would go on to play in Skaggs’ band for seven years as an adult before leaving to form the acclaimed bluegrass act Dailey & Vincent, “was standing on a chair playing the bass fiddle when I first met him,” Skaggs says. He first met opener Rhonda Vincent, who’s now 52, when she was a child playing in her family’s band, The Sally Mountain Show. “We’re really excited about that,” says the ever-eager mandolin master. He’s thinking about recording an audiobook version, too.įirst, though, Skaggs and band return to Louisville with some old friends. Next month, Skaggs’ autobiography, “Kentucky Traveler: My Life in Music,” will be issued in paperback. It’s great to hear real country music again,” Skaggs laughs. Songs by Marty Stuart, Connie Smith and Don Williams are among other highlights promised for the collection. “It’s the sort of thing George (Jones) and Melba Montgomery should have done.” But I’ve never heard it done as a man-and-woman duet,” he says. “It’s just a little love song, back and forth with each other. So the pair recorded eight more songs, including a Flatt & Scruggs song White brought in, “No Doubt About It.” Skaggs recites a few lines for me: I like the way you smile / I like your dimpled chin / I like the way you laugh / I like the way you grin. Maybe have a single or two that we could try to promote to country radio, as well.” “We do have a happy marriage, it’s been great … We did a little mini CD, five songs then we decided we wanted to finish it, make it a real CD that we could put out in the marketplace. “We’ve been married for 33 years, and everybody thinks that we’ve written the book on good marriages,” Skaggs says. It happened almost accidentally when the pair, often asked to speak at marriage conferences, decided to record a few songs together to have something to sell at those lectures. Now based in Nashville, Skaggs took a break from working on his first album of duets with his wife to talk with LEO. The pair dedicated a duet of 1966 song "The Fugitive" to late friend Merle Haggard, but not before sharing a few stories about Haggard - including one of the last conversations each had with the late storyteller.Born 60 years ago this month in Cordell, Ky., Ricky Skaggs has been pickin’ since kindergarten, picking up 14 Grammys, selling millions of records and collaborating with everyone from Jack White to Sharon White (his wife, and a vocalist in the family band The Whites). ![]() Know before you go: CMA Fest: What you need to know before heading to Nashville's country music party Storytime with Connie SmithĬountry Music Hall of Famer Connie Smith returned to the Jam to song and share a few stories with the night's host (and her husband, Stuart). Later in the show, Strings - a 29-year-old bluegrass torchbearer - shared licks with Stuart as they taught a quick course in traditional country and bluegrass, covering 1940s song "Freight Train Boogie" and bluegrass classic "Long Journey Home," among others.Īnd prior to King and Strings, Stuart introduced his audience to Jontavious Willis, a 26-year-old acoustic bluesman from Georgia who made his Ryman debut with an ovation-earning appearance.ĬMA Fest is back: CMA Fest is back, and fans will return to find country music's 'biggest tent' ever King, a 26-year-old South Carolina player schooled in soul music and blues-rock, sang a warming rendition of his 2020 song "Wildflowers & Wine" (at Stuart's request) and joined the Superlatives for a crowd pleasing cover of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor." With Marcus King and Billy Strings, Stuart enlisted a pair of lightning rod players who both push forward and pay homage to each's respective sound. One young guitar wizard wasn't enough for this year's Jam. Playing the famed 1939 Martin guitar - one in a handful of artifacts Stuart shared on stage from his 20,000-peice collection - Wilson sang a chilling rendition of Williams' tune "Lost Highway," a showcase of deep country roots from one of the format's rising new stars. "This is one of the biggest moments of my life so far," Wilson said. As Lainey Wilson stood on the Ryman stage and held a guitar once strummed by Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, she warned onlookers that she might faint. ![]()
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