If there is a single savior of Celtic music, Alan Stivell is probably it. Since the end of the 1960s, he has done more to revive interest in the Celtic (specifically Breton) harp than anyone in the world and, in the process, almost singlehandedly made the world aware of native Breton Celtic music. Since 1971, he has been recording albums of... [+] Read More

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Buddy Spicher broke into country music in the mid-'50s, when he joined the band backing Audrey Williams (widow of Hank) mid-tour, replacing Dale Potter late in 1957 or early in 1958. He started out in Wheeling, WV, and ended up in Nashville. For the rest of the 1950s and most of the 1960s, the country fiddle virtuoso was on the road, playing in... [+] Read More

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Among the most distinguished practitioners of traditional bluegrass, Del McCoury was the epitome of the "high lonesome sound" for over three decades. Born Delano Floyd McCoury, he was raised in Bakersville, NC. In 1941, he and his family moved to Glen Rock, PA, where he got his start as a five-string banjo picker with Keith Daniels & the Blue... [+] Read More

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Though she did not become a big name in bluegrass music, during the '80s Emma Smith garnered a small but devoted following thanks to her interesting, perceptive songs and powerful mountain voice. Born Emma Lee Maggard in Hindman, Kentucky, she began playing guitar as a youth. She married in her late teens and set up housekeeping in Hazard,... [+] Read More

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A major cult figure among progressive bluegrass aficionados, Peter Rowan participated in a number of adventurous projects in the late '60s and '70s before embarking on a highly productive solo career. Primarily a guitarist, Rowan also sang, yodeled, and played various members of the mandolin family. He was born in 1942 and grew up in Weyland,... [+] Read More

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By the time he was in his midthirties, Kentuckian Ricky Skaggs had already produced a career's worth of music. At age seven he appeared on TV with Flatt & Scruggs; at 15 he was a member of legendary Ralph Stanley's bluegrass band (with fellow teenager Keith Whitley). None of his '80s peers, male or female, had better musical credentials than... [+] Read More

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The McPeak Brothers were a popular bluegrass trio from Wytheville, VA, comprised of banjo/guitar player Dewey, bassist/guitarist Larry and guitarist/lead vocalist Mike. Their older brother Udell broke into music first when he joined the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers during the 1950s. In 1963, he, Dewey and Larry formed the first version of the McPeak... [+] Read More

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Tony Rice is one of bluegrass' most inventive flatpicking guitar players. Although he's displayed a mastery of the genre's traditions, Rice set the standard for more contemporary styles. A former member of the Bluegrass Alliance, the David Grisman Quintet, J.D. Crowe's New South, and the Bluegrass Album Band, Rice has continued to reflect his... [+] Read More

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The avant-garde banjo sylings of Tony Trischka inspired a whole generation of progressive bluegrass musicians; he was not only considered among the very best pickers, he was also one of the instrument's top teachers, and created numerous instructional books, teaching video tapes and cassettes.

A native of Syracuse, New York,... [+] Read More

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As country music swung back toward traditional styles in the 1980s, an inheritor of the soulful honky tonk style of Lefty Frizzell and Merle Haggard rose to the top of the business and notched hit after barroom hit. Sometimes he was known simply as "The Voice." Born in Woodland, AL, Vern Gosdin idolized the Louvin Brothers and the Blue Sky Boys... [+] Read More

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