Thinking of Bluegrass Pioneers and Sleeping on the Floor
When I wake up on the floor of a cheap motel room with Charles snoring in the bed above me, I can't help but think about all the things that the first and second generations of bluegrass pickers went through to keep this music alive. Curly Seckler, of Flatt & Scruggs fame, says they assumed the first three rows of a corn field were open season for hungry musicians, traveling the roads without much cash. Thomas Haglund, the Swedish fiddler, says that money was so tight when he played with Jimmy Martin, his first job upon arriving at any festival was to search the grounds for a bass player for the night. When Flatt & Scruggs were doing their 4 a.m. live radio broadcasts, they didn't want to wake up early and try to sing, so they'd just stay up all night until show time.
So let's take our hats off to people like Dr. Ralph Stanley, Jesse McReynolds and countless others, and hope that after all these years they're getting the credit they deserve for sacrificing so much of themselves to ensure that bluegrass has a place in American popular music. I know that the reason so many people spend their hard-earned money on this music is because of these musicians and their dedication and it gives me great pride to know that tomorrow Charles will be on the floor and I get the bed. - Graham Sharp
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SJ Belle says:
When a big, red fancy bus drove into the Salem County Fair Grounds for the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival — it had everyone guessing? Who’s bus is that? Which performer is in there? No too many people like to “take the bus” but it certainly is one symbol of having paid your dues!
randy says:
You guys deserve a bus…and need (?) a bus!! Charles
probably needs his own bed!! Now thtan you all seem to
have found a “mechanic” (from Ohio?) maybe he and his good wife could take care of and drive your bus?! We enjoyed meeting them at the Ram’s Head