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Name: J D Crowe
Group: J D Crowe & The New South
Date: Friday February 9th, 2007
Time: 12:00pm EDT
Website: www.jdcrowe.net
Interviewer: Gracie Muldoon
Description:
James Dee Crowe was born August 27, 1937 in Lexington Kentucky. Friends and fan alike simply call him J.D. He was initially influenced by Earl Scruggs and used to attend shows and sit on the front row studying Scruggs picking. He played local radio shows until one day Jimmy Martin was driving through Lexington, Ky and heard J.D. He was so impressed he droved straight to the station and offered him a job. He played with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys from '56 to '62 when he decided to strike out on his own. In the mid 60's along with Red Allen and Doyle Lawson, The Kentucky Mountain Boys were born. They released three albums, "Bluegrass Holiday", "Ramblin' Boy" & "The Model Church" before they broke up in the early 70's. Next he formed New South which originally consisted of guitarist Tony Rice, mandolinist Ricky Skaggs, dobroist Jerry Douglas and fiddler/bassist Bobby Sloan. New South was one of the most revolutionary bluegrass outfits at that time. Their first release "J. D. Crowe & the New South" on Rounder Records was a huge success and changed the bluegrass genre. The original version of Crowe's New South band is widely considered one of the most influential bluegrass groups of the last thirty years. The original crew all left within the first couple of years and went on to acclaimed solo careers. At the end of the 70's New South consisted of guitarist Keith Whitley, mandolinist Jimmy Gaudreau, fiddler Bobby Slone and bassist Steve Bryant. J. D. obviously had a knack at picking fresh new talents and most went on to eventual successful solo country and bluegrass careers. In 1980 Crowe form The Bluegrass Album Band with Tony Rice, Doyle Lawson, Bobby Hicks and Todd Phillips. They recorded sporadically throughout most of the decade as Crowe continued to tour with New South until 1988 when he decided to retire from the road. At this time he concentrated on producing developing new bands and also did one shot concerts and also toured with Tony Rice. They toured the country, primarily in the South, playing Bluegrass festivals. Crowe still headed New South revolving line up at live shows and in the studio. "Flashback" was released in 1994 by Rounder Records followed by "Come On Down To My World" released by Rounder in 1999.
Long anticipated, "Lefty's Old Guitar" (released 2006) is a powerful testament to J.D. Crowe's vast influence, the talents of the New South, and Crowe's ever-evolving ability to reinvent classic bluegrass into something entirely his own. This is the first release for J. D. in 7 years. The title cut is special to J.D. because he was a huge fan of Lefty Frizzel. Dave Maggard and Jack Spencer penned the song.
One of the true pioneers of contemporary bluegrass, J.D. Crowe has inspired generations of musicians for fifty years with his visionary skills as a bluegrass bandleader and his impeccable banjo playing. |
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