Articles

William Hundley “Bill” Emerson, Jr. was born in Washington, D.C. on January 22nd, 1938.  He was raised in Bethesda, Maryland.  His father, William Hundley Emerson, Sr. (1898-1963) was married to the former Texas native Netty Louise Price (1911-1997) and owned a Buick dealership on 17th and M Street in Washington, D.C. called Emerson & Orme. …

As most bluegrass music fans will know by now, legendary bluegrass banjo player—and Bluegrass Hall of Fame member—Bill Emerson passed away in August of 2021.  In order to honor Bill’s tremendous contribution to bluegrass music—starting in the mid-1950s and continuing through the date of his passing—we will be featuring a series of special web-based articles…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine September 1971, Volume 6, Number 3 This history of the musical careers of the Osborne Brothers is based primarily upon interviews with Bob Osborne (Bean Blossom, Indiana, September 26, 1965) and with Bob and Sonny Osborne and Benny Birchfield (Columbus, Ohio, March 18, 1967). Most of the discographical data was…

Queries: Q: There is a gospel tune the Gillis Brothers recorded which, as far as I can tell, has not been recorded elsewhere: “I Always Call Your Name.” I and my bluegrass friends LOVE the tune, but we are seriously struggling with understanding the lyrics in the second verse. We are missing the second and…

I consider myself to be just an ordinary soul. I never reached the national spotlight. But as I grow older, I often look back on the many aspects of my life and bluegrass music has been a major influence on how I lived and it has been a source for many accomplishments and treasures. A…

“When COVID-19 hit, it was obvious things were going to slow down,” recalled Buddy Melton, lead singer and fiddler for repeat IBMA “Entertainer of the Year” Balsam Range. “We wanted to utilize our time and be positive.” Their May 2020 release of “The Richest Man” was one enduring result of their downtime. “Under the circumstances,…