30 years for David Davis – and a major award

Alabama’s David Davis is celebrating 30 years in bluegrass music during 2014, which he will cap off by accepting an induction into the National Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame in August.

Davis, along with his Warrior River Boys, has been running the road playing traditional bluegrass since the fall of 1984. He is currently a Rebel Records artist, and had previously recorded for Rounder, Wango, and Time Life.

His Hall of Fame induction will be during the 39th annual Old-Time Music Festival at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds in LeMars, IA, August 25-31, 2014. Davis is among roughly a dozen entertainers to enter this year’s class, says Bob Everhart, director of the National Traditional Country Music Association, which has run their Hall of Fame since 1978.

“David is a very deserving guy, and this is a very nice honor bestowed by rural folks. He will be joining some rather famous bluegrass folks from the past in this Hall of Fame, among them Bill Monroe, the founder of the music.

Monroe came to Iowa in 1934, where he met his wife, a pretty girl from Clarinda. He and his brother Charley performed as a duet at that time on KFNF radio in Shenandoah, Iowa, their very first ‘paying’ music gig. Quite a story there that not many bluegrass folks know about – the brothers had a terrible fight over the girl.

In the Hall of Fame we have the suit Bill Monroe wore on his very last performance on the Grand Ole Opry, including his tie and Opry tie-pin, just before he died. David’s items will be on display at this same location in the Hall of Fame.”

Davis is proud to be listed in such company.

“It is definitely a special honor for which to be inducted. The fact that so many different types of artists and different segments of American music genres are represented here make it even more significant.”

Touring with David as the Warrior River Boys are Marty Hays on bass, Robert Montgomery on banjo, Stan Wilemon on guitar, and Ben Sanders on fiddle. Davis plays mandolin and sings lead.

You can keep up with them online.

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.