• Gabriel Ramírez passes

    This remembrance of Catalan banjo player Gabriel Ramírez is a contribution from his student and friend, Lluis Gomez, now the premiere banjo player in northeastern Spain. Noted Spanish banjoist Gabriel Ramírez, also known as Gabi or Gabe, has died following a

  • Al Jones passes 

    Al Jones, perhaps best remembered for his work with Frank Necessary, passed away at his home in Whitetop, Virginia (Grayson County), on March 3, 2024. Aged 92, he had been in declining health for the past few years, and was

  • Troy Stangle passes

    Troy Strangle - photo by Chuck Neel Banjo player and resonator guitarist Troy Stangle has passed away at age 58 after a two-year battle with cancer. Troy was a longtime member of All4Hym and Stoney Creek Bluegrass Band in Maryland. He assisted

  • Len Holsclaw passes

    Len Holsclaw, best known for being the manager of the Country Gentlemen from 1971 to 1998, passed away on February 19, 2024, at the Blue Ridge Christian Home in Bealeton, Virginia, after a long battle with dementia. He was 90

  • Roni Stoneman passes

    Roni Stoneman, banjo player with The Stonemans, who played the iconic Hee-Haw character, Ida Lee Nagger, died yesterday evening at 85 years of age. Long before she played that comic stereotype on television in the 1970s, Roni was an established artist

  • Harold Killian passes

    Mandolinist Harold Killian, 95, of Catawba, NC, passed away on January 12, 2024. Along with his brother, Tommy Killian, they formed the group The Catawba River Boys and performed together for many years. Harold always greatly enjoyed playing and singing

  • Audie Blaylock passes

    Audie Blaylock, life long bluegrass singer and bandleader, passed away unexpectedly earlier this week at his home in Auburn, IN. He was 61 years of age. His family reports that he was experiencing some health problems of late, and died from

  • Danny Milhon passes

    Popular Ohio/Michigan reso-guitarist and singer Danny Milhon passed away on October 28, 2023. He was 85 years of age. During the 1960s and '70s, Milhon recorded regularly with prominent artists like Hylo Brown, Les Moore, Raymond Fairchild, J.E. Mainer, Tater Tate,

  • Frank Ford passes

    Frank Ford, co-founder of Gryphon Strings in Palo Alto, CA and their longtime chief luthier, died on December 17 following a brief illness. Suffering from declining health this past few years, he was 79 years of age when he passed. Ford

  • Jim Rae passes

    Jim Rae, a former research scientist and faculty member at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, who contributed mightily to the groundwork and experimentation that led to the Truetone line offered by Huber Banjos, died on Christmas day. He was 83