Debut single from Mark Kuykendall & Bobby Hicks

Sweetheart of the Mountain - Mark Kuykendall & Bobby HicksRebel Records has announced the signing of Mark Kuykendall, Bobby Hicks & Asheville Bluegrass, and the release of a debut single ahead of their CD dropping on November 6.

Down Memory Lane is the title of the album, which Mark says he recorded as a gift for his daughter. She’s the reason he left the bluegrass road life some years ago after spending time touring with Bill Monroe and Jimmy Martin.

Now he’s teamed up with another former Blue Grass Boy, Bobby Hicks, the elder statesmen of bluegrass fiddlers. Together they head up a group called Asheville Bluegrass, featuring Seth Rhinehart on banjo, Nick Chandler on mandolin, and Nick Dauphinais on bass.

Mark Freeman, Rebel Records President, shared his enthusiasm for their newest artist…

“We are so honored to have Mark Kuykendall, Bobby Hicks & Asheville Bluegrass join our stable of artists. Together, Mark and Bobby bring nearly a hundred years of experience to this album. Mark is a wonderful multi-instrumentalist and a top-notch traditional bluegrass singer and songwriter! And Bobby – what more can be said about Bobby? His face will be forever etched on the Mt. Rushmore of fiddle players!”

Included on Down Memory Lane is a set of songs Kuykendall enjoyed from his bluegrass past, including five of his own composition. He recalls the debut single from a teen romance.

“I wrote Sweetheart of the Mountains when I was in my early teens about a former girlfriend. As for the rest of the songs, I hadn’t sung them in over 20 years. I wrote them when I was with Monroe, and I would get his mandolin and go to the back of the bus to work them out.”

 

Sweetheart of The Mountains is available now from popular download sites. Look for Mark, Bobby and the band at next week’s World of Bluegrass convention in Raleigh, NC.

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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.