Miscellaneous bluegrass news

Our UK correspondent, Richard F Thompson, couples the news of this long-overdue recognition with a brief recap of Earl Scruggs' distinguished career in bluegrass. Bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs, who celebrated his 84th birthday on Sunday, will receive a 2008 Grammy Award

Veteran fiddle and mandolin player Vernon Derrick passed away on Friday morning (1/4) at the age of 74. He performed with both The Stanley Brothers and Jimmy Martin during the 1960s after gaining some exposure during a brief stint with Flatt

With 2007 now under wraps, CD sales figures are starting to come in, and things don't look good for the labels. Variety.com is reporting that CD sales during the Christmas shopping season were down 21% from 2006. From the week of Thanksgiving

In a lawsuit being heard in Arizona, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is arguing that copying legally purchased CDs onto a computer for personal use amounts to unauthorized use. Sunday's Washington Post has the story about Jeffrey Howell who

Banjo maker Steve Huber got a late Christmas gift yesterday - the birth of his son, Christopher Steven Huber. Steve and his wife Heidi welcomed Christopher on Friday morning (12/28) at 9:18 a.m. (EST). He weighed in at 8 lbs., 6

Here's a bit of lighthearted bluegrass history for your post-Christmas climbdown... The anecdote comes from multi-instrumentalist and singer Orrin Starr. It involves a phone conversation between fiddler Jim Moss and James Monroe. Jim is a prominent west coast fiddler, and he

Wichita Rutherford remembers things most of us were unaware ever happened. When I asked him about his favorite Christmas memories the other day, he poured his heart out, and asked that we share it all with you. Christmas. What

This Christmas dialog comes from Brandi Hart and Buddy Woodward of The Dixie Bee-Liners. 'Nuff said... BUDDY: Enter Mike Wallace...dateline, Christmas season 2005. Location, the capital of country music, New York City. We had just put out

Banjo picker Bill Evans, author of the popular Banjo For Dummies book, recalls his Christmas of the banjo... It was Christmas 1970 and, even though my eight track tape player was constantly playing George Harrison's All Things Must Pass and John

Mandolin prodigy Sierra Hull shares her fondest Christmas memory. I can't believe how quickly Christmas seems to come and go each year, and of course, each year always brings along some sort of new memory for me. One, however, that I'm