We posted back in March to mark the passing of Ed Dye, who had performed with Butch Robins, Alan O’Bryant and Blaine Sprouse in The Bluegrass Band during the 1970s. He was something of a fixture at Nashville’s Station Inn where he often sat in performing on the bones with The Sidemen.
One of Ed’s friends, Chris Sharp (Mississippi Chris Sharp), sent along some photos of a memorial he recently dedicated to Ed – a bench by the side of a pond on Chris’ property in Porterville, MS, with a plaque that reads “Ed Dye, 1936-2009, An Honest Man.”
“Several of Ed’s friends and family contributed toward the bench. It is at my home. The pond it overlooks is where Ed’s sons distributed his ashes. The black and white “ED” sign on the pond dam was one that was out on the highway to let people know where to turn. His sons took it and placed it on the dam. I cannot bring myself to take it down. I suppose it will return to the earth right where it is.
Ed spent a lot of time at my home over the last 15 years. There was no one like him. My entire family misses him as one of our own.”
In early May of this year, a group of Ed’s friends held a concert in his memory in Meridian, MS. Audio files from that show are posted on Sharp’s web site, along with photos and a narrative description of Ed’s Memorial Service.
Sharp says that though the Memorial Bench is located on private property, he hopes that people will see it as a public space.
“Anyone… fan of Ed, or bluegrass fan, is welcome to come by his memorial at any time.
Ed was powerfully influential on many Bluegrass musicians.”
You can reach Mississippi Chris Sharp through his web site.
