Dale Perry has been working in bluegrass since the late 1980s when he toured with Lonesome River Band on banjo. Over the next 30 years he has played bass with Doyle Lawson and Dale Ann Bradley, then banjo with Doyle and David Parmley, and guest spots in the studio with a number of popular bluegrass acts. Since David Parmley returned to performing last year, Dale has been his banjo player.
He’s also engineered, produced, and/or mixed projects for The Churchmen, The Daughters of Bluegrass, Pine Mountain Railroad, Nothin’ Fancy, The Bluegrass Brothers and many others. But until this year, he’s never had a recording of his own, under his name.
That will shortly be corrected, when his independently produced album, Livin’ The Dream, is released on April 19.
Bluegrass radio gets a taste in advance of the street date with a single, released today via Airplay Direct. It’s Perry’s version of the instrumental classic, Shortnin’ Bread, made famous by Earl Scruggs when he was with Lester Flatt. Dale largely follows Earl’s lead on this one, assisted by David Parmley on guitar, Steve Day on fiddle, and Tim Graves on reso-guitar. Dale also plays bass and chops the mandolin.
Here’s a taste of the track…
Also included on Livin’ The Dream are banjo classics like Red River Valley, Careless Love, Grandfather’s Clock, Home Sweet Home, and Cripple Creek. It will be available later this month at all the David Parmley & Cardinal Tradition shows.
