Bill Harrell

Many bluegrass lovers know Akira Otsuka as a brilliant mandolinist, something he has pursued from the time he was a young man in Japan, through his later life here in the United States. Fewer know that he is also a

Don Reno and Bill Harrell had quite a run in the 1960s, with Harrell stepping in for Red Smily when Red retired in 1964. Red rejoined the group in '69, and stayed until his death in '72, while Don and

West Virginia banjo man, Darrell Sanders, recently announced plans to release an instrumental recording titled West Virginia Style. Originally recorded in 1983 and pressed in vinyl, the project was released on Webco Records, and has been out of print for

Rebel Records has two new digital reissues which were released last week. We have on many occasions tipped our cap to the Rebel folks for their ongoing efforts to digitize and re-release their rich back catalog of classic bluegrass, generally at

The resurrected Pinecastle Records has announced a digital re-release of ten classic albums originally found on the Webco label. Pinecastle had acquired Webco back in 1993, and these reissues involve both then-existing catalog items and subsequent anthologies. These include albums

Gary Reid, he of Copper Creek Records and The Bluegrass Calendar, has announced a new reissue of music from Don Reno and his two primary partners, Red Smiley and Bill Harrell. The 4-CD set is simply titled 1963 – 1972, featuring

We got a note recently from Aaron Kilmer, sound tech with West Virginia's Stoney Creek. He shared a story about Darrell Sanders, the band's banjo picker, and his reunion earlier this month with Larry Stephenson with whom he had performed in

As reported earlier veteran singer/multi-instrumentalist Bill Harrell passed away on June 24 at his home in Davidsonville, Maryland. He had suffered a stroke on June 12 and was hospitalized for a week. His health was further complicated by advanced prostate

In addition to Richard Thompson's overview of Bill Harrell's long career in bluegrass, we spoke to a number of artists who had worked with Bill, and wanted to share their thoughts on his passing. First up is Ronnie Reno, who performed

Larry Stephenson shared some sad news... I'm sorry to report that Bill Harrell passed away this afternoon at 4:10 p.m. at his home in Davidisonville, MD. Viewing with be Sunday evening (6/28) from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Chesapeake Christian Fellowship Church,