The host of the Rockingham County Radio’s Wednesday Bluegrass for Lunch program, Bob Webster, has contacted us to share the disappointing news that today’s March 28 show would be the last.
IBMA Board Member Webster started the program in May 2015, airing each Wednesday from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m. on W1490 WLOE in Eden, North Carolina, and 1420 WMYN, Mayodan, North Carolina, and streaming live on www.RCR24.com
Bluegrass for Lunch featured an hour of Gospel music, two hours of traditional and new bluegrass, plus timely interviews with today’s top musicians.
The last two hours have also been re-broadcast on Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on www.BluegrassCountry.org. Podcasts have also been available on the Rockingham County Radio website.
Webster, who has been a bluegrass fan since the days of the Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs’ TV show that he watched while growing up in his native North Carolina, stated that, “recent budget reviews at the station have resulted in this program no longer being financially sustainable.” He went on to say though, “podcasts should remain available for a few months.”
He continues his involvement in bluegrass matters through MC work, being scheduled to play a part in Doyle Lawson’s Festival in May.
Recently, Webster was emcee for the landmark 70th anniversary of the Sandy Ridge Elementary School Bluegrass Show in Sandy Ridge, North Carolina, on March 17, 2018. (Jay Adams, banjo player with Rich in Tradition and the Churchmen, is keeping alive a show that began when Mac Wiseman did the first booking of Flatt & Scruggs there in 1948.)
Nancy Cardwell and Bob Webster were married this past weekend in North Carolina. Both are life-long members of the bluegrass community with friends and associates across the country.
Nancy performed as a young lady with her family and other groups in Missouri, and dedicated much of her adult life to the International Bluegrass Music Association. She served in multiple capacities with the organization, finishing her time as Executive Director. She still plays music, filling in on bass with Jesse McReynolds & the Virginia Boys on occasion, and in a hammered dulcimer/flute duo with her daughter, Erin Erdos. Nancy continues in her administrative role with the IBMA Foundation.
Since 2002, Bob broadcast on WAMU’s Bluegrass Country, initially helping Red Shipley, as co-host on the station’s Stained Glass Bluegrass program, eventually taking over the show in 2007. In retirement, he hosts Bluegrass For Lunch each Wednesday at noon on Rockingham Country Radio, rebroadcast on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. on Bluegrass Country.
They were wed on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at Sapling Ridge United Methodist Church in Silk Hope, North Carolina. Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Foss of Cherrydale United Methodist Church in Arlington, VA and Rev. Edgar De Jesus of Davis Street United Methodist Church in Burlington, NC officiated at the small, family ceremony. Erin Faith Erdos Humann of Cleveland, TN was Matron of Honor; Vernon Moore of Burlington, NC was Best Man; and Kacie Kennedy was the acolyte.
Music was provided by The Churchmen, who played both during the ceremony and for the reception. The band sang Rose of My Heart during the wedding itself, and wrapped things up with a rousing version of Train 45.
The newlywed couple will reside in Burlington, NC.
Two much-loved members of the bluegrass music community, Nancy Cardwell and Bob Webster, have announced their engagement to be married.
Nancy, originally from Springfield, Missouri, is best known for her 20 years-service as a staff member of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), working for the organization as Special Projects Director and Executive Director (from 1994 to 2014). A journalist and author, she is currently the Administrator for The Foundation for Bluegrass Music (IBMA Foundation), and has for the past year played bass with Jesse McReynolds and his Virginia Boys in Nashville, Tennessee. She is releasing a Christmas album digitally this month with her daughter, Erin Faith called At Christmas Time. The hammered dulcimer/flute duo goes by the name of Dulcimer Dance.
Bob served in the US Navy and then worked for the federal government. He is now retired from both jobs.
From 2002 he helped the late Red Shipley, producing WAMU’s Sunday morning Stained Glass Bluegrass radio show. Bob served as host for that show from September 2007 until he left the station to relocate to his native (and beloved) North Carolina in December 2012. Currently he is the Broadcast Media representative on the IBMA Board of Directors and hosts the Bluegrass for Lunch show on Rockingham County Radio (WLOE-Eden/Reidsville/Wentworth, North Carolina; WMYN-Madison /Mayodan/Madison, North Carolina; and www.bluegrasscountry.org).
Both are graduates of IBMA’s Leadership Bluegrass classes.
Bob popped the question and Nancy said yes on November 21 (2017).
A date for the wedding hasn’t been set yet, pending the sale of Nancy’s house in the Nashville area. They hope to marry sometime in the spring (2018) and live in North Carolina.
Congratulations Nancy and Bob, all at Bluegrass Today wish you a long and happy life together.
Here’s the fourth contribution of a periodical feature, where we ask bluegrass personalities to choose their top five Gospel songs. This week we hear from Bob Webster, who has been very thoughtful in making his choices, which are ……..
Wicked Path of Sin – Bill Monroe & the Blue Grass Boys: Columbia single 20503, 1948
God Loves His Children – Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys: Mercury single 6161, 1949
I Pressed Through the Crowd – South Central Bluegrass: We Can’t Return To the Homeplace (Webco, 1989)
What a Friend We Have in Jesus – Stony Point Quartet: (Cracker Barrel/Heritage, 2003)
Look For Me (For I Will Be There) – Marty Raybon & Full Circle: The Back Forty (Rural Rhythm, 2013)
“Choosing five bluegrass gospel favorites from the large inventory of recordings that we enjoy is a difficult task. Having worked an all Gospel broadcast for ten plus years provided exposure to a wide variety of old hymns, new compositions, vocal and instrumental arrangements, and inspirational lyrics that bring tears to the eyes. This list could evolve from week to week and is only a starting point, but will illustrate not only a few of my favorites, but also some of the most requested songs I received from listeners.
The list also risks leaving out some of my favorite artists and songs, such as The Isaacs (who have so many wonderful songs), Larry Sparks, Doyle Lawson, Paul Williams, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Carl Jackson, Jerry Salley, Joe Mullins and New Found Road as just a start. So, with that disclaimer, here are five to ponder.
Wicked Path of Sin, a Bill Monroe composition recorded September 17, 1946, the first gospel recording with the template for bluegrass bands that included Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and Birch Monroe. The recording is still in print and available in several box sets and features sparse mandolin and guitar runs for the music. The quartet is in fine shape to deliver the song’s message of joining friends inside the pearly gates after departing this wicked world.
God Loves His Children, one of the first four recordings by the newly formed Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys in fall of 1948, with Mac Wiseman, who is the only surviving 1948 Foggy Mountain Boy. This is one of the first recordings by the band whereby we get to enjoy Earl playing the guitar with finger picks in the style we became used to on their gospel songs. The lyrics are uplifting in telling of God’s love in all circumstances.
I Pressed Through the Crowd, written by Joe Isaacs, became popular in the Pennsylvania, Baltimore, Virginia and Washington, DC area from the recording by South Central Bluegrass, We Can’t Return To The Homeplace, which is long out of print. It has been recorded by Dale Ann Bradley, Paul Williams, John Bowman, New Coon Creek Girls and, of course, The Isaacs. Joe tells of the power of the robe of Christ.
What a Friend We Have in Jesus was written in 1855 by Joseph M. Scriven in an attempt to comfort his mother who was living in Ireland. Originally published anonymously, Scriven did not receive full credit for almost 30 years. There are many bluegrass recordings of this old hymn, both vocally and as an instrumental, but I like this version by the Stony Point Quartet (David McLaughlin, Dudley Connell, Linda Lay, Billy Lux) on the Cracker Barrel label since it contains the often deleted fourth verse. You might find one of the out of print CDs from some of the vendors on the Web.
Look For Me (For I Will Be There) is given wonderful treatment by Marty Raybon on his The Back Forty CD. Written by Rusty Goodman, Marty will make you weep with joy and hope in his version with minimal instrumentation, which makes the impact even more deep and meaningful.”
Bob Webster is host of the newly launched Bluegrass for Lunch radio program on Rockingham County Radio in North Carolina every Wednesday from noon to three.
He was also recently elected to the IBMA Board of Directors to fill the Broadcast Media seat. He is a 2011 graduate of the IBMA Leadership Bluegrass program.
When the Board of Directors of the International Bluegrass Music Association meets next week in Nashville, three new Directors will be seated. They were elected in a special election to fill the seats of Board members who resigned late last year.
Chosen by the members as new Directors:
Junior Williams – Junior will fill the Artists & Composers seat vacated by Tim Surrett when Tim was elevated to Vice Chair. His term expires this Fall. He is the banjo player with NewTown.
Bob Webster – Bob takes the Broadcast Media seat vacated by David Smith’s resignation. He is a longtime bluegrass radio host, with more than 10 years at WAMU’s Bluegrass Country, now broadcasting weekly for Rockingham County Radio in North Carolina. His term expires in the Fall of 2017.
Mike Drudge – Mike was elected to the Agents, Managers & Publicists seat vacated by Brian Smith’s resignation. He is the principal agent at Class Act Entertainment, a well-established Nashville agency booking bluegrass and Americana acts. His term will expire this Fall.
Board Chair Jon Weisberger said that he and the rest of the Board welcome the new members, and appreciate their willingness to attend next week’s meeting with relatively short notice.
And don’t forget the debut performance of the IBMA Board Band, next Monday at The Station Inn. If you’re in Nashville, be sure to stop in to see Alan Bartram, Becky Buller, Danny Clark, John Goad, Stephen Mougin, Joe Mullins, Tim Surrett, and Jon Weisberger jamming on stage. Other special guests may appear as well, and one doubts that they could keep Jr. Williams off that stage.
The show is scheduled for 5:30-7:30 p.m. (CDT) on May 11, and all proceeds from the $12 admission fee will go to support the IBMA Youth Council. This is an officially-sanctioned IBMA agency but which receives only very limited funding. Their mission is generic outreach to young pickers and fans, and they assist in organizing youth-oriented events for World of Bluegrass week in Raleigh.
It should be a loose, jammy atmosphere, and loads of fun for all involved.
Those of us who remember with fondness Bob Webster’s stint on WAMU will be pleased to know that he is back on air.
Webster has joined the crew at Rockingham County Radio for his own three hour program commencing at noon this Wednesday, May 6, 2015.
He left WAMU’s Bluegrass Country at the end of 2012 after 10 ½ years of broadcasting, primarily the Stained Glass Bluegrass program, and retired to his hometown of Burlington, North Carolina.
However, as Webster relates ……
“…… there is no cure for the bluegrass infection and I am happy to say I’ll be back on the air every Wednesday beginning at noon for three hours at Rockingham County Radio. If you’re in the listening area in Rockingham County you can listen on 1420 or 1490 AM, or you can hear the web stream at www.RCR24.com.
We’re calling the program Bluegrass for Lunch and I’ll feature a lot of Gospel numbers the first hour, followed by two hours of straight ahead bluegrass.”
Webster has been a bluegrass fan from the days of the Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs TV show that he watched while growing up in his native North Carolina. While on Navy active duty in the Washington D.C. area, he discovered Gary Henderson’s shows on WAMU. During the late 1970s, he called in with the correct answer to one of Henderson’s bluegrass trivia questions and won tickets to a bluegrass event.
He became the engineer for the Sunday morning Gospel show Stained Glass Bluegrass with Red Shipley in 2002. In January 2007, Shipley began sharing his microphone with Webster. Upon Shipley’s retirement in September 2007, he became the natural successor to host Stained Glass Bluegrass and become the show’s third host.
For those in the Eden, Reidsville and Wentworth tune into WLOE 1490AM and for those in the Madison, Mayodan and Stoneville areas tune into WMYN 1420AM.
Rockingham County Radio claims to be North Carolina’s first AM radio network with WLOE 1490AM, Leaksville, first going on air on December 20, 1946.
As we’ve mentioned before, Bill Emerson is set to be honored this Saturday with the very first Washington Monument Award from the DC Bluegrass Union during their first bluegrass festival on March 27.
The award will be given annually to DC-area musicians who have been instrumental in shaping the direction of bluegrass music nationwide, and Bill commented on receiving this tribute in our earlier piece.
In advance of the award being presented, Bob Webster at WAMU in DC has produced a piece on Emerson which includes a lengthy interview with Bill, and comments from several other Washington-area artists with whom he has worked over the years. It will air on Thursday (3/26) from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on www.bluegrasscountry.org, and again on Sunday (3/28) during the 3:00-6:00 p.m. slot (EDT).
Webster gave us a brief overview of the contents of his piece, along with a short bit of audio.
“Bill and I covered his pre-Buzz Busby days, the Country Gentlemen, Emerson & Waldron, his work with Red Allen, the Navy Country Current days and up to his current band – Sweet Dixie. You’ll hear comments from Pete Kuykendall, Paul Williams, Larry Stephenson, Cliff Waldron and several others.”
Here’s Emerson on the formation of the Country Current, and how it almost included every member of the Country Gentlemen, including a young Ricky Skaggs:
You’ll have to tune in Friday or Sunday to hear the rest.
Bill is not only a banjo player of the first order, he’s a gifted storyteller as well. Given where he’s been and what he’s seen in bluegrass, this should be a memorable program.
