The Lewis Family Archives - Bluegrass Today

Throwback photos from 2005 Lewis Family Homecoming

Let’s wander back to the 2005 edition of the Lewis Family Homecoming, their annual festival. Norman Adams and Tony Anderson were the promoters. Norman and Judy are promoting the current festival, held at the Elijah Clark State Park in Lincolnton, Georgia. The Lewis Family were the hosts, so some shenanigans were always on the docket.

Gene and Johnnie Daniell ran sound at all of the A&A festivals until Gene’s untimely passing.

The Village Singers were always popular at Adams and Anderson Festivals, singing Chuck Wagon Gang-style Gospel music. The band was the Goad family with “Ol Shirley” on the bass.

The James King Band was often at these festivals as well. This year Little Roy and James came rolling in as Abbot and Costello, to the delight of the crowd. The band lineup included Adam Haynes, Kevin Prater, and Ben Greene. Lizzy Long was Roy’s partner in crime! We all miss James’ storytelling music.

The Lewis Family was all family members in 2005. They included Miggie, Janice, Polly, Roy, Travis Lewis, and Lewis Phillips. They were all gracious hosts who had a kind word for everyone.

Gerald Evans and Paradise were in great demand back then. The band consisted of Gerald, Chris Hill on the banjo, Duane Sparks on guitar, and Glen “Cookie” Inman on bass. Gerald is missed by all who knew him.

The Crowe Brothers were and still are favorites at festivals. The lineup then was Josh, Wayne, Josh’s son, and Cody Shuler.

Gary Waldrep has also been a perennial favorite. His aunt, Donna Townsell, has been his bass player for all these years.

Leroy Troy always presents great music and some of the banjo tricks that take us back to the days of entertainers like Uncle Dave Macon.

The Cherryholmes Family was one of the hottest bands on the circuit in 2005. Molly, BJ, Skip, and Cia were youngsters performing with Jere and Sandy. Jere and Sandy are retired, but each of the kids has their own musical journey now.

Many of the festival goers went to the Lewis Family Pavilion on Saturday morning to see the plaques honoring Mom and Pop Lewis, along with many of Roy’s instruments and many family pictures.

This festival went on hiatus for a few years, but is back as the Little Roy and Lizzie Festival. It is slated for the Last weekend of April/first weekend of May in 2021.

Stay tuned for more memories of past festivals.

Many bands are doing online performances. Please support them in any way possible, and support your local music venues in any way you can.

Polly Lewis passes

Polly Lewis Williamson Copsey passed away on Sunday, August 19, 2018, after a battle with the effects of Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body dementia for the past 16 years. She was 81 years of age.

Born on January 23, 1937, in Lincolnton, Georgia, she was part of the Lewis Family, known as the First Family of Bluegrass Gospel music.

Polly with her sisters, “Miggie” and Janis, joined family patriarch Roy “Pop” Lewis, who played bass, and brothers Wallace (guitar), Talmadge (mandolin and fiddle) and Roy M “Little Roy” (banjo) in 1951, when they switched to an all-Gospel act.

Their first recordings were done in 1953 during a session held in the studio of radio station WJAT in Swainsboro, Georgia. These were not released until 1957.

Subsequently, they did another four sides; He’s the Only One / Lights In The Valley (Sullivan 557, recorded and released in 1954) and Did You Do What The Lord Said To Do / Wait A Little Longer Please Jesus (Sullivan 558, 1954).

In April of 1954 the record label’s owner, Hoyt Sullivan, sponsored the Lewis Family, getting them on WJBF, a television station in Augusta, Georgia. The program was broadcast live every Sunday from noon until 1:00 p.m. and continued, albeit with different sponsors, for the next 38 years.

Initially, their personal appearances were around and about in their home state, with performances, typically, being at venues including school halls, civic centers, fairs, and churches.

The Lewis Family were among the trend-setters as they took to the highways to perform far and wide, travelling initially in a 1948 GM Silverside bus. The acquisition made them one of the first bluegrass bands to use this form of transport.

Throughout the years they performed in such prestigious venues as the Lincoln Center in New York City, New York; The Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC; and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.

In February 1958 they began a 15-year association with Starday Records, the label releasing 19 LPs including compilations albums. This was followed by a 16-year relationship with Canaan Records, which was similarly prolific, producing over 20 albums.

One of the songs most associated with Polly Lewis, the Randall Hylton/Wanda Dalton song Slippers with Wings appears on the LP Good Time Get Together (Canaan CAS-9861, released in May 1980). Enjoy the clarity of her voice.

The Lewis Family’s recording career continued with the Riversong label (three LPs and five CDs released during the period 1986 to 1993), Benson (five CDs 1991 to 1995) and Thoroughbred (four CDs during the years 2002 to 2005 and two DVDs) and Daywind Records (four CDs released during the period 1996 to 2008 and a DVD, We Are Family, with performances by the Lewis Family, Jeff and Sheri Easter, and Easter Brothers; Daywind DAY 1550, released in 2008).

Another of the Lewis Family favorites that featured Polly is Hallelujah Turnpike.

Since 1999 the group’s recordings have won 11 Dove Awards for Best Bluegrass Song and /or Best Bluegrass Album.

Other awards and honors bestowed on the family include the induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1992, a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003 presented by the digital magazine SGN Scoops, the induction into the Gospel Music Association’s Hall of Fame in 2005, four awards from SPBGMA, and two IBMA awards; a Distinguished Achievement Award in 2002 and induction into the Hall of Fame in 2006.

Polly Lewis was a very significant and much-loved member of the perennial Lewis Family bluegrass Gospel group, contributing considerably to their success.

She, herself, was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2013.

Polly stayed with the group until the Lewis Family officially retired in 2009.

In this video Polly Lewis joins her daughter Sheri Easter and son-in-law Jeff singing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.

R.I.P. Polly Lewis

The family will receive friends on Monday, August 20th from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at Beggs Funeral Home in Lincolnton, Georgia.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, August 21, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. at Hephzibah Baptist Church in Lincolnton. Interment will follow in the church cemetery.

Serving as pallbearers will be Keith Lewis, Joey Lewis, Stan Lewis, Mike Lewis, Lewis Phillips and Walker T. Norman.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Lewis Family Homeplace Restoration Fund, PO Box 160, Lincolnton, Georgia 30817.

Baucom to go into Blue Ridge Music HoF

The Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame in Wilkesboro, NC has announced the inductees for their 2015 class, and it includes bluegrass greats Terry Baucom, Lulu Belle and Scotty, and The Lewis Family. Also chosen for this year are songwriter Si Kahn, country artist Ronnie Milsap, and recording engineer Bobby Patterson.

Prior inductees include Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, The Carter Family, The Stanley Brothers, Don Reno, Bobby Hicks, Charlie Poole, Norman Blake, Andy Griffith, Lester Flatt and many others.

The Hall of Fame is located within the Wilkes Heritage Museum, and is a partnership between Wilkes Community College, MerleFest, and regional academics and musicians.

The new members will be inducted during the 8th Annual Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony on June 20 at the Stone Center for Performing Arts in North Wilkesboro.

Congratulations to the 2015 class!

SEBA honor for Little Roy

This report was shared by C.S. “Charlie” Robinson of the Southeastern Bluegrass Association.

On the occasion of his 70th birthday at a performance on Friday (2/24) in Foley, AL, the SouthEastern Bluegrass Association (SEBA) honored Little Roy Lewis with the organization’s first Lifetime Achievement Award.

Little Roy, a veteran of over 60 years of recording, entertaining audiences and mentoring young musicians, was almost overwhelmed as he received the award. A rousing rendition of Happy Birthday immediately followed the presentation by all the show’s musicians and audience members. It was a most memorable night for one of the industry’s most colorful and remarkable personalities.

Lewis is the last active performer of the famed Lewis Family. His father “Pop” Lewis, patriarch of the family was well known by generations for his family’s Gospel shows, always punctuated by the energetic antics of Little Roy, who has retained that nickname from his earliest days with The Lewis Family as a young boy.

Little Roy is currently performing with Lizzy Long in what has been described as among the most exciting and invigorating shows on the bluegrass and Gospel circuit today, The Little Roy & Lizzy Show. The duo has garnered two consecutive Gospel Music Association’s Dove Awards for Song of the Year in 2010 for When We Fly, and for Mountain Top in 2011.

Additional photos and video of the presentation can be found on the SEBA Facebook page. Special thanks go out to Tammy Jean Crothers for posting video of the actual presentation.

Congratulations, Little Roy, and Happy Birthday! You make us all so proud!

Lewis Family lays it down

The news (here and here) this morning out of Georgia is that the First Family of Bluegrass has decided to call it quits.

The Lewis Family has been playing Bluegrass and Gospel music for over half a century, but with family members aging and some experiencing failing health, the group has decided their final show will be on September 5, 2009.

It’s not an easy decision to make, but retirement does have some benefits according to Janis Lewis Phillips.

"I’m going to get the kitchen fixed," Phillips said. "We’re getting all new appliances."

The old Lewis Family home place is currently being restored and converted into a museum. I’m sure the family members won’t entirely disappear from the scene, but I’m sure they will be missed by fans around the country at festivals next year.

Easter and Lewis families take Dove Awards

Jeff & Shari Easter, the Lewis Family and the Easter Brothers were the proud winners of both Dove Awards in the bluegrass category at a ceremony at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, on Thursday evening (4/23).

They took the honors with They’re Holding Up The Ladder (in the bluegrass recorded song category) and We Are Family (in the bluegrass album category). Both are available on the Daywind label.

The Dove Awards are presented by the Gospel Music Association. Look for a full list of winners on their web site.

James Roy “Pop” Lewis Memorial Highway

James Roy “Pop” Lewis passed away in 2004. The founder of bluegrass gospel group The Lewis Family, was 98 at the time. He is now being honored in his home town, as the road his family lived on has been renamed as a memorial to his legacy.

Last Monday, a section of State Route 378 in Lincoln County, GA was renamed The James Roy “Pop” Lewis Memorial Highway. It was Pop’s 103rd birthday.

Little Roy Lewis has told reporters that the Lewis family house in Lincolnton, GA will be converted into a museum, which should be opened to the public sometime next year.

Dove Award nominees announced

The Gospel Music Association has announced the nominees for the 2008 Dove Awards, and their bluegrass categories are chock full of familiar names.

The awards will be announced at the 39th Annual Dove Awards on April 23 in Nashville, TN.

The Bluegrass Recorded Song of the Year nominees are:

He’s In Control from Austins Bridge by Austins Bridge; Justin Rivers, Mike Kofahl, John Ramsey (writers); Daywind Records
I Will Find You Again from Lifetimes by Little Roy Lewis, Earl Scruggs, Lizzy Long; Wayne Haun, Joel Lindsey, Cindi Ballard (writers); Vine Records
Love Will Be Enough from Salt of the Earth by Ricky Skaggs & The Whites; Janis Ian, Paul Overstreet (writers); Skaggs Family Records
Salt of the Earth from Salt of the Earth by Ricky Skaggs & The Whites; Jim Rushing, Ronald Scaife (writers); Skaggs Family Records
The Key To Heaven from Flyin’ High by The Lewis Family; Caleb Collins, Lyn Rowell (writers); Vine Records

In the Bluegrass Album of the Year category, we have:

God’s Masterpiece – The Marksmen; Mark Wheeler (producer); Rural Rhythm Records
Lifetimes – Little Roy Lewis, Earl Scruggs, Lizzy Long; Wayne Haun, Kevin Ward (producer); Vine Records
Salt Of The Earth – Ricky Skaggs & The Whites; Ricky Skaggs & The Whites (producer); Skaggs Family Records
Tell Someone – Kenny & Amanda Smith Band; Kenny & Amanda Smith Band (producer); Rebel Records
Where No One Stands Alone – Paul Williams & The Victory Trio; Paul Williams (producer); Rebel Records

Congratulations and best of luck to them all!

We Are Family preview video

We Are Family, a DVD/CD joint release from The Easter Brothers, Jeff & Sheri Easter and The Lewis Family, is due for release on February 26. It was filmed in Mt. Airy, NC during Mayberry Days last September. A studio version of the project will also be released at the same time.

A video preview has been posted on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyUn381h32oSheri Easter shares some comments on the songs from We Are Family on The Lewis Family web site.

Lewis Family video shoot

The Lewis Family is planning a family reunion on video – live concert video that is.

The Andy Griffith Playhouse in Mt. Airy, NC will be the scene for two days of live concerts September 28-29 featuring The Lewis Family, Jeff & Sheri Easter, and The Easter Brothers. Both shows will be recorded on video for a DVD release.

Jeff Easter grew up singing with his family, and Sherri sang with The Lewis Family. The three groups will also collaborate on a joint CD project, We Are Family, due for a fall ‘o7 release.

Find more details on The Lewis Family web site.