Category: Bluegrass

Art, Bluegrass, Country Music, Folk, Music, Old-time music

Wade Mainer, Uncle Vance and This Old Guitar

Gary Furr

Wade Mainer died this week at the age of 104.  A mountain banjo player who came out of the mountains of Weaverville, NC, Wade and his brother J. E. were part of my life even though I never met either one of them.  They split up and had separate careers after 1936, and were a big part of the foundation of what Bill Monroe fused into “bluegrass” music.  Wade became the more famous of the two, playing the White House for President Franklin Roosevelt. Uncle Vance Furr, my Daddy’s oldest brother, died at the age of 74.  He lived, all … Continue reading Wade Mainer, Uncle Vance and This Old Guitar

Bluegrass, Competition, Fundamentalism, Music2 Comments

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Gary Furr

Q. How many bluegrass musicians does it take to screw in a lightbulb?..: A. Three. One to screw it in, and two to complain that Bill Monroe never did it that way. I take Bluegrass Unlimited, and by far the most interesting part is the “letters to the editor.” Bluegrass fans are unusually obsessive about their music. I have pondered this, and perhaps it is in part because it is the living memory of a time and a way of life that is passing away, and in part because when we find something and love it we want to hold … Continue reading Labels