Dixie Gentlemen
Encyclopedia
The Dixie Gentlemen, who reached some level of prominence during the 1960s, were a bluegrass
band whose musical style varied between traditional
and progressive bluegrass
.
by banjo player Rual Yarbrough
, mandolin player Herschel Sizemore and guitarist Jake Landers. About that time, another group who went by the name of the Country Gentlemen
already existed so Yarbrough's group changed their name to the Dixie Gentlemen. Soon, Jake Landers entered military service but was discharged the next year in 1957. During these early years, they toured the south eastern USA and also made personal appearances on both local radio and television stations. Their efforts bore fruit and they made their recording debut in 1959 for the tiny and obscure Blue Sky label. When the fiddler Tommy Jackson was going to record an album for Dot Records
, the Dixie Gentlemen were offered to back him up. In the early 1960s, they recorded for the small Time label. Shortly they signed with United Artists Records
. The Dixie Gentlemen disbanded in 1966 after having made their last album together with fiddler Vassar Clements
and dobro player Tut Taylor
. Later, Yarbrough and Sizemore formed the Dixiemen. The original Dixie Gentlemen were temporarily revived in 1972 and in the early 1990s.
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
band whose musical style varied between traditional
Traditional bluegrass
Traditional bluegrass, as the name implies, emphasizes the traditional elements of bluegrass music, and stands in opposition to progressive bluegrass. Traditional bluegrass musicians play folk songs, tunes with simple traditional chord progressions, and on acoustic instruments of a type that were...
and progressive bluegrass
Progressive bluegrass
Progressive bluegrass is one of two major subgenres of bluegrass music. It is also known as newgrass, a term attributed to New Grass Revival member Ebo Walker. Musicians and bands John Hartford, New Grass Revival, J.D. Crowe and the New South, The Dillards, Boone Creek, Country Gazette, and the...
.
Biography
The Dixie Gentlemen were formed as the Country Gentlemen in 1956 in AlabamaAlabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
by banjo player Rual Yarbrough
Rual Yarbrough
Rual Holt Yarbrough was an American five-string banjo player who worked with some of the most famous bluegrass musicians.-Biography:...
, mandolin player Herschel Sizemore and guitarist Jake Landers. About that time, another group who went by the name of the Country Gentlemen
The Country Gentlemen
The Country Gentlemen were a bluegrass band that originated during the 1950s in the area of Washington, DC, United States, and recorded and toured with various members until the death in 2004 of Charlie Waller, one of the group's founders who in its later years served as the group's "focal point...
already existed so Yarbrough's group changed their name to the Dixie Gentlemen. Soon, Jake Landers entered military service but was discharged the next year in 1957. During these early years, they toured the south eastern USA and also made personal appearances on both local radio and television stations. Their efforts bore fruit and they made their recording debut in 1959 for the tiny and obscure Blue Sky label. When the fiddler Tommy Jackson was going to record an album for Dot Records
Dot Records
Dot Records was an American record label and company that was active between 1950 and 1977. It was founded by Randy Wood. In Gallatin, Tennessee, Wood had earlier started a mail order record shop, known for its radio ads on WLAC in Nashville and its R&B air personality Bill "Hoss" Allen...
, the Dixie Gentlemen were offered to back him up. In the early 1960s, they recorded for the small Time label. Shortly they signed with United Artists Records
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
. The Dixie Gentlemen disbanded in 1966 after having made their last album together with fiddler Vassar Clements
Vassar Clements
Vassar Clements was a Grammy Award- winning American jazz, swing, and bluegrass fiddler. Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borrows from swing, hot jazz, and bluegrass along with roots also in country and other musical...
and dobro player Tut Taylor
Tut Taylor
Tut Taylor is an American bluegrass musician.Taylor played banjo and mandolin as a child, and began playing dobro at age 14, learning to use the instrument with a distinctive flat-picking style. Taylor was a member of The Folkswingers in the 1960s, who released three LPs; he recorded his debut...
. Later, Yarbrough and Sizemore formed the Dixiemen. The original Dixie Gentlemen were temporarily revived in 1972 and in the early 1990s.
Discography
- The Country Style of the Dixie Gentlemen - 1963 (United Artists Records)
- Blues & Bluegrass with Tut Taylor - 1967 (Tune Records)
- Together Once More - 1973 (Old Homestead Records)