Doyle Lawson
Encyclopedia
Doyle Lawson is an American
bluegrass
and gospel
musician
. Doyle is best known as an accomplished mandolin
player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 5-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.
, near Kingsport
, the son of Leonard and Minnie Lawson. The Lawson family moved to Sneedville, Tennessee in 1954, around the time that Doyle acted upon his love for music.
Doyle grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry
on Saturday nights. This is where he became inspired by Bill Monroe
, the "founding father" of bluegrass
, and his band the Blue Grass Boys. His own instrumental piece, "Rosine," is a tribute to Monroe's birthplace
and features, among other things, strains from the singer's 1967 instrumental "Kentucky Mandolin."
Doyle became interested in playing the mandolin around the age of eleven so his father borrowed a mandolin from Willis Byrd, a family friend and fellow musician. Doyle taught himself how to play the mandolin by listening to the radio and records, and watching an occasional TV show. His love for music grew and Doyle decided to learn to play the guitar
and banjo
as well.
Doyle’s perseverance and hard work style has shown through over forty albums since 1977 and through his band’s schedule, which includes over sixty concerts in one year.
His hard work and high expectations for his band seem kind of humorous to some with Doyle’s recollection of one practice when he "instructed each member to go to a separate room in the house and continue singing. If the individual members were no longer in pitch when they rejoined their leader, they'd start over again. ‘Of course, they thought I was crazy,’ he told John Wooley in Tulsa World, ‘but I told 'em that if it'd work for the banjo, it'd work for vocals. What it does is, it gets you to do things without being conscious of it, because we all were being programmed the same way.’" Doyle expects a lot from his band and it shows with numerous awards and nine nominations for this year’s International Bluegrass Music Association
Awards.
Every year Doyle hosts the Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver Festival in Denton
, North Carolina
.
He has one son, Robbie,and two daughters Suzi and Kristi. Kristi gave birth to the Lawson’s first grandchild, Spencer, in July 2007.
Doyle rededicated his life to Jesus
in May 1985 and is a member of Cold Spring Presbyterian Church.
, Tennessee to play the banjo with Jimmy Martin
and the Sunny Mountain Boys.
In 1966, Doyle started playing with J.D. Crowe and the Kentucky Mountain Boys (later the New South
), in Lexington
, Kentucky
.
Doyle went back to play the mandolin and sing tenor with Jimmy Martin in 1969 for six months. After he left Martin’s band he went back to play with Crowe until August 1971.
Doyle states that at that time in his career he wanted to make his own sound and that he has done.
In April 1979 Doyle formed his own band and called them Doyle Lawson and Foxfire, which quickly changed to Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver.
"No one since the late great Bill Monroe melds bluegrass with gospel music quite like the former Country Gentlemen
member Doyle Lawson…" Memphis Commercial Appeal
Current:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bluegrass
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...
and gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. Doyle is best known as an accomplished mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 5-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.
Biography
Doyle Lawson was born in Ford Town, Sullivan County, TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, near Kingsport
Kingsport, Tennessee
Kingsport is a city located mainly in Sullivan County with some western portions in Hawkins County in the US state of Tennessee. The majority of the city lies in Sullivan County...
, the son of Leonard and Minnie Lawson. The Lawson family moved to Sneedville, Tennessee in 1954, around the time that Doyle acted upon his love for music.
Doyle grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
on Saturday nights. This is where he became inspired by Bill Monroe
Bill Monroe
William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
, the "founding father" of bluegrass
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...
, and his band the Blue Grass Boys. His own instrumental piece, "Rosine," is a tribute to Monroe's birthplace
Rosine, Kentucky
Rosine is an unincorporated town in Ohio County, Kentucky, United States. Bill Monroe, The Father of Bluegrass, is not only buried in the town but also memorialized with a bronze cast disk affixed to the barn where his music remains alive. The community was named for the pen name of Jenny Taylor...
and features, among other things, strains from the singer's 1967 instrumental "Kentucky Mandolin."
Doyle became interested in playing the mandolin around the age of eleven so his father borrowed a mandolin from Willis Byrd, a family friend and fellow musician. Doyle taught himself how to play the mandolin by listening to the radio and records, and watching an occasional TV show. His love for music grew and Doyle decided to learn to play the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
as well.
Doyle’s perseverance and hard work style has shown through over forty albums since 1977 and through his band’s schedule, which includes over sixty concerts in one year.
His hard work and high expectations for his band seem kind of humorous to some with Doyle’s recollection of one practice when he "instructed each member to go to a separate room in the house and continue singing. If the individual members were no longer in pitch when they rejoined their leader, they'd start over again. ‘Of course, they thought I was crazy,’ he told John Wooley in Tulsa World, ‘but I told 'em that if it'd work for the banjo, it'd work for vocals. What it does is, it gets you to do things without being conscious of it, because we all were being programmed the same way.’" Doyle expects a lot from his band and it shows with numerous awards and nine nominations for this year’s International Bluegrass Music Association
International Bluegrass Music Association
The International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association to promote bluegrass music.Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1988 they announced plans to create the International Bluegrass Music Museum as a joint venture with...
Awards.
Every year Doyle hosts the Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver Festival in Denton
Denton, North Carolina
Denton is a town in Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,450 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Denton is located at .The highest elevation In Davidson county...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.
He has one son, Robbie,and two daughters Suzi and Kristi. Kristi gave birth to the Lawson’s first grandchild, Spencer, in July 2007.
Doyle rededicated his life to Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
in May 1985 and is a member of Cold Spring Presbyterian Church.
1960s
In 1963, at the age of eighteen, Doyle went to NashvilleNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee to play the banjo with Jimmy Martin
Jimmy Martin
Jimmy Martin was an American bluegrass musician, known as the "King of Bluegrass".-Early years:Born James H. Martin in Sneedville, Tennessee. Jimmy Martin was born into the hard farming life of rural East Tennessee. He grew up near Sneedville, singing in church and with friends from surrounding...
and the Sunny Mountain Boys.
In 1966, Doyle started playing with J.D. Crowe and the Kentucky Mountain Boys (later the New South
New South (band)
The New South is a bluegrass band formed around 1973 by banjo player J. D. Crowe. Their first two albums, Bluegrass Evolution and the eponymous record known by the album number, "Rounder 0044," established them as a dominant force in bluegrass, though the two albums are wildly different.-Band...
), in Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
.
Doyle went back to play the mandolin and sing tenor with Jimmy Martin in 1969 for six months. After he left Martin’s band he went back to play with Crowe until August 1971.
1970s
On September 1, 1971, Doyle started playing with the Country Gentlemen and remained part of the band for almost eight years, when in March 1979 Doyle left the band.Doyle states that at that time in his career he wanted to make his own sound and that he has done.
In April 1979 Doyle formed his own band and called them Doyle Lawson and Foxfire, which quickly changed to Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver.
"No one since the late great Bill Monroe melds bluegrass with gospel music quite like the former 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...
member Doyle Lawson…" Memphis Commercial Appeal
Original and current lineup
Original:- Terry Baucom-Banjo, Vocal
- Doyle Lawson-Mandolin, Vocal
- Jimmy Haley-Guitar, Vocal
- Lou Reid-Bass, Vocal
Current:
- Jason Barie-Fiddle
- Jessie Baker-Banjo
- Doyle Lawson-Mandolin, Vocal
- Mike Rogers-Guitar, Vocal
- Josh Swift-Dobro, Vocal
- Corey Hensley-Bass, Vocal
- Carl White-Drums
Studio albums
| Year | Album | US Bluegrass | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Tennessee Dream | County | |
| 1980 | Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver | Sugar Hill | |
| 1981 | Heavenly Treasures | ||
| Quicksilver Rides Again | |||
| Rock My Soul | |||
| 1985 | Once and for Always | ||
| 1986 | Beyond the Shadows | ||
| 1987 | The News Is Out | ||
| 1988 | Heaven's Joy Awaits | ||
| Hymn Time in the Country | |||
| I'll Wander Back Someday | |||
| 1989 | I Heard the Angels Singing | ||
| 1990 | My Heart Is Yours | ||
| 1992 | Pressing on Regardless | Brentwood | |
| Treasures Money Can't Buy | |||
| 1995 | Doyle Lawson with Bobby Hicks & Jerry Douglas | Koch | |
| Never Walk Away | Sugar Hill | ||
| 1996 | There's a Light Guiding Me | ||
| 1997 | Kept & Protected | ||
| 1998 | Gospel Radio Gems | ||
| 1999 | Original Band | ||
| Winding Through Life | |||
| 2000 | Just Over in Heaven | ||
| 2001 | Gospel Parade | ||
| 2002 | The Hard Game of Love | ||
| 1994 | Hallelujah in My Heart | Music Mill | |
| Thank God | Crossroads | ||
| 2005 | You Gotta Dig a Little Deeper | 4 | Rounder |
| 2006 | He Lives in Me | 4 | Crossroads |
| 2007 | More Behind the Picture Than the Wall | 2 | Rounder |
| 2008 | Help Is On the Way | 4 | Horizon |
| 2010 | Light On My Feet, Ready to Fly | 11 | |
| 2011 | Drive Time | 15 | Crossroads |
Compilation albums
| Year | Album | US Bluegrass | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | The Gospel Collection 1 | Sugar Hill | |
| 1999 | A School of Bluegrass | 9 | Crossroads |
| 2007 | Best of the Sugar Hill Years | Sugar Hill |