The Country Gentlemen
Encyclopedia
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 and leader."
"The Classic" line-up of the Country Gentlemen from 1960–64, consisting of co-founders Charlie Waller on guitar and John Duffey
on mandolin, with Eddie Adcock
on banjo and Tom Gray
on bass, were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor
in 1996.
Charlie Waller on guitar
and lead vocals, John Duffey
on mandolin
and tenor
vocals, Bill Emerson
on banjo
and baritone
vocals, and Larry Lahey on bass
. After a few early changes, the band settled into a somewhat permanent lineup consisting of Waller, Duffey
, Eddie Adcock
on banjo, and Tom Gray
on bass.
Tom Gray
left the group to pursue on his career as National Geographic cartographer. Until end of sixties, Ed Ferris, Ed McGlothlin and Bill Yates were the bass players for the group. In 1969, just as the band was scheduled to tour Japan, John Duffey
quit, citing his fear of flying. Jimmy Gaudreau was brought in on mandolin. Eddie Adcock
departed the band in 1970 and moved to California to create a band Clinton Special.
on mandolin, Bill Yates on bass and Ricky Skaggs
on fiddle. The band also switched labels from Rebel to Vanguard. Emerson left again to join the Navy after one album, and was replaced by James Bailey. Jerry Douglas
joined the band during the summer of 1973 and in 1974, after graduating from high school in May 1974, stayed with the band playing the Dobro at that time. He continued with the band until June 1975. He rejoined the band in May 1978 and was with the band until December 1978.
"Redwood Hill" and Steve Goodman's
"City of New Orleans
."
Several of the band’s songs ("Two Little Boys," "Bringing Mary Home," "New Freedom Bell," "Matterhorn," "Fox on the Run," "Legend of the Rebel Soldier," and many others) have become bluegrass standards.
In 2008, Adcock and Gray, two members of the "Classic" Country Gentlemen Hall of Honor lineup, together with former member Gaudreau and Waller's son Randy, combined in 2008 to record as the Country Gentlemen Reunion Band.
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 that originated during the 1950s in the area of Washington, DC, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 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 and leader."
"The Classic" line-up of the Country Gentlemen from 1960–64, consisting of co-founders Charlie Waller on guitar and John Duffey
John Duffey
John H. Duffey was a Washington DC-based bluegrass music innovator and musician....
on mandolin, with Eddie Adcock
Eddie Adcock
Eddie Adcock was born in Scottsville, Virginia, USA, on June 21, 1938. His professional musical career as a 5 string banjoist began in 1953 when he joined Smokey Graves & His Blue Star Boys, who had a regular show at a radio station in Crewe, VA. His exposure with Graves led to jobs with other...
on banjo and Tom Gray
Tom Gray
Tom Gray is a bluegrass musician widely considered one of the best bass players in the genre. He is probably best known for his bass playing with The Country Gentlemen and The Seldom Scene. In 1996, as a member of The Country Gentlemen, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall...
on bass, were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor
International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor
Induction to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, called the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor from its creation in 1991 through 2006, is managed by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and the Hall itself is maintained at the International Bluegrass Music Museum in...
in 1996.
Early history
The band started on July 4, 1957 as a replacement group for Buzz Busby’s Bayou Boys when several members of that band were injured in a car accident. The band’s original members wereCharlie Waller on 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 lead vocals, John Duffey
John Duffey
John H. Duffey was a Washington DC-based bluegrass music innovator and musician....
on 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...
and tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
vocals, Bill Emerson
Bill Emerson (musician)
William Hundley "Bill" Emerson, Jr. is an American five-string banjo player known for being one of the founding members of the original Country Gentlemen and Emerson & Waldron.-Career:...
on 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...
and baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
vocals, and Larry Lahey on bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
. After a few early changes, the band settled into a somewhat permanent lineup consisting of Waller, Duffey
John Duffey
John H. Duffey was a Washington DC-based bluegrass music innovator and musician....
, Eddie Adcock
Eddie Adcock
Eddie Adcock was born in Scottsville, Virginia, USA, on June 21, 1938. His professional musical career as a 5 string banjoist began in 1953 when he joined Smokey Graves & His Blue Star Boys, who had a regular show at a radio station in Crewe, VA. His exposure with Graves led to jobs with other...
on banjo, and Tom Gray
Tom Gray
Tom Gray is a bluegrass musician widely considered one of the best bass players in the genre. He is probably best known for his bass playing with The Country Gentlemen and The Seldom Scene. In 1996, as a member of The Country Gentlemen, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall...
on bass.
First classic lineup breakup
They toured both the bluegrass and folk circuits during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1964,Tom Gray
Tom Gray
Tom Gray is a bluegrass musician widely considered one of the best bass players in the genre. He is probably best known for his bass playing with The Country Gentlemen and The Seldom Scene. In 1996, as a member of The Country Gentlemen, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall...
left the group to pursue on his career as National Geographic cartographer. Until end of sixties, Ed Ferris, Ed McGlothlin and Bill Yates were the bass players for the group. In 1969, just as the band was scheduled to tour Japan, John Duffey
John Duffey
John H. Duffey was a Washington DC-based bluegrass music innovator and musician....
quit, citing his fear of flying. Jimmy Gaudreau was brought in on mandolin. Eddie Adcock
Eddie Adcock
Eddie Adcock was born in Scottsville, Virginia, USA, on June 21, 1938. His professional musical career as a 5 string banjoist began in 1953 when he joined Smokey Graves & His Blue Star Boys, who had a regular show at a radio station in Crewe, VA. His exposure with Graves led to jobs with other...
departed the band in 1970 and moved to California to create a band Clinton Special.
Second generation
Charlie Waller assembled the "Second classic lineup" of the Country Gentlemen soon after, with Bill Emerson returning on banjo, Doyle LawsonDoyle Lawson
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.-Biography:...
on mandolin, Bill Yates on bass and Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs
Rickie Lee "Ricky" Skaggs is a country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, and banjo.-Early career:...
on fiddle. The band also switched labels from Rebel to Vanguard. Emerson left again to join the Navy after one album, and was replaced by James Bailey. Jerry Douglas
Jerry Douglas
Jerry Douglas may refer to:*Jerry Douglas , actor, who was on The Young and the Restless for 25 years*Jerry Douglas, country/bluegrass musician*Jerry Douglas , director and writer of adult films such as, Score...
joined the band during the summer of 1973 and in 1974, after graduating from high school in May 1974, stayed with the band playing the Dobro at that time. He continued with the band until June 1975. He rejoined the band in May 1978 and was with the band until December 1978.
Death of Charlie Waller
In the band's later years Charlie Waller served as the group's "focal point and leader" until his death in August 2004. His son Randy Waller, whose voice is very similar to his father's, continues to play as "Randy Waller & The Country Gentlemen".Material
The Country Gentlemen play music ranging from traditional bluegrass to pop, sometimes adapting music from other genres to their bluegrass style. They also borrowed from the folk genre with songs such as Gordon Lightfoot'sGordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
"Redwood Hill" and Steve Goodman's
Steve Goodman
Steve Goodman was an American folk music singer-songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. The writer of "City of New Orleans", made popular by Arlo Guthrie, Goodman won two Grammy Awards.-Personal life:...
"City of New Orleans
City of New Orleans (song)
"City of New Orleans" is a folk song written by Steve Goodman , describing a train ride from Chicago to New Orleans via the Illinois Central Railroad in bittersweet and nostalgic terms. Goodman got the idea while traveling on the eponymous train for a visit to his wife's family...
."
Several of the band’s songs ("Two Little Boys," "Bringing Mary Home," "New Freedom Bell," "Matterhorn," "Fox on the Run," "Legend of the Rebel Soldier," and many others) have become bluegrass standards.
Offshoots
Some of the immediate offshoots of the band were Emerson & Waldron, the Seldom Scene, II Generation, and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.In 2008, Adcock and Gray, two members of the "Classic" Country Gentlemen Hall of Honor lineup, together with former member Gaudreau and Waller's son Randy, combined in 2008 to record as the Country Gentlemen Reunion Band.
External links
- The Country Gentlemen Discography at Smithsonian FolkwaysSmithsonian FolkwaysSmithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was founded in 1987 after the family of Moses Asch, founder of Folkways...
- Charlie Waller official site
- Randy Waller official site
- Country Gentlemen reunion website
- Bluegrass blog - 50 years of Country Gentlemen (retrieved Feb 2010
- Photos: 1972 Country Gentlemen Festival, Indian Ranch, Webster, Mass.