Biography by Sandra Brennan
Among the most distinguished practitioners of traditional
bluegrass, Del McCoury was the epitome of the "high
lonesome sound" for over three decades. Born Delano Floyd
McCoury, he was raised in Bakersville, North Carolina. In
1941, he and his family moved to Glen Rock, Pennsylvania,
where he got his start as a five-string banjo picker with
Keith Daniels & the Blue Ridge Ramblers. Later he
played with Jack Cooke's Virginia Mountain Boys in
Baltimore. McCoury got his first big break in 1963 when
Bill Monroe hired the Virginia Mountain Boys to play a few
New York gigs. Monroe was impressed by the young banjo
player and invited him to join his Blue Grass Boys.
Shortly after accepting Monroe's offer, McCoury became the
group's lead vocalist and took up rhythm guitar. In early
1964, he recorded one single with Monroe, but a month
later returned home to marry.
Following his marriage, he and fiddler Billy Baker spent
three months in California playing with the Golden State
Boys. Upon his return back east, McCoury began playing and
recording with the Shady Valley Boys. McCoury left the
group in 1967 and founded the Dixie Pals with Bill
Emerson, Wayne Yates, and Billy Baker. McCoury & His
Dixie Pals, which underwent several membership changes,
played together for over 20 years and recorded on such
labels as Rounder, Revonah, Leather, and Rebel. In 1987,
the unit was renamed the Del McCoury Band following the
additions of his sons Ronnie on mandolin and Robbie on
banjo along with fiddler Tad Marks and bass player Mike
Brantley.
The period following the formation of the Del McCoury Band
proved to be very productive, with several terrific
releases for Rounder. The band carefully bridged the gap
between the interesting song choices and instrumentation
of the best progressive bluegrass groups, while still
retaining the high lonesome style of traditional
bluegrass. In early 1999, the band reached a whole new
group of listeners when it backed singer/songwriter Steve
Earle on his successful traditionally themed album The
Mountain. Around that time, McCoury and sons amicably
ended their relationship with Rounder, moving to Ricky
Skaggs' Ceili label for the Family and Del and the Boys
records. The band released It's Just the Night in 2003,
followed by The Company We Keep in 2005, the
gospel-influenced Promised Land in 2006, and Family Circle
in 2009. Old Memories: The Songs of Bill Monroe appeared
on LP in 2011 and on CD early in 2012.
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