Doyle Lawson
| Doyle Lawson | |
|---|---|
Doyle Lawson (left) and his band harmonize during the 2006 NEA National Heritage Fellows concert.
|
|
| Background information | |
| Born |
April 20, 1944 Sullivan County, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | Bluegrass, gospel |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Mandolin |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Website | www.doylelawson.com |
Doyle Lawson (born April 20, 1944) is an American traditional bluegrass and gospel musician. He is best known as an accomplished mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 6-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Lawson was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2012.
Doyle Lawson was born in Fordtown, Sullivan County, Tennessee, the son of Leonard and Minnie Lawson. The Lawson family moved to Sneedville in 1954. Lawson grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday nights. This is where he heard mandolinist Bill Monroe, the "founding father" of bluegrass, and his band the Blue Grass Boys.
Lawson 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. Later Lawson learned to play the guitar and banjo as well.
In 1963, aged 18 or 19, Lawson went to Nashville to play the banjo with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys.
In 1966, he started playing with J.D. Crowe and the Kentucky Mountain Boys (later called the New South) in Lexington, Kentucky. He went returned to play the mandolin and sing tenor with Martin in 1969 for six months, and then played again with Crowe until August 1971.
In September, 1971, Lawson started playing with The Country Gentlemen and remained part of the band for almost eight years. During that time, in 1977, he backed up U.S. Senator Robert Byrd on his Mountain Fiddler album. In March 1979 when Lawson left the Country Gentlemen with the intention of forming a band and creating his own sound.
...
Wikipedia