Herbert Joseph Pedersen (born April 27, 1944, in
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...
) is an American musician, guitarist,
banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin.
...
player, singer-songwriter, and actor who has played a variety of musical styles over the past fifty years including
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
,
bluegrass,
progressive bluegrass
Bluegrass music is a Music genre, genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has r ...
,
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk horror
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Fo ...
,
folk rock
Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...
,
country rock
Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...
, and has worked with numerous musicians in many different bands.
Biography
Pedersen often performs with
Chris Hillman
Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of the Byrds. With frequent collaborator Gram Parsons, Hillman was a key figure in the development of country rock, defining the genre through his w ...
, and both were once members of the
Desert Rose Band. Pedersen also fronted his own band called the Laurel Canyon Ramblers which included bluegrass bassman Bill Bryson, writer and performer of the Crossroads Cafe song penned while a member of the Bluegrass Cardinals. Other musicians and groups with whom Pedersen has worked include
John Fogerty
John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was th ...
;
Mudcrutch
Mudcrutch was an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida, whose sound touched on southern rock and country rock. They were first active in the 1970s and reformed in 2007, and are best known for being the band which launched Tom Petty to fa ...
; Pine Valley Boys;
Michael Martin Murphey
Michael Martin Murphey (born March 14, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter. He was one of the founding artists of progressive country. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including ''Cowboy Songs (Michael Martin Murphey alb ...
;
Earl Scruggs
Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-finge ...
;
The Dillards
The Dillards are an American bluegrass music, bluegrass and country rock band from Salem, Missouri. They are notable for being among the first bluegrass groups to have electrified their instruments, and they are considered to be pioneers of cou ...
, Smokey Grass Boys;
The New Kentucky Colonels;
Old & In the Way
Old & In the Way was a bluegrass group formed in 1973. It was composed of Peter Rowan (guitar, vocals), Vassar Clements (fiddle), Jerry Garcia (banjo, vocals), David Grisman (mandolin, vocals), and John Kahn (string bass). When the group was for ...
;
David Grisman
David Jay Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acousti ...
;
Peter Rowan
Peter Rowan (born July 4, 1942) is an American bluegrass musician and composer. He plays guitar, fiddle, dobro, banjo, bass, piano and mandolin. He has a wide vocal range and yodels. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall o ...
;
Vassar Clements
Vassar Carlton Clements (April 25, 1928 – August 16, 2005) was an American jazz, Swing music, swing, and Bluegrass music, bluegrass fiddler. Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borro ...
;
Gram Parsons
Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973), known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist. He recorded with the International Submarine Band, the Byrds, and the Flying Bu ...
;
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...
;
Skip Battin
Clyde "Skip" Battin (February 18, 1934 – July 6, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter, bassist, performer, and recording artist. He was a member of the Byrds, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Flying Burrito Brothers.
Εarly life
...
,
Tony Rice
David Anthony Rice (June 8, 1951 – December 25, 2020) was an American bluegrass guitarist and singer. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and acoustic jazz. He was inducted into the In ...
;
Dan Fogelberg
Daniel Grayling Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist widely known for his 1970s and 1980s soft rock hits, including " Longer" (1979), " Same Old Lang Syne" (1981), and " ...
;
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crosby, Stills & Nash; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and Manassas (band ...
;
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music.
Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...
;
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...
;
John Prine
John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for his signature blend of humoro ...
;
Jackson Browne
Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States.
Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...
;
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...
;
John Jorgenson
John Richard Jorgenson (born July 6, 1956) is an American musician. Although best known for his guitar work with bands such as the Desert Rose Band and The Hellecasters, he is also proficient on the mandolin, mandocello, Dobro, pedal steel g ...
;
Leland Sklar
Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. He rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coalesced into a group in its own right, The Section, which supported so many of Asylu ...
; David Bromberg,
The Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greate ...
,
Vince Gill
Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He played in a number of local bluegrass music, bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after ta ...
and
Rice, Rice, Hillman & Pedersen; and Vern and Ray.
Discography
as Leader
*''Southwest'' (1976)
Epic
Epic commonly refers to:
* Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
* Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale
Epic(s) ...
PE 34225
*''Sandman'' (1977)
Epic
Epic commonly refers to:
* Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
* Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale
Epic(s) ...
PE 34933
*''Lonesome Feeling'' (1984)
Sugar Hill Records SH-3738
as Band member
*''San Francisco 1968'', Vern & Ray With Herb Pedersen (2006)
Arhoolie Records
Arhoolie Records is an American small independent record label that was run by Chris Strachwitz and is based in El Cerrito, California, United States (it is actually located in Richmond Annex but has an El Cerrito postal address.) The label was ...
CD 524
*''
Wheatstraw Suite
''Wheatstraw Suite'' is the fourth album by American band The Dillards. Released in 1968, the album showcased an "unpredictable" mix of bluegrass, country, folk, rock and pop. For the album's sessions, the band recorded with a full orchestra, ...
'',
The Dillards
The Dillards are an American bluegrass music, bluegrass and country rock band from Salem, Missouri. They are notable for being among the first bluegrass groups to have electrified their instruments, and they are considered to be pioneers of cou ...
(1968),
Elektra
Electra, also spelt Elektra, was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology.
Electra or Elektra may also refer to:
Animals
* ''Electra'' (bryozoan), a genus of aquatic invertebrates
* ''Elektra'' (bug), a genus of insects in the ...
EKS-74035
*''
Copperfields
''Copperfields'' is the fifth album by American band the Dillards. Further distancing themselves from traditional bluegrass music, the album draws from bluegrass, rock, folk and country music, with prominent orchestra and increased use of drums ...
'', The Dillards (1970),
Elektra
Electra, also spelt Elektra, was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology.
Electra or Elektra may also refer to:
Animals
* ''Electra'' (bryozoan), a genus of aquatic invertebrates
* ''Elektra'' (bug), a genus of insects in the ...
EKL-74054
*''Live in Holland 1973'',
the New Kentucky Colonels (2013) Roland White Music – RW0001
*''
Here Today'',
David Grisman
David Jay Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acousti ...
, Herb Pedersen,
Vince Gill
Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He played in a number of local bluegrass music, bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after ta ...
,
Jim Buchanan,
Emory Gordy Jr.
Emory Lee Gordy Jr. (born December 25, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter and music producer. A former member of Emmylou Harris' backing band The Hot Band, he is best known for his association with country singer Patty Loveless, to whom ...
(1982)
Rounder Records
Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...
– 0169
*''
The Desert Rose Band
The Desert Rose Band was an American country rock band from Los Angeles, California, founded in 1985 by Chris Hillman (formerly of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers), with Herb Pedersen and John Jorgenson. The original lineup included Bi ...
'',
The Desert Rose Band
The Desert Rose Band was an American country rock band from Los Angeles, California, founded in 1985 by Chris Hillman (formerly of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers), with Herb Pedersen and John Jorgenson. The original lineup included Bi ...
, with
Chris Hillman
Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of the Byrds. With frequent collaborator Gram Parsons, Hillman was a key figure in the development of country rock, defining the genre through his w ...
&
John Jorgenson
John Richard Jorgenson (born July 6, 1956) is an American musician. Although best known for his guitar work with bands such as the Desert Rose Band and The Hellecasters, he is also proficient on the mandolin, mandocello, Dobro, pedal steel g ...
(1987)
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...
MCA-5991
*''
Running
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion by which humans and other animals move quickly on foot. Running is a gait with an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is in contrast to walkin ...
'', The Desert Rose Band, with Chris Hillman & John Jorgenson (1988)
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...
MCA-42169
*''
Pages Of Life'', The Desert Rose Band, with Chris Hillman & John Jorgenson (1990)
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...
MCA-42332
*''
True Love'', The Desert Rose Band, with Chris Hillman & John Jorgenson (1991)
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...
MCAD-10407
*''Bluegrass Reunion'', with
Red Allen
Henry James "Red" Allen Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been described by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armst ...
, David Grisman...(1992) Acoustic Disc ACD-4
*''Rambler's Blues'', Laurel Canyon Ramblers (1995)
Sugar Hill Records SHCD-3834
*''Rambler's Blues 2'', Laurel Canyon Ramblers (1996)
Sugar Hill Records SHCD-3852
*''
Out of the Woodwork'', with Tony Rice, Larry Rice, Chris Hillman (1997)
Rounder Records
Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...
CD0390
*'' Back On The Street Again'', Laurel Canyon Ramblers (1998)
Sugar Hill Records SHCD-3881
*''
Rice, Rice, Hillman & Pedersen'', With Tony Rice, Larry Rice, Chris Hillman (1999)
Rounder Records
Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...
11661-0450-2
*''Way Out West'', with Chris Hillman (2002)
Back Porch Records
Back Porch Records was an Americana/ roots rock label owned by Universal Music Group.
The label was started in 1997 as joint venture between Virgin Records and Milwaukee-based Narada Productions. The label's initial releases, including the I-1 ...
– 72438-11978-2-0
*''At Edwards Barn'', with Chris Hillman (2010)
Rounder Records
Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...
11661-0652-2
Collaborations
* ''
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music.
Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...
'' (eponymous album) - Linda Ronstadt (1971)
* ''
Don't Cry Now
''Don't Cry Now'' is the fourth solo studio album by American singer Linda Ronstadt. It was released by Asylum Records on October 1, 1973 and contained ten tracks. While some tracks were new material, many of the songs were cover tunes. The album ...
'' - Linda Ronstadt (1973)
* ''
Grievous Angel
''Grievous Angel'' is the second and final solo studio album by Gram Parsons, compiled from summer 1973 sessions and released four months after his death from a morphine and alcohol overdose in September 1973. Prominently featuring a young Emm ...
'' - Gram Parsons (1974)
* ''
Fall into Spring'' - Rita Coolidge (1974)
* ''
Heart Like a Wheel
''Heart Like a Wheel'' is the fifth solo studio album by Linda Ronstadt, released in November 1974. It was Ronstadt's last album to be released by Capitol Records. At the time of its recording, Ronstadt had already moved to Asylum Records and re ...
'' - Linda Ronstadt (1974)
* ''
Pieces of the Sky
''Pieces of the Sky'' is the second studio album and major-label debut by American country music artist Emmylou Harris, released on February 7, 1975, through Reprise Records.
Although she had released the obscure folk-styled '' Gliding Bird'' fi ...
'' - Emmylou Harris (1975)
* ''
Elite Hotel
''Elite Hotel'' is the third studio album by American country music artist Emmylou Harris, released in 1975. ''Elite Hotel'' was Harris' second album to be released in 1975, preceded by the widely acclaimed '' Pieces of the Sky''. ''Elite Hotel'' ...
'' - Emmylou Harris (1975)
* ''
Prisoner in Disguise'' - Linda Ronstadt (1975)
* ''Dane Donohue'' - Dane Donohue (1978)
* ''Bakersfield Bound'' - Chris & Herb (1996) - Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen
* ''
Mudcrutch 2'' - Mudcrutch with Tom Petty (2016)
References
External links
Official Herb Pedersen Website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedersen, Herb
Guitarists from California
American country guitarists
American male guitarists
American bluegrass musicians
American country rock musicians
American banjoists
The Desert Rose Band members
1944 births
Living people
Musicians from Berkeley, California
20th-century American guitarists
Country musicians from California
20th-century American male musicians
Old & In the Way members
The Dillards members
Lyle Lovett and His Large Band members