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The Johnson Mountain Boys were a popular bluegrass band throughout the 1980s from the
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area. Their style favored a more traditional approach to bluegrass than some of their contemporaries. They released two 45 RPM single records, one EP record, ten albums and toured widely, playing venues such as
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,
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, the
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,
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, and the
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in the
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. Other tours took them around the world to
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,
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,
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,
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,
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, and
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. The group was frequently recognized with nominations for
Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
,
International Bluegrass Music Awards The International Bluegrass Music Awards is an award show for bluegrass music presented by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA). Awards are voted based on professional membership in the IBMA. Award winners 2021 award winners The ...
, and awards from the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America. Many of the band's members are still active in other musical groups and settings. In 2020, the band was inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.


History


Early years

The first grouping initially known as "The Johnson Boys", formed in 1975 as a duo featuring
Dudley Connell Dudley Dale Connell (born February 18, 1956) is an American singer in the bluegrass tradition. He is best known for his work with the Johnson Mountain Boys, Longview, and The Seldom Scene. Biography Early years Connell grew up in Rockville, Mar ...
on
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. ...
and Ron Welch on
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
. Eddie D'Zmura, a high school friend of Dudley Connell's, joined soon thereafter on
mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...
. The band was renamed, "The Johnson Mountain Boys" after learning of another folk band already using the "Johnson Boys" name. The name The Johnson Mountain Boys was suggested by George Connell, Dudley's father. The "Johnson Mountain" referred to in the name of the band is a fictitious name (i.e. there is no Johnson Mountain in any of the areas from which any of the band members came). The group became a full five-piece band in January 1978 featuring Connell on guitar, Franny Davidson on banjo—replaced by Richard Underwood after the band's first recording session—Eddie D'Zmura on mandolin, David McLaughlin on
fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...
, and Gary Reid on bass. Gary Reid left the group in late 1978 and started the Copper Creek record company. He was replaced by Mark Prindle on the bass. The Johnson Mountain Boys first commercial record release was
Copper Creek Records Copper Creek Records is a record label based in Roanoke, Virginia specializing primarily in bluegrass and old-time music. History Spurred by his interest in the music of the Stanley Brothers, Gary B. Reid launched Copper Creek in October 1978. T ...
number 0001 featuring original instrumental composition "Johnson Mountain Hoedown" written by
Dudley Connell Dudley Dale Connell (born February 18, 1956) is an American singer in the bluegrass tradition. He is best known for his work with the Johnson Mountain Boys, Longview, and The Seldom Scene. Biography Early years Connell grew up in Rockville, Mar ...
and Ed D'Zmura. The B side was " When I Can Forget" a song written by
Dudley Connell Dudley Dale Connell (born February 18, 1956) is an American singer in the bluegrass tradition. He is best known for his work with the Johnson Mountain Boys, Longview, and The Seldom Scene. Biography Early years Connell grew up in Rockville, Mar ...
. The personnel on the record was Dudley Connell on guitar and vocals, David McLaughlin on fiddle and vocals, Ed D'Zmura on mandolin, Franny Davidson on banjo, and Mark Prindle on bass. After the release of the first Copper Creek single, David McLaughlin went off to college and continued to play fiddle part-time with the band. After David McLaughlin left for college,
Eddie Stubbs Eddie Stubbs (born November 25, 1961) is an American radio disc jockey. Stubbs is best known for his work and promotion of country music on WSM, a radio station with a nighttime clear channel signal broadcast from Nashville, Tennessee, United ...
performed his first show on fiddle with the Johnson Mountain Boys in November 1978 when he was just 16 years old, just a week before his 17th birthday. From that point, he was considered the main fiddle player for the group, but played only once per week with the group since he was still in high school (senior year). Since Eddie was not able to perform every show because of school, the fiddle duties were covered by David McLaughlin, Bill Belford, and Carl Nelson when Eddie was not able to appear. In May 1979, Eddie became the full-time fiddle player for the group at age 17. He graduated from
Gaithersburg High School Gaithersburg High School (GHS) is a public high school in Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States. Part of Montgomery County Public Schools, the school is located at 101 Education Boulevard and consists of grades 9–12. Its feeder schools are Fo ...
that June. In 1979, before the recording of their second Copper Creek record, Mark Prindle was replaced by Larry Robbins on bass. The group's second record was Copper Creek Records number 0101, an EP featuring "Sitting Alone in the Moonlight," "Eddie's Hoedown," "Where We'll Never Die," and "No Depression in Heaven." In 1980, the band was picked up by
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 ...
. The group's self-titled first album won considerable acclaim. "Overview: ''The Johnson Mountain Boys'' (1981)"
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After the release of their first Rounder album, David McLaughlin left college in early 1981 to rejoin the group full-time, replacing Ed D'Zmura on mandolin. Subsequent albums made the group young standard bearers of traditional bluegrass in the 1980s. In 1986, there were two personnel changes.
Marshall Wilborn Marshall Wilborn is an American bluegrass music bass player and composer best known for his work with the Johnson Mountain Boys, Longview, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, and the Lynn Morris Band. Biography Early years Wilborn was raised ...
replaced Larry Robbins on bass in June and Tom Adams replaced Richard Underwood on banjo in September.


Initial break-up and regrouping (1988–1996)

In 1987, the Johnson Mountain Boys announced their plans to disband after a farewell concert at the Old Schoolhouse in
Lucketts, Virginia Lucketts is an unincorporated historic hamlet in Loudoun County, Virginia, along U.S. Route 15 north of Leesburg. It was originally known as "Black Swamp" due to the large number of black oak trees growing in the area at the time of its settle ...
. The February 20, 1988 concert was recorded and released the following year as a double live album, ''At the Old Schoolhouse''. Critics hailed the release as one of the group's finest moments and it was ultimately nominated for a
Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
. After this concert, the group toured
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without David McLaughlin and
Eddie Stubbs Eddie Stubbs (born November 25, 1961) is an American radio disc jockey. Stubbs is best known for his work and promotion of country music on WSM, a radio station with a nighttime clear channel signal broadcast from Nashville, Tennessee, United ...
in 1988. Upon the return from
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, Dudley Connell, Richard Underwood, David McLaughlin, and Eddie Stubbs, decided to return to the stage on a part-time basis in 1989, performing 25 to 50 concerts per year instead of the 200 to 250 concerts per year they had been performing until their final Lucketts concert in 1988. The only member who could not rejoin was
Marshall Wilborn Marshall Wilborn is an American bluegrass music bass player and composer best known for his work with the Johnson Mountain Boys, Longview, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, and the Lynn Morris Band. Biography Early years Wilborn was raised ...
, who moved on to help found the Lynn Morris Band at that time. The band and the promotion of these concerts did not refer to them as reunion concerts. It was actually written in all contracts that these concerts were not to be referred to as reunions. The longest-running lineup of this version of the band consisted of Connell, Stubbs, McLaughlin, Adams and the group's newest member, Earl Yager on bass. This regrouping of the Johnson Mountain Boys started performing in 1989. They recorded another album, ''Blue Diamond'', in 1993 (nominated for a
Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
). The group performed their last concert at the bluegrass festival in Myrtle Beach, SC in November 1996.


Since the final break-up (Since November 1996)

The band's various members independently continued to pursue active careers. Dudley Connell became the guitarist and lead singer of the
Seldom Scene The Seldom Scene is an American bluegrass band that formed in 1971 in Bethesda, Maryland. The band's original line-up comprised John Starling on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Auldridge on Dobro and baritone vocals, Ben Eldridge on banjo, Tom ...
and became the head of the mail-order division of the Folkways Record Collection at the
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and later an archivist for the National Council for the Traditional Arts. Eddie Stubbs relocated to Nashville where he continued to play fiddle for acts such as
Johnnie Wright Johnnie Robert Wright Jr. (May 13, 1914 – September 27, 2011) was an American country music singer-songwriter, who spent much of his career working with Jack Anglin as the popular duo Johnnie & Jack, and was also the husband of country music ...
,
Kitty Wells Ellen Muriel Deason (August 30, 1919 – July 16, 2012), known professionally as Kitty Wells, was an American pioneering female country music singer. She broke down a barrier for women in country music with her 1952 hit recording " It Wasn't God ...
, and
Bill Anderson James William Anderson III (born November 1, 1937) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television host. His soft-spoken singing voice earned him the nickname "Whispering Bill" from music critics and writers. As a songwriter, hi ...
. Stubbs also became a DJ on
WSM-AM WSM (650 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station, located in Nashville, Tennessee. It broadcasts a country music format (with classic country and Americana leanings, the latter of which is branded as "Route 650") and is known as the home of the ...
and announcer for the
Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...
. He has won Broadcast Personality of the Year awards from the
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(2002) and from the
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 ...
(1996, 2002). David McLaughlin formed a duo with Josh Crowe, has worked with several other bands, including the Lynn Morris Band and Springfield Exit. He operated a recording studio from 1994 until 2009 in Winchester, VA. Tom Adams has worked as a banjo player in the Lynn Morris Band,
Blue Highway Blue Highway is an American contemporary bluegrass band formed in 1994 and based in Tennessee. The band's albums include ''Wondrous Love'' (2003), ''Marbletown'' (2005), and ''Original Traditional'' (2016). Background After helping found the ...
, and in bands headed by
Rhonda Vincent Rhonda Lea Vincent (born July 13, 1962) is an American Bluegrass music, bluegrass singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Vincent's music career began when she was a child in her family's band The Sally Mountain Show, and it has spanne ...
and
Dale Ann Bradley Dale Ann Bradley is an American bluegrass musician. She is a six-time (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2021) Female Bluegrass Vocalist of the Year, a distinction given by the International Bluegrass Music Association. She has released music bo ...
. Adams was awarded Banjo Player of the Year three times (1992, 1993, 2002) by the International Bluegrass Music Association. He was most recently (July 6, 2009 - May 9, 2011) the guitarist and lead singer for
Michael Cleveland Charles Michael Cleveland (born September 18, 1980) is an American bluegrass fiddle player. Early life Cleveland was born in Henryville, Indiana. He was born completely blind and a childhood ear infection caused him to lose 80% of his hearing ...
& Flamekeeper. Marshall Wilborn, bassist, singer and songwriter, was most recently (Fall, 2007 - May 9, 2011) a member of Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper.


Discography

* ''The Johnson Mountain Boys'' (1978; 1981, Rounder) * ''Walls of Time'' (1982 Rounder) * ''Working Close'' (1983 Rounder) * ''Live at the Birchmere'' (1984 Rounder) * ''The Johnson Mountain Boys'' (1984, Copper Creek) * ''We'll Still Sing On'' (1985, Rounder) * ''Let the Whole World Talk'' (1987, Rounder) * ''Requests'' (1988, Rounder) * ''At the Old Schoolhouse'' (1989, Rounder) * ''Blue Diamond'' (1993, Rounder)


Compilations

* ''Favorites'' (1987, Rounder)


References


External links


Rounder Records page
{{Authority control American bluegrass music groups