Larry Richardson (August 9, 1927- June 17, 2007) was an American bluegrass and old time banjoist and guitarist from

Galax, Virginia Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,720. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Galax with neighboring Carroll County for statistic ...

. He is known for his work with the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers,

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

and His Bluegrass Boys, and the Blue Ridge Boys. Larry Richardson began his bluegrass career with the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers alongside mandolin player

Bobby Osborne Bobby Osborne (born December 7, 1931) is an American bluegrass musician. He is the co-founder (with his brother Sonny Osborne) of the Osborne Brothers and a member of the Grand Ole Opry and the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. He also ...

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fame. These two musicians are credited for transforming the band from

western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which attracted huge crowds to dance ...

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a 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 and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it la ...

in 1949. Larry and Bobby left the band after only a year and were replaced by Jimmy and Paul Williams. After Larry's brief time with the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, he joined Bill Monroe as a banjo player from 1950 to 1951. He never made a recording as a "Bluegrass Boy". Larry then went on to work for Carl and J.P. Sauceman who ran a bluegrass show on

WREN (AM) WREN (590 AM, "The Mighty 590") was an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Carrollton, Alabama, United States. The station began broadcasting in 1951 as "WRAG" and fell permanently dark in 2010 due to economic and ot ...

. In 1956, Larry was featured on a record that changed the way many people hear and play the banjo. ''"American Banjo Scruggs Style"'' which showcased the many banjo players who had adopted

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-fing ...

' famous "three finger roll" style of picking. On the record, Richardson played a rousing and inventive version of "Little Maggie" that influenced any number of up-and-coming banjo players in the late 1950s. Soon after the release of this record, Larry relocated to

Low Gap, North Carolina Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low Places * Low, Quebec, Canada * Low, Utah, United States * Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station * Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: ...

. From the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s Larry recorded with the Blue Ridge Boys who focused on a traditional bluegrass sound. In the latter 30 years of his life, Larry became an evangelist and spent the rest of his life preaching and singing bluegrass gospel. He lived in Lake Butler, Florida until he died of colon cancer.

References

External links

* https://archive.today/20120711221922/http://bluegrasstoday.com/blog/2007/07/18/larry-richardson-tribute-1927-2007/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Larry 1927 births 2007 deaths People from Galax, Virginia American banjoists American bluegrass guitarists American male guitarists Deaths from colorectal cancer 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians