Bluegrass Supergroup!

[Beausoleil]

I just found this recently. While looking up info on the great Clarence White, I noted that he had been part of a bluegrass group called Muleskinner. "Oh, that's nice " I thought, I knew he had come from a bluegrass background before he was with the Byrds.

Later, I was looking up Richard Greene, who had always been one of my favorite fiddle players, and found out that he was in Muleskinner. "Ok", I thought, I need to check out Muleskinner.

And was blown away.

There were Peter Rowan and David Grisman! How had this group not been a part of my knowledge base all these years? I knew they both had been in Old and in the Way with Jerry Garcia, but I knew nothing of this group. Peter, Richard and the banjo player, Bill Keith, had all been Bluegrass Boys at one time or another.

This recording was a one time deal from 1973, just before Clarence was killed by a drunk driver. The band never played again and Peter, David and Richard all went off to form Old and in the Way, with Richard being shortly replaced by Vassar Clements. There are several videos available from the concert, but I included this one to highlight Grisman on the mandolin and Clarence's lead guitar and singing.

The earlier post of Garcia and Grisman prompted me to post this.

Enjoy!

[cilla4progress]

1. Cool! Bluegrass was my favorite in college in Vermont in the 70s.

Now it's my daughter's favorite...in Montana!

Names from my youth...Vassar Clements..!

Thanks!

[The Polack MSgt]

2. So great

Thanks man.

[3Hotdogs]

3. and of course, Country Gentlemen and Seldom Scene.

[BluesRunTheGame]

4. Bill Keith and Richard Greene were members of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band

Peter Rowan and Richard Greene were members of Seatrain.

And Peter Rowan and David Grisman had a psychedelic rock band called Earth Opera.

[Beausoleil]

6. And David Grisman was in the Even Dozen Jug Band

With Maria Muldaur and John Sebastian.

Maria appeared on that Muleskinner live album as a vocalist on "Sitting Alone in the Moonlight".

I had that Seatrain album since college, so I knew about Rowan and Greene.

[BluesRunTheGame]

7. Maria went on to join the Kweskin Jug Band.

That’s where she met Geoff Muldaur.

Interesting bit of trivia about Maria Muldaur: She used to play the fiddle. She studied with Gaither Carlton who was Doc Watson’s father-in-law.

[cemaphonic]

5. I think bluegrass is a small enough world that there are a lot of these superstar groups

John Hartford's Aeroplane band and JD Crow & the New South had extremely impressive lineups too.

But yeah, that Muleskinner album is awesome.