J. D. Crowe

James Dee Crowe (August 27, 1937 – December 24, 2021) was an American banjo player and bluegrass band leader. He first became known during his four-year stint with Jimmy Martin in the 1950s. Crowe led the bluegrass group New South from 1971 until his death in 2021.

J.D. Crowe
Crowe performing in 2009
Crowe performing in 2009
Background information
Birth nameJames Dee Crowe
Born(1937-08-27)August 27, 1937
Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedDecember 24, 2021(2021-12-24) (aged 84)
Nicholasville, Kentucky, U.S.
GenresBluegrass, progressive bluegrass
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Banjo, vocals, guitar
Years active1956–2015
LabelsRounder, Starday, Rebel, Lemco, King Bluegrass

Life and career

James Dee Crowe was born on August 27, 1937, in Lexington, Kentucky.[1] He began playing the banjo early on and was offered a job with Jimmy Martin's Sunny Mountain Boys, a backup group in 1954.[2][3] Before starting in Martin's band, Crowe played with Pee Wee Lambert and Curly Parker.[4]

Crowe recorded with Martin between 1956 and 1960.[5] In 1961, he formed the Kentucky Mountain Boys, principally performing in the Lexington region.[6]

In 1971, Crowe changed the band's name to The New South.[7] As of 1975, the New South began to add jazz and rock influences to its bluegrass repertoire,[8] as well as country and folk elements drawn from the work of Gram Parsons and Gordon Lightfoot, respectively.[9]

Crowe stopped releasing new records between the late 1980s and 1992, when he founded a new band.[9]

Kentucky Educational Television in 2008 aired a biography of James Dee Crowe, A Kentucky Treasure: The James Dee Crowe Story, produced by H. Russell Farmer.[10]

Crowe received the Bluegrass Star Award, presented by the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation of Dallas, Texas, on October 15, 2011. The award is bestowed upon bluegrass artists who do an exemplary job of advancing traditional bluegrass music and bringing it to new audiences while preserving its character and heritage.[11]

He died from pneumonia on December 24, 2021, in Nicholasville, Kentucky, at the age of 84.[1][12]

Discography
  • 1968: Bluegrass Holiday (Lemco)[13]
  • 1969: The Model Church (Lemco)[13]
  • 1971: Ramblin' Boy (Lemco) – reissued in 1978, with a different song order, as Blackjack (Rebel)[13]
  • 1973: Bluegrass Evolution (Starday)[14]
  • 1973: Bluegrass Holiday (King Bluegrass)[15]
  • 1975: J. D. Crowe & The New South (Rounder)[16]
  • 1978: You Can Share My Blanket (Rounder)[13]
  • 1980: My Home Ain't in the Hall of Fame (Rounder)[13]
  • 1981: Somewhere Between (Rounder)[15]
  • 1982: Live in Japan (Rounder)[15]
  • 1986: Straight Ahead (Rounder)[13]
  • 1994: Flashback (Rounder)[17]
  • 1999: Come on Down to My World (Rounder)[18]
  • 2006: Lefty's Old Guitar (Rounder)[19]

Citations
  1. Friskics-Warren, Bill (December 28, 2021). "J.D. Crowe, Banjo Virtuoso and Bluegrass Innovator, Dies at 84". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  2. Godbey 2011, p. 31.
  3. Carlin, Richard, ed. (2006). "Crowe, J. D.". American Popular Music: Folk. Facts on File. p. 47. ISBN 0-8160-6978-6. OCLC 70009418.
  4. Wolff, Kurt (2000). Country Music: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides. p. 212. ISBN 978-1-85828-534-4.
  5. Godbey 2011, pp. 45–63.
  6. Godbey 2011, pp. 64–65.
  7. Pen, Ron. "Crowe, James Dee". In Kleber, John E. (ed.). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 243–244. ISBN 978-0-8131-2883-2.
  8. Garrett, Charles Hiroshi, ed. (2013). The Grove Dictionary of American Music (2d ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-19-531428-1. OCLC 774021205.
  9. Godbey, Frank; Godbey, Marty (1998). Kingsbury, Paul (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Oxford University Press. pp. 119–120. ISBN 978-0-19-977055-7. OCLC 707922721.
  10. "A Kentucky Treasure: The James Dee Crowe Story". KET-Kentucky Educational Television.
  11. "Bluegrass Heritage Foundation official website". Bluegrassheritage.com. 2010. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  12. Kast, Monica. "'A grand gentleman.' Legendary Bluegrass musician J.D. Crowe has died, reports say". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  13. Larkin, Colin, ed. (1998). Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2 (3d ed.). Muze; Macmillan; Grove's Dictionaries. p. 1314. ISBN 1-56159-237-4. OCLC 39837948.
  14. Godbey 2011, p. 212.
  15. Johnson, Anna Janette (1991). "J. D. Crowe". In LaBlanc, Michael L. (ed.). Contemporary Musicians. Vol. 5. Gale. pp. 34–35. ISBN 0-8103-2211-0. ISSN 1044-2197. OCLC 20156945.
  16. Erlewine, Michael (1997). All Music Guide to Country: The Experts' Guide to the Best Recordings in Country Music. Hal Leonard LLC. pp. 108–109. ISBN 978-0-87930-475-1.
  17. Godbey 2011, p. 172.
  18. "Triple A". CMJ New Music Report. 57 (7): 30. February 15, 1999. ISSN 0890-0795.
  19. Godbey 2011, p. 186.

Sources
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