Rootsy journal marks anniversary with
special retrospective issue.
July 14th, 2006 – Nashville ~ Bluegrass
music passes a major milestone today as
Bluegrass Unlimited, the rootsy genre's
virtual journal of record, celebrates its 40th
anniversary. And while past significant
anniversaries have been celebrated with
special covers and retrospective essays,
this time out editor Sharon McGraw has
beefed up the celebration, marking the
occasion with a special retrospective issue
that includes a bound-in reproduction of the
modest mimeographed newsletter that
constituted Volume 1, Number 1.
Other special features of the 40th
anniversary (July) issue include a
retrospective essay, “Forty Years And
Counting…” by regular contributor (and
special retrospective issue.
July 14th, 2006 – Nashville ~ Bluegrass
music passes a major milestone today as
Bluegrass Unlimited, the rootsy genre's
virtual journal of record, celebrates its 40th
anniversary. And while past significant
anniversaries have been celebrated with
special covers and retrospective essays,
this time out editor Sharon McGraw has
beefed up the celebration, marking the
occasion with a special retrospective issue
that includes a bound-in reproduction of the
modest mimeographed newsletter that
constituted Volume 1, Number 1.
Other special features of the 40th
anniversary (July) issue include a
retrospective essay, “Forty Years And
Counting…” by regular contributor (and
original editor) Dick Spottswood; a reprint of a controversial March, 1967 essay by the late
John Duffey (a member of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Hall of Honor)
that excoriated some bluegrass fans for an unwillingness to accept new musical
approaches—or to spend money on records; and an imaginative take on how the
magazine’s national airplay chart might have looked like in July of 1966.
“Without trying too hard, bluegrass has found a stable place in the American music
landscape,” Spottswood notes in his essay, and the anniversary underlines how important
and consistent a role Bluegrass Unlimited has played in sustaining the genre. From its
origins as a Washington, DC area newsletter supplying information about upcoming
personal appearances, the magazine has grown into a hundred-page monthly that covers
the entire world of bluegrass—not only across the United States, but around the world. A
comprehensive review section keeps readers up to date on new releases; the Annual
Festival Guide offers information on hundreds of events (608 in the January, 2006 issue);
the monthly National Survey charts airplay for both albums and individual tracks by more
than 50 reporting shows and radio services; regular columns such as “Notes And
Queries,” the “General Store” and “30 Years Ago This Month” offer fascinating glimpses of
the music’s past as well as the latest news on artists, upcoming releases and more; and
full-length features give in-depth coverage to a wide variety of musicians, instrument
manufacturers, record labels and events both past and present.
A glance at recent issues is sufficient to illustrate the breadth of Bluegrass Unlimited’s
coverage. Cover story subjects in 2006 have included the IBMA’s most awarded artist,
Grand Ole Opry member Del McCoury; upstate New York’s Gibson Brothers; Louisiana
singer Alecia Nugent; the late Louise Scruggs; IBMA Hall of Honor member Mac Wiseman;
and a quartet of luthiers featured in the Annual Instruments issue, published each March.
Other features have covered contemporary subjects such as award-winning banjo player
Jim Mills (Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder); guitar legend Tony Rice; award-winning
photographer Jim “Señor” McGuire and veteran songwriter Pete Goble as well as historical
topics such as the Red Heads, an early 50s Dayton group that included IBMA Hall of Honor
member Red Allen and mandolin hero Frank Wakefield and under-appreciated 1960s
artists, the McCormick Brothers.
“It’s hard to believe that what started out as a labor of love 40 years ago has become such
an important part of today’s bluegrass scene,” says Pete V. Kuykendall, a founder of the
magazine who became its full-time editor in 1970 and remains its publisher today.
Kuykendall was inducted into the IBMA’s Hall of Honor in 1996—the first entrant honored for
primary accomplishments in a field other than performance. “And just as we are with
bluegrass itself, we’re looking forward to the next 40 years.”
Donica S. Christensen
Donica@HollerBackPR.com
www.hollerbackpr.com
John Duffey (a member of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Hall of Honor)
that excoriated some bluegrass fans for an unwillingness to accept new musical
approaches—or to spend money on records; and an imaginative take on how the
magazine’s national airplay chart might have looked like in July of 1966.
“Without trying too hard, bluegrass has found a stable place in the American music
landscape,” Spottswood notes in his essay, and the anniversary underlines how important
and consistent a role Bluegrass Unlimited has played in sustaining the genre. From its
origins as a Washington, DC area newsletter supplying information about upcoming
personal appearances, the magazine has grown into a hundred-page monthly that covers
the entire world of bluegrass—not only across the United States, but around the world. A
comprehensive review section keeps readers up to date on new releases; the Annual
Festival Guide offers information on hundreds of events (608 in the January, 2006 issue);
the monthly National Survey charts airplay for both albums and individual tracks by more
than 50 reporting shows and radio services; regular columns such as “Notes And
Queries,” the “General Store” and “30 Years Ago This Month” offer fascinating glimpses of
the music’s past as well as the latest news on artists, upcoming releases and more; and
full-length features give in-depth coverage to a wide variety of musicians, instrument
manufacturers, record labels and events both past and present.
A glance at recent issues is sufficient to illustrate the breadth of Bluegrass Unlimited’s
coverage. Cover story subjects in 2006 have included the IBMA’s most awarded artist,
Grand Ole Opry member Del McCoury; upstate New York’s Gibson Brothers; Louisiana
singer Alecia Nugent; the late Louise Scruggs; IBMA Hall of Honor member Mac Wiseman;
and a quartet of luthiers featured in the Annual Instruments issue, published each March.
Other features have covered contemporary subjects such as award-winning banjo player
Jim Mills (Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder); guitar legend Tony Rice; award-winning
photographer Jim “Señor” McGuire and veteran songwriter Pete Goble as well as historical
topics such as the Red Heads, an early 50s Dayton group that included IBMA Hall of Honor
member Red Allen and mandolin hero Frank Wakefield and under-appreciated 1960s
artists, the McCormick Brothers.
“It’s hard to believe that what started out as a labor of love 40 years ago has become such
an important part of today’s bluegrass scene,” says Pete V. Kuykendall, a founder of the
magazine who became its full-time editor in 1970 and remains its publisher today.
Kuykendall was inducted into the IBMA’s Hall of Honor in 1996—the first entrant honored for
primary accomplishments in a field other than performance. “And just as we are with
bluegrass itself, we’re looking forward to the next 40 years.”
Donica S. Christensen
Donica@HollerBackPR.com
www.hollerbackpr.com
Bluegrass Unlimited Celebrates 40 Years of Publication in July, ’06 - By Donica S. Christensen |
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