Tony Rice, RIP
- Thread starter Brad Little
- Start date
RIP Tony. Skaggs and Rice, one of my favorite albums. Only 8 songs.
In the Bluegrass music world, he was a highly respected guitarist and his flat picking was legendary. The Earl Scruggs of the guitar!
Bill Ashton
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2006
- Messages
- 4,446
- Reaction score
- 1,063
- Location
- North Central Massachusetts
- Guild Total
- 4
Guitarist Tony Rice Dead at 69
The distinctive flatpicker was known as one of the greatest players in bluegrass
geoguy
Senior Member
Ah, yes . . . the famous "Pizza Tapes". That was probably my introduction to Tony Rice's fine playing.
Bill Ashton
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2006
- Messages
- 4,446
- Reaction score
- 1,063
- Location
- North Central Massachusetts
- Guild Total
- 4
If not my favorite LP, its in the top two or three. With a Byrds LP, absolutely my audition go to when checking out any stereo equipment...
Westerly Wood
Venerated Member
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2007
- Messages
- 13,524
- Reaction score
- 6,820
- Guild Total
- 2
One of a kind, I only saw him once, after he lost his voice, but have listened to and enjoyed his recordings for probably 40 years.
he was the best. Very sad. I know he been struggling for years too with health issues. Really, acoustic guitar playing at its zenith.
Westerly Wood
Venerated Member
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2007
- Messages
- 13,524
- Reaction score
- 6,820
- Guild Total
- 2
I argue in any acoustic guitar world or era, he was the best.
sailingshoes72
Senior Member
Longtime fan of Tony Rice's music here! I was fortunate enough to see him in concert a couple of times... once at MerleFest and another time with Peter Rowan. Definitely one of the greats! He had such a smooth fretting hand with his jazz-tinged, flatpicking solos and his driving rhythm style could propel an entire Bluegrass band. He will be greatly missed!
The first album he made on Rounder Records with Norman Blake, "Blake & Rice", is a great introduction to his music. And he does some great covers of Gordon Lightfoot songs on his solo albums.
The first album he made on Rounder Records with Norman Blake, "Blake & Rice", is a great introduction to his music. And he does some great covers of Gordon Lightfoot songs on his solo albums.
This whole album is so cool: a guitar, a mandolin, and two voices.
bobouz
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2015
- Messages
- 2,300
- Reaction score
- 1,904
I had that album back in the day & was blown away by the beauty of their duets. My favorite cut is Will The Roses Bloom (where she lies sleeping). I sold all my albums a number of years ago & don't recall the song count, but currently there are ten MP3 cuts available from Amazon.
Such a sad loss, but his music will always remain with us.
He played here in Lexington with J.D. Crowe, one of my long-time buddies. I was from the jazz end of things, but really appreciated the talent.
Russ
Russ
Bill Ashton
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2006
- Messages
- 4,446
- Reaction score
- 1,063
- Location
- North Central Massachusetts
- Guild Total
- 4
@Rambozo96, Tony Rice's guitar that he got from Clarence White was actually a Martin D-28, that somewhere along the line had its sound hole enlarged...not known whether that was because it was so scored up from playing or whether an attempt to enhance its sound.
Martin, Santa Cruz, Bourgeois and Huss & Dalton have all done their takes on that specific guitar. Last I read, the original was in Tony's luthier's vault, and he actually allowed fans to look and handle the guitar if asked. Hope that the family has it or gets it back. Someday, somewhere, it will probably be up for auction and fly into a collector' hands.
Martin, Santa Cruz, Bourgeois and Huss & Dalton have all done their takes on that specific guitar. Last I read, the original was in Tony's luthier's vault, and he actually allowed fans to look and handle the guitar if asked. Hope that the family has it or gets it back. Someday, somewhere, it will probably be up for auction and fly into a collector' hands.
Bill Ashton
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2006
- Messages
- 4,446
- Reaction score
- 1,063
- Location
- North Central Massachusetts
- Guild Total
- 4
@Captain Russ , here is JD and his band that included Tony Rice, for those that aren't familiar that is Tony doing vocals on the first piece along with a short eight-bar solo (~2:12)...
Mighty fine Bill.