ROLAND WHITE AND FRIENDS, "A Tribute to the Kentucky Colonels," Mountain Home. 12 tracks.
Roland White is 80 now, still active in bluegrass, but looking back on a long career.
The Kentucky Colonels, a band that featured Roland on mandolin and his brother, Clarence, on guitar, was formed in Burbank, Calif., in 1954.
Music historians say Clarence was largely responsible for making the guitar a lead instrument in bluegrass.
The Colonels released two albums _ "The New Sound of Bluegrass America" and "Appalachian Swing!" in the early 1960s.
In late 1965, the Colonels disbanded, but had two short-lived reunions in 1966 and 1973.
Roland became one of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in 1967 and later was a member of Lester Flatt's Nashville Grass, the New Kentucky Colonels, Country Gazette, the Nashville Bluegrass Band and now, the Roland White Band.
In 2017, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association's Hall of Fame. Clarence White had been inducted the year before.
Friends helping out on this waltz down memory lane include Brooke and Darin Aldridge, Kristin Scott Benson, David Grier, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Jon Weisberger and a lot more.
The album is a mix of vocals and instrumentals.
White handles the vocals on "If You're Ever Gonna Love Me," "Little White Washed Chimney," "Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms," "Why You Been Gone So Long" and "I Might Take You Back."
Instrumentals include "Nine Pound Hammer," "I Am A Pilgrim," "Listen To The Mockingbird," "Clinch Mountain Backstep," "Soldier's Joy/Ragtime Annie," "Alabama Jubilee" and "Farewell Blues."
A good look at the legacy of a band most fans have forgotten.
It's available on Amazon and other websites.
