Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass play powerful, unadorned, and intense traditional bluegrass. There is no hybrid or genre-bending music here. It is music borne of the vibrant old time southern fiddle bands, as well as the lonesome moans of the backwoods mountain blues. The instruments blaze with energy while the songs reveal a paradoxical, desperate sadness anchoring the music squarely in the classic bluegrass tradition. Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass combine those forces with a drive and energy that takes over your senses. It is music you not only hear, but feel in your gut.
The power and soulful nature of Danny’s lead singing on The Room Over Mine, their first album for Rounder Records, will quickly get the attention of those hearing this band for the first time. You’ll feel the power in his upper range and be struck by the contrasting blues-filled emotion in his lower range. Not surprisingly, Danny grew up listening to the music his father played and enjoyed hearing. The house was filled with the sounds of classic bluegrass like Red Allen, Mac Martin, Bill Monroe, the Stanleys, Reno and Smiley, and the Osbornes, in addition to old time mountain music and traditional country music.
Although he can name a variety of early country performers he admired, George Jones and Vern Gosdin are the first names he mentions. And after listening to Danny sing, those choices are no surprise. There is that deep bluesy vocal side of real country music that influenced Danny and others, but which few are comfortable with and capable of singing. Dan’s voice captures that sound like no one else in bluegrass today. A near cult following has tracked Dan’s work first with the Southern Mountain Boys, then his father, and now on his own. But many prominent musicians, including Alison Krauss, have counted Danny as one of their favorite singers for some time now.
T.J. Lundy is that rare fiddler who travels the line between the spell of old time music and the intricacies of traditional bluegrass with its creativity, drive, and blues accents. T.J.’s time with the legendary Hotmud Family, along with listening to his late cousin Jerry Lundy, a stalwart of the Southern Mountain Boys, were the building blocks of his musical education. Complimenting T. J.’s powerful, straight ahead bluegrass work, evident on such pieces as “Sweet Potato Rag” and throughout his work on The Room Over Mine, you can also hear echoes of old time greats such as Tommy Jarrell – especially on “Mountain Sally Ann.”
Bobby Lundy’s credentials as a premier bluegrass banjo player are impeccable. In addition to learning from his father, Bobby spent years on the road with Jimmy Martin and Bill Harrell. Just listen to the solid propulsive force of his performance on “Mountain Sally Ann” and his thoughtful and supportive back-up on songs like “Don’t Throw Mama’s Flowers Away” and “I Thought I heard You Call My Name.”
While bass playing is often unheralded, it is obvious that the most striking part of this bands instrumental impact is its rhythm. Michael Paisley’s bass powers that essential part of this band like a flawless metronome driving a freight train. And Donny Eldreth Jr.’s mandolin work on this effort ranges from the precise lilting fills where appropriate to imaginative breaks always consistent with taste and tradition. Just listen to his shared breaks with T. J. and Bobby on “Don’t throw Mama’s Flowers Away,” “Raisin’ Cane,” and “Sweet Potato Rag.”
The Southern Grass is a band deeply rooted in tradition, on many levels. It was formed and fronted first by Bob Paisley, the father of Danny and Michael Paisley. Bob was born in Ashe County, North Carolina on March 14, 1931 and grew up surrounded by family and neighbors whose principal joy in life was making this music. His mother played guitar, his father clawhammer banjo, and an uncle (Wiley Paisley) and cousin were members of the North Carolina Ridge Runners. It was only natural that he brought his innate talent to bear on this music. In nearby Galax, Virginia, Ted Lundy (father of Southern Grass members T.J. and Bobby Lundy) was similarly passionately immersed in traditional music. Ted and Bob went on to front one of the most respected traditional bluegrass bands in the nation – the Southern Mountain Boys. The progeny of these remarkable men is at the core of the musicians whose music you now hold in your hands.
Bob’s son Danny Paisley was born in Landenberg Pennsylvania on April 4, 1959. His father's family had located there from Ashe County, North Carolina seeking employment and an opportunity for a better life. Danny and his brother Michael inherited their love of and talent for this music honestly and it seems, in retrospect, they were destined to carry on this tradition. Both T. J. and Bobby Lundy (Ted’s sons) mirrored Dan’s experience growing up, listening to, and playing with their father, one of the great banjo players in bluegrass history.
After Bob Paisley joined the Southern Mountain Boys as lead singer in 1960, the sons of Bob and Ted formed their own band while still young kids and called themselves the Bluegrass Buddies. That bunch of eager learners foretold the impressive collaboration that was to follow. In 1975 Dan, T. J., and Bobby made it to the major leagues and joined the Southern Mountain Boys alongside their fathers.
In 1979, Bob Paisley left the Southern Mountain Boys to form his own band, the Southern Grass. Danny played guitar and shared lead vocals with his dad. His brother Michael joined on bass. June of 1980 marked Ted Lundy’s tragic passing and, in time, both T.J. and Bobby found their way to the Southern Grass. Fate continued to work its will when Don Eldreth Jr., the son of the acclaimed mandolinist Don Eldreth Sr., who performed many years with Ted and Bob, also joined the Southern Grass. The Southern Grass performed nationwide and throughout Canada and Europe, and recorded several albums and CDs for the Brandywine and Strictly Country labels.
As his father did before him, when Danny looks for material, he looks first to the past. Songwriters and performers of classic country music and bluegrass leap out at you in this collection. For example, Marty Robbins (“End of a Long Lonely Day”), Porter Wagoner (“I Thought I Heard You Call My Name” – a song which Bob performed for years as well), Little Jimmy Dickens (“Another Bridge”), and Gene Watson (“Raisin’ Cane”). There are also Southern Grass and Southern Mountain Boys standards newly recorded here, like “The Room Over Mine” and “Mountain Sally Ann,” in addition to the archaic sounding “The Drowning Sailor,” which comes from Stan Keach of Maine. This wonderful collection is topped of by a great Chris Stuart song, which although newly written, could be 70 years old – “Don’t Throw Mama’s Flowers Away.”
Bob Paisley died November 29, 2004. It was obviously a difficult time for Dan, personally and professionally. His father influenced his life and music and was the man he stood next to on stage for 32 years. Could he – and did he want to – go on with his music? After careful thought, Danny and the entire band decided to continue the Paisley and Lundy tradition by not only continuing to perform but by expanding their touring and recording frontiers. As The Room Over Mine proudly reflects, it is proving to be a great way to honor and preserve the memory and music of their families.
- Carl Goldstein
