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Composed

Wrote or co-wrote more than 50 songs and instrumentals, including:

  • “Backin’ To Birmingham”
  • “Come Walk With Me” (BMI Award Winning Song)
  • “Evelina”
  • “Fireball”
  • “Flatt Lonesome”
  • “Foggy Mountain Rock”
  • “The Good Things Outweigh The Bad”
  • “If You’re Ever Going To Love Me”
  • “Just Joshing”
  • “Roust A Bout”
  • “Sure Wanna Keep My Wine” (“Great Big Woman”)

Early Influences

  • John Thomas (uncle)
  • Buck Roper
  • Cliff Carlisle
  • Clell “Cousin Jody” Summey
  • Lightnin’ Hopkins
  • Earl Scruggs
  • Speedy Krise
  • Bob Wills

Came to Fame With

  • Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys

Performed With

  • Pierce Brothers, Gatlinburg, TN, 1942
  • Esco Hankins, Knoxville, TN, 1943-1947 and Lexington, KY, 1949-1951
  • Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper and the Clinch Mountain Clan, 1951-1954
  • Toby Stroud and the Blue Mountain Boys, 1954
  • Mac Wiseman and the Country Boys, 1954-1955
  • Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys, 1955-1969
  • Lester Flatt and the Nashville Grass, 1969-1972
  • Earl Scruggs Revue, 1972-1974
  • Josh Graves (solo and studio work), 1974-1984
  • Josh Graves and Kenny Baker, 1984-2006
  • The Masters, 1989-1997

By the Way

  • Brought the Dobro guitar into bluegrass music with path-breaking techniques which influenced generations of Dobro players and induced hundreds to take up the instrument.
  • One of the most important links between the blues and bluegrass music.
  • A prominent instrumentalist and vocalist with Flatt and Scruggs, the most successful bluegrass-style act of the ’50s and ’60s.
  • Bluegrass Hall of Fame, 1997.
  • Also a master at finger-picking the steel-string guitar, although that skill was seldom, if ever, recorded.
  • He borrowed the “Uncle Josh” comedy character from a North Carolina entertainer while with Esco Hankins, but was known as “Buck” in the Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper band.
  • The primary cook for the Flatt and Scruggs band in the early days, while on the road.
  • Guested on recordings with artists like Charlie McCoy, J.J. Cale, Steve Young, and Kris Kristofferson.
  • Sons Billy Troy and Bryan also pursued musical careers.

Led the Way

  • Brought the Dobro guitar into bluegrass music with path-breaking techniques which influenced generations of Dobro players and induced hundreds to take up the instrument.
  • One of the most important links between the blues and bluegrass music.
  • A prominent instrumentalist and vocalist with Flatt and Scruggs, the most successful bluegrass-style act of the ’50s and ’60s.
  • Bluegrass Hall of Fame, 1997.

From the Archives

From the Archives: Bill Monroe, Josh Graves, Bill Harrell, and Lester Flatt believed to be in Garland, Texas 1971. Photo by Ron Petronko.

From the Archives: The Masters: ICM International Creative Management. Inc. Eddie Adcock, Kenny Baker, Josh Graves, and Jesse McReynolds. Donated by Keith Lawrence.

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