'Fox on the run' becomes a bluegrass song

In the 57th newsletter issued by Bluegrass Unlimited magazine, the latest article by Dan Miller in the special series on Bill Emerson is 'Bill Emerson — staying home in the Washington, D.C. area (1966-1970)', covering the various bands he played with between and after the two periods with Jimmy Martin, especially his fruitful partnership with Cliff Waldron in the New Shades of Grass, the first bluegrass band ever to record 'Fox on the run'. To fit in with this, this week's Spotify playlist is drawn from the recordings of a number of bands who have taken well-known tunes from rock, pop, country, and folk music and performed them in bluegrass style.

BIB editor's note: Scotty Stoneman's album Mr Country Fiddler was released with no details of the musicians taking part besides Stoneman. In the above article Dan Miller dates the recording session to Feb. 1967, with Bill Emerson (banjo), Charlie Waller (guitar), and Tom Gray (bass). However, Dennis Satterlee's bio-discography Teardrops in my eyes: the music of Harley 'Red' Allen (2007) dates it to c. 1965 or 1966, with Red Allen (guitar), Dick Drevo (banjo), Wayne Yates (mandolin), and Bill Yates (bass).

© Richard Hawkins