Earl 'J.T.' Gray, 1946-2021

The BIB learns with regret of the death of Earl 'J.T.' Gray on Saturday at the age of 75. An experienced bluegrass musician in earlier life, he is best known for operating the Station Inn in Nashville for nearly forty years.

The Inn is a single-storey building, which in architectural distinction approaches the level of the average German blockhouse in the Ypres Salient c.1917. In J.T.'s hands it became the centre of live bluegrass in Nashville, and renowned throughout the world for the quality of music that could regularly be heard there. In 2020 he was inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. More details are in David Morris's feature on Bluegrass Today.

© Richard Hawkins