Del McCoury

Del McCoury: the hardest working man in bluegrass (Jan 1999)

Del McCoury has long been acclaimed as a leading force in bluegrass. These days, with one album currently high up on the Americana chart and two more to follow in February, McCoury might also be viewed as the hardest working man in bluegrass. McCoury, 59 on Feb. 1, was inspired early on by his mother, who played guitar, piano and banjo. His older brother taught him how to play guitar, but McCoury says it was "when I heard Earl Scruggs, that's what really turned me on to playing." After playing in various regional bands in the Baltimore area, McCoury's first big break came in February 1963 when he joined the legendary Bill Monroe.  ...

Del McCoury et al are winners, again (Dec 1997)

It's official: the Del McCoury Band rules. The Nashville-based ensemble once again took the International Bluegrass Music Association's Entertainer Of The Year award, and followed it up with a near-lock on the instrumental awards. Three of its five members won top honors on their respective instruments, and the band as a whole took Instrumental Group Of The Year. "It's always an honor to win awards like that," McCoury says. "I'm so busy, I hardly think about it beforehand, so it's  ...