Unfortunately we lost Vassar Clements to lung cancer August 16th, 2005. In my opinion, he is the most important fiddle player of our time. He was a Bluegrass Boy from 1949-57, so he was influential in the early development of the genre. Since then, his music has crossed many musical genres while keeping its roots imbedded in bluegrass. Like many bluegrass fans my age, I first heard Vassar play on The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Will the Circle Be Unbroken Album.” This album was very influential because it brought many new listeners to bluegrass music, and created a turning point in Vassar’s career, that in many ways seems to be a description of his musical importance. From that point on Vassar began playing with musicians of other genres and became known by their fans, which in turn started listening to Vassar’s bluegrass recordings. He worked with The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers, Paul McCartney, Linda Rondstat, just to name a few, as well as many jazz and swing musicians. His work with these musicians combined with his contributions to Old and in the Way and John Hartford’s Dobro Plectral Society and Aerioplain Band not only brought in a new group of bluegrass fans, but helped create an off shoot form of bluegrass music called Newgrass. He has done this all with a very unique style of playing to create a sound that is recognizably his own.
Click here to read an article about Vassar Clements written by Adam W. Carlos.
THE ORIGINAL WORK OF THIS PRINT IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE.
PRICES FOR ORIGINAL WORKS START AT $2500.00. PLEASE CONTACT ADAM W. CARLOS FOR MORE INFORMATION.
THIS PRINT ALSO APPEARS ON THE FIDDLE SHIRT
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