The Current State of Bluegrass Singing – An Opinion

by Dick Bowden

I’m thinking about lead singers now, not harmony singers, or great tenors, or whatever.

My favorites from the pioneering and 1st generation singers all share a combination of vocal ability/control, “power”, and the ability to communicate feeling. Pre-bluegrass names include the GREAT Roy Acuff, and Charlie Monroe. Since the bluegrass-as-we-know-it-age began in late 1945, my preferred singers were Lester Flatt, Carter Stanley, Jimmy Martin, Edd Mayfield, Red Smiley, Bobby Osborne and the like. I guess I should throw in my vote for the Louvin Brothers, although not real bluegrass, but they had it in spades. Post-1966 of course Ralph Stanley rose to the top of the heap as a lead singer as he stepped out of his late brother’s shadow.

In the second generation I REALLY liked Charlie Waller who had true vocal “quality” plus all the other things I like. Then Del McCoury and Joe Val with their high tension POWER. A bit later I really liked Pat Enright of the Nashville Bluegrass Band for the same reason. Larry Sparks, Roy Lee Centers and Keith Whitley were all BRILLIANT lead singers with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mt Boys. I highly respect the pure beauty of old Paul Williams’ tenor voice.

In the third generation Ronnie Bowman was a star and he earned it. He won some IBMA recognition, but after an aborted debut country album he never really seemed to “make it”. Ronnie needs another shot at the right set of circumstances to achieve real leadership in bluegrass lead singers. His old singing partner Dan Tyminski however, has achieved greatness I believe. I think Danny has really hit the top nowadays. In spite of his hard-living attitude, he has kept good care of his voice. He has vocal skills, power galore, endurance and the ability to project his feelings. I look for Dan to come into award-winning status.

I suppose something has to be said about Ricky Skaggs. No doubt that boy can sing! But I’ve always felt he’s gotten his role as “savior and preserver of bluegrass” a little too much in the front of his mind. He has everything a male bluegrass vocalist could have, but he can’t seem to focus himself on being a vocalist.

Sam Bush has been displaying his vocal quality more and more since the pandemic. I wouldn’t disagree with him being nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year. He has everything a leading male vocalist needs.

Historically on the female lead singer side, they tended to come along one at a time. Due to the relative scarcity of female lead singers (compared to harmony singers). Wilma Lee Cooper was as old school as they get, and her skills were basic; great pitch, great diction (you could always understand every word she sang); and POWER! Later there was Claire Lynch for awhile, then the wonderful Lynn Morris (her earnest Texas twang, pitch and power were sadly cut short by a stroke) and then — Allison Krauss. Allison has earned her success! Although I was always disturbed by her radical change in singing style from her early “power” voice to the soft Suzanne Cox sound.

Rhonda Vincent has made perfect sense achieving the rank of “Queen of Bluegrass”, joining the Opry, keeping a great band together for decades and running a good business; all after toiling for decades in a family band, in Nashville country music, and clawing her way up the bluegrass ladder. Vocally she has all the requirements, with the “slight” drawback of often letting her vocal power run away and “overdoing” things. Rhonda has kept her eye on the prize for decades.

Of course, the “dream” female bluegrass lead singer has been Patty Loveless, for a LONG time.

So after that review ofa past lead singers, what interests me in today’s lead singers?

MALE LEAD VOCALISTS

Glenn Harrell of Volume Five: No relation to Bill Harrell I don’t think, but what a great baritone voice! This guy can really sing and emote without going overboard. A couple of problems in my book – he’s a fiddler, and you don’t usually conceive of great singers as being fiddling band leaders (minus Roy Acuff of course). Also, his records as played on SiriusXM Bluegrass Junction always seem to be extremely “Debbie Downer”. He often sings about suicide issues. With a little more upbeat material he (and Volume Five) might go a LOT further.

Keith Garrett of the Boxcars and Blue Moon Rising: This young man is a high school chemistry teacher in N Carolina during the school year (last I knew), and a bluegrass guitar man and singer during festival season. I don’t even know his current band. But he has a distinctive and great voice, in the good mid-range to tenor pitch, and the perfect Appalachian accent. I can pick his voice out instantly on SiriusXM Bluegrass Junction cuts. Maybe his teaching career keeps him from greater fame. I sure would like to hear him move up the ranks though.

Billy Strings: His pure stardom and ticket-selling ability force me to consider him. He’s a very good guitar stylist, probably closer to Doc Watson, than to Tony Rice and Clarence White. He sure has a formula for commercial success! And he picks band mates capable of playing the best of pure acoustic traditional bluegrass WHEN THEY CHOOSE TO. His singing is still a bit rough, but hey, Tony Rice was pretty weak when he started out. Tony developed a very effective style though as the years went on. It’s a shame Tony’s voice gave out before he could be properly recognized as a leading male vocalist. Maybe Billy Strings will mature into that status.

Jason Carter: Jason has just walked away from 33 very successful years as Del McCoury’s fiddler and harmony singer. This is earth-shaking to the bluegrass community. But now Jason has had a good taste of commercial success and the joy of tackling new material of his own choice. So he’s going for it. But mark my words, Jason (who I’ve known since he was 19 years old) is as great a vocalist as a fiddler, and that’s saying something. He easily displays the best pure vocal qualities of the McCoury bands’ members, if not yet a “stylist” of Del’s towering stature. His vocal range is baritone – warm and true. His singing skills are monster. It will be interesting to see if his vocal stardom equals his fiddling stardom. Jason bears watching (and listening).

FEMALE LEAD VOCALISTS

Frankly, nowadays there are so many good female lead singers it becomes hard to keep them straight.

An up and comer would be JaeLee Roberts with Sister Sadie. She hasn’t found a particular “sound” yet. She seems to be singing a bit of everything in many styles trying to settle on something. The BEST I’ve heard her sing is in trio harmony on a Jason Carter performance (with bass player Alan Bartram singing the 3rd part) – POWER and vocal beauty.

I have complaints with many of the new crop of female lead singers – they sing like they’re in a cabaret show, holding a mic in their hand, wearing a gown in a spotlight, and singing arrangements that feature great long crescendos at the end of the song. That’s not bluegrass. Many of them have a sameness of sound and over-produced material such that I simply can’t tell them apart. Also, let me criticize an unwanted tendency for female lead singers (and even a male or two also) singing with excessive vibrato. I tend to think this is an artifact of going to a bluegrass college, where vocal instructors push their “bluegrass” singers into vibrato vocal styles. VIBRATO IS NOT NEEDED IN BLUEGRASS!

A couple of current female lead singers I’d like to hear more from include Mary Rachel Norris (Kody Norris’ fiddling wife). She just released her first recording (which she wrote) and where she sings lead very effectively. Similarly, fiddling Corinna Rose Logston Stephens (of High Fidelity) recently recorded her first composition and lead vocal performance. Excellent. Both of these ladies deserve to spend more time at the vocalist microphone. Let’s see what they can do.

Another interesting new female voice is that of Jana Mougin – married to Massachusetts boy Stephen “Mojo” Mougin of Dark Shadows Records and Sam Bushes’ band. Jana comes from old Czechoslovakia and she has been putting out records with her husband over the past couple of years. She has a quality voice with a winsome nature. She’s a strong duet partner and an appealing solo singer. It remains to be seen if she will try to make a move as a leading female vocalist. I hope to hear more from her.

I think I’m growing to like Bronwyn Keith-Hynes more and more. Her voice sounds a bit small and vulnerable but it’s endearing, to me at least. Watch this video of her at work https://www.facebook.com/home.php. Also observe her harmony singers’ different styles. Molly Tuttle looks like she’s singing emotionally. Sam Bush on the other hand has a laser focus on his vocal quality. Great job of those three vocal styles blending wonderfully.

And speaking of Molly Tuttle, I hope experience is leading her to a more confident vocal style. She put out a record or two where she used a fast vibrato that literally made her sound scared. But she’s finding her way and getting better fast.

Listen to bluegrass radio and streaming and find voices you can learn to identify quickly. Find the voices you like and follow them. As always, enjoy good bluegrass. See if you can determine which vocalists have influenced your favorite regional bluegrass singers.