Tony Rice tragically passed away far too young at the age of 69 on Christmas Day. It is impossible to overstate the effect Tony had on acoustic music, not to mention bluegrass—and to this day, he has no true equal in the genre. Tony catapulted bluegrass music to a new and exciting place in the 1970s with the help of David Grisman, Mike Marshall, Mark O’Connor, Bela Fleck, J.D. Crowe, Ricky Skaggs, and countless others. In this writer’s humble opinion, he penned the best bluegrass album of all time: 1993’s Tony Rice Plays and Sings Bluegrass. There will never be another like him. Enjoy this sampling of this legend’s work and hear again how Tony Rice is the best bluegrass guitar player ever.
