This will be a short notice.
I have been out of most loops for a couple of days, so it wasn't until this morning that I got the news that Doug Dillard passed away on Thursday. That may mean little to many, but the story of how he lived should be known to all.
Born March 6, 1937 in the Ozark town of Salem, Missouri, Doug was a member of the seminal bluegrass band The Dillards, originally made up of Doug, his brother Rodney, Mitch Jayne and Dean Webb. Though the group's lineup evolved over the decades to include many other greats, it was the original formation that had so much to do with the popularity (and re-popularizing) of acoustic country music.
Best known to many as the "Darling" family band on the Andy Griffith Show, the Dillards were clean pickers and faithful stewards of the great American art form that has come to be known as "bluegrass."
Their influence, however, stretched far from their mountain origins. If you are a fan of acts from Elton John to the Grateful Dead, New Riders of the Purple Sage to Fairport Convention, you, too, have been moved by the Dillards' faithful service to their roots. In fact, any honest musicologist will tell you that, without the group's half-decade output, few would even be aware of the real sources of American "roots" music.
There is no way that I, or anyone, could begin to trace the importance of Doug and Rodney's work in a piece of this length--or even a multi-volume history. It is simply too vast and its echoes continue to reverberate in places the brothers never could have foreseen.
That's not the purpose of this admittedly brief post. I just wanted to say thanks to a really fine gentleman whose joy in the music he loved led so many to listen, cherish and themselves join in the unbroken chain of song.
Thank you, sir. Though your voice has fallen silent, may your song forever ring.