Del McCoury
Del McCoury is one of bluegrass music's great singers. A former Blue Grass Boy with Bill Monroe, he has led his own band for more than fifty years, with his sons Ronnie and Rob beside him for most of them.
- Born
- 1 February 1939, Bakersville, North Carolina
- Full name
- Delano Floyd McCoury
- Plays
- Guitar, banjo, vocals
- Band
- The Del McCoury Band
- Honours
- International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame (2011); National Heritage Fellowship (2010)
Career
McCoury grew up in York County, Pennsylvania, and learned banjo inspired by Earl Scruggs. In February 1963 he joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, where he switched to guitar and lead vocals because the band already had a banjo player. He left in early 1964.
His own band, once called the Dixie Pals, became the Del McCoury Band in 1988, with his son Ronnie on mandolin and Rob on banjo. McCoury joined the Grand Ole Opry in 2003, received a National Heritage Fellowship in 2010 and entered the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2011. In 2008 he founded DelFest, held every year in Cumberland, Maryland.
Awards
McCoury has won two Grammys for Best Bluegrass Album, for The Company We Keep (2006 awards) and The Streets of Baltimore (2014 awards), and 31 International Bluegrass Music Association awards, including Entertainer of the Year nine times. His recording of Richard Thompson's "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" was the IBMA's Song of the Year in 2002.
Selected albums
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1968 | Del McCoury Sings Bluegrass |
| 1993 | A Deeper Shade of Blue |
| 2005 | The Company We Keep |
| 2014 | The Streets of Baltimore |
| 2024 | Songs of Love and Life |
More bluegrass: Ralph Stanley · Flatt & Scruggs · the bluegrass tradition