1978 Al Jones & Frank Necessary Bluegrass Musicians - 2-Page Vintage Article

Description

1978 Al Jones & Frank Necessary Bluegrass Musicians - 2-Page Vintage Article
Original, vintage magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
Albert Gene Jones, born in White Top,
Virginia on February 22, 1932, has
long been a fixture in bluegrass music in
the Maryland area and has proudly stood
the test of time to countless audiences. Al
possesses a broad smile, a pleasing
country drawl to compliment his wide
range singing voice and an astounding
sense of humor. These attributes have
placed him in good stead among the local
gentry on stage and off. Al decided to
come to Maryland in 1946 to be with a
couple of uncles and an aunt who resided
in that state.
By the time he was in his early twenties
Al was influenced by a close friend named
Crafton Palmer who started him playing
the guitar. Eventually Al got his first big
break joining the employ of the popular
Earl Taylor band taking the place of Sam
“Porky” Hutchins who at that time
wanted to return to Rutherfordton, North
Carolina. This job for Al occurred when
Earl Taylor was playing seven nights a
week at Lindy’s 79 Club in Baltimore,
Maryland in 1958.
With the coming of 1959 Al met Gene
Cox, who at that time was married to
Veronica Stoneman, who is the famous
Roni of the “Hee Haw” television
program. This meeting led to the
formation of “The National Troubadours”
which at that time consisted of Al on the
guitar, Gene on the banjo, Pee Wee Fadre
on Dobro, Scotty Stoneman on the fiddle
and Roni on bass. Later that year Roni left
to raise a family and I replaced her playing
bass.
Around 1961 Al left the National
Troubadours to play with the Baltimore,
Maryland based band of Marvin Howell
and the Franklin County Boys who were
working steady in clubs and getting a lot
of exposure in radio work and some
recording sessions. The year of 1962
proved to be a very productive year for Al
in terms of his expanding horizons as late
in this year he met the very proficient and
banjo-wise Johnny Whisnant who had
come to Maryland with Charlie Bailey of
the Bailey Brothers from Knoxville,
Tennessee to look for work in the
Maryland area. Instead of working with
Charlie Bailey, Johnny Whisnant and Al
Jones teamed up and formed the first
Spruce Mountain Boys band which
included several members of the first
National Troubadours band. This band
turned out to be quite successful and
stayed together a long time...
13997-AL-7803-34