Crary, Dan

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DAN CRARY

  • Native of Kansas City, Missouri. Lives in Placerville, CA.
  • Also known as “Deacon Dan Crary.” He is regarded as one of the top flat-pick guitarists in bluegrass, one of the early pioneers of the style.
  • 1968, was a founding member of the Bluegrass Alliance (originators of the “Newgrass” style).
  • 1973, released first solo project Bluegrass Guitar (American Heritage).
  • 1974, moved to California to teach at Cal State Fullerton. There he met fiddler Byron Berline and together formed the band Sundance with John Hickman (banjo) and Jack Skinner (bass). They recorded for MCA records.
  • 1974-2004, besides performing as a professional musician, he was a professor of speech communications at Cal State Fullerton. He has two earned doctorates: the first in theology, the second in speech communications.
  • 1975-1995, he had a twenty-year partnership with fiddler Byron Berline and banjo player John Hickman. They performed together as Sundance, BCH and California.
  • 1977, released “Lady’s Fancy” album (Rounder).
  • 1979, released “Sweet Southern Girl”album (Sugar Hill).
  • 1983, released “Dan Crary Guitar” album (Sugar Hill).
  • 1989, released “Take a Step Over” album (Sugar Hill).
  • 1992, released Thunderation album (Sugar Hill), which won the NAIRD Indie Award for “Best String Music Recording.”
  • 1994, released Jammed If I Do album (Sugar Hill).
  • 1999, with banjo player Lonnie Hoppers formed “Crary, Hoppers and their American Band..”
  • 2002, began touring and recording with Italian guitarist Beppe Gambetta.
  • 2003, won an IBMA Award for his writing (Best Liner Notes for BCH album, Chambergrass: A Decade of Tunes From the Edges of Bluegrass.
  • 2007, produced a concert/movie project called Primal Twang: The Legacy of the Guitar featuring Doc Watson, Eric Johnson, Doyle Dykes, Albert Lee, Mason Williams and others legendary guitarists.
  • 2009, began performing with his new band Thunderation.
  • 2011, released Perfect Storm album (Blue Night Records).
  • 2017, began performing with Bill Evans (banjo) and Wally Barnick (bass) in a trio called Crary, Evans and Barnick. They released the album Prime Time (Native and Fine) in 2020.