TOM SAFFELL

• From Nashville (Antioch), Tennessee.
• Mid-1990’s, was the banjo player with the Jim Buchanon System, the Bob Smiley Band. Also performs as a solo artist.
• “A cross between Bela Fleck and Alison Brown” –Bluegrass Unlimited.
• Plays an eight-string banjo which he invented. There are two lower strings and one higher.
• 1998, released Another Lifetime album (AMI).
• 2006, joined a Celtic band called Plaidgrass.
• 2008, released “Forgotten Pictures” album with special guests Sam Bush, Byron House, Shad Cobb, other musicians.
• 2008, joined a Celtic band called The Fells.

SALAMANDER CROSSING

• From Northampton, Massachusetts.
• Play “Amphibious Bluegrass,” a blend of bluegrass, folk and rock.
• Formed in 1991 by Andrew Kinsey (guitar), Rani Arbo (fiddle), Jeff Kelliher (mandolin), Tim Farnham (banjo). Tony Furtado played banjo in 1995, Dave Dick (formerly with Southern Rail) in 1997.
• Got their name from a unique New England phenomenon: Every spring, yellow spotted salamanders make their way from a local hillside to a nearby bog, and must cross a road in the process, a huge media event.
• Group owes its existence to John Hartford, who failed to show up at a music workshop he was going to conduct in Massachusetts (1991). Workshop participants decided to just do some impromptu jamming, and that’s when Salamander Crossing was born.
• 1998, released Bottleneck Dreams album (Signature Sounds).
• Disbanded in 1999.

JERRY SALLEY

• From Chillicothe, Ohio. Lives in Nashville.
• Began his music career in Nashville working at Opryland USA doing impressions of country stars like Roy Acuff, Jimmie Rodgers, Eddy Arnold and Lester Flatt. His partner who impersonated Earl Scruggs was a young Steven Curtis Chapman, who later became a well-known Christian artist).
• Best known as a songwriter. His original songs have been recorded by such artists as Loretta Lynn, the Oak Ridge Boys, Patty Loveless, Reba McIntyre, Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Chris Stapleton, Doyle Lawson and many others. One of his gospel songs “His Strength Is Perfect” has been published in several church hymnbooks.
• As a solo artist, he has appeared on the Grand Ole Opry, Late Night with David Letterman, The Today Show.
• 2004, he performed on the IBMA Award-winning “Livin, Lovin’ & Losin’: Tribute to the Louvin Brothers” CD (in a trio with Carl Jackson and Larry Cordle.)
• 2003, won the SESAC “Country Music Songwriter of the Year” award.
• 2007, released New Songs Old Friends album (Mountain Home) featuring guest artists Vince Gill, Del McCoury, Doyle Lawson, Ricky Skaggs, the Oak Ridge Boys and Rhonda Vincent.
• 2012, released Showing My Age album (Very Jerry).
• 2015, released Gospel From My Grass Roots album (Very Jerry).
• 2017, released Front Porch Philosophy album (Very Jerry).
• 2019, released All God’s Children Sing album (Very Jerry).
• 2019, won his second IBMA Award for Songwriter of the Year (also won in 2018).

THE SALLY MOUNTAIN SHOW

• From Kirksville, Missouri.
• Stage name used by the Vincent family bluegrass band: Johnny Vincent (banjo), Carolyn (bass); sons Darrin and Brian (guitar and mandolin respectively), and daughter Rhonda (lead vocals, mandolin and fiddle).
• 1967, began performing on their own TV show called “The Sally Mountain Show” which eventually became the band’s name. They were called The Sally Mountain Singers on their first album.
• The name “Sally Mountain” comes from a mountain near Worthington, Missouri which the local people called Sally’s Mountain, named after Sally Mosely, an old time fiddler who lived on the mountain and claimed to have written the fiddle tune “Sally Goodin'”.
• They performed at many prestigious venues including the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and the Lincoln Center in New York City.
• Recorded four albums on their own label (Stardust) in the 1980’s.
• 2003, reunited to record “A Family Tradition” album. Rhonda and Darrin performed on the album as did Jamie Dailey and Stuart Duncan.
• They host an annual bluegrass festival in Sally Mountain Park near Queen City, Missouri.
• 2014, Johnny Vincent died after a long illness at the age of 73.

SAM HILL

• From Portland, Oregon.
• Formed in 1993 by mandolinist Jeff Smith (originally from California) who wrote much of the band’s original material.
• 1995, released “Bring on the Blues” album (New Timey).
• 1998, released “Hard Luck and Trouble” album (New Timey).
• 2001, released “Haunted by a Memory” album (no label).
• 2002 lineup: Smith, Doug Sammons (guitar), Peter Schwimmer (banjo), Pat Kramer (fiddle), Dee Ann Davidshofer (bass).
• 2021 lineup: Smith (mandolin), Sammons (guitar), Schwimmer (banjo), Amy Hakanson (fiddle), Chuck Davidshofer (bass).

JACK SANBOWER (AND THE NO LEEWAY BAND)

• From Smithsburg, Maryland.
• Jack Sanbower played banjo with several Baltimore-Washington DC area bands, including CC and Company, Chestnut Ridge and the Bluegrass Image.
• 1990, formed the No Leeway Band.
• 1994, guitarist George Garris (formerly of the Garris Brothers Band) joined the band. They performed as Sanbower, Garris and the No LeeWay Band.
• 1994, released “Thinking of Old Memories” album (Buck Hollow).
• 2003, released Same Ole Fools album (Buck Hollow).
• 2005, died of cancer at the age of 45.

THE SAND MOUNTAIN BOYS

• Originally from Alabama; relocated to Milton, Florida.
• Formed in 1989.
• Sand Mountain is a large plateau in northeastern Alabama.
• For years, this group wore white tuxedos decked out with rhinestones.
• Leader and banjo player Gary Waldrep previously performed with the Warrior River Boys and the gospel group, Wendy Bagwell and the Sunliters.
• 1994, released The Sand Mountain Boys album (Hay Holler).
• 1995, released No Rhyme No Reason album (Hay Holler).
• When Gary Waldrep retired, original members Wayne and Jerry Crain (father/son) relocated to Florida and changed the name of the group to Sand Mountain.
• 2000, Waldrep began touring with his own group, The Gary Waldrep Band.

DEAN SAPP (AND THE HARFORD EXPRESS)

• From Aberdeen, Maryland.
• 1980, formed his band The Harford Express.
• Sapp’s uncle (Sonny Miller) played fiddle for Del McCoury.
• Sapp plays all the bluegrass instruments, but plays guitar in the band.
• He owns a music store where he teaches and repairs instruments.
• 1995, released You’ve Never Had The Blues album (Old Train).
• 1998, released Live From Australia album (no label).
• 2001, released “Fare Thee Well” album (Old Train).
• 2003, released Coal Black Gold album (Old Train).
• 2005, released I Can Hear the Blue Ridge Calling Me album (Old Train).

THE SAUCEMAN BROTHERS

• From Bright Hope, Tennessee (eastern Tennessee, near Greenville)
• Featured Carl and John Paul (J.P.) Sauceman.
• In the mid-forties, Carl had a band called the Hillbilly Ramblers.
• The brothers recorded together from 1945 until 1952.
• 1952, Carl moved to Carrollton, Alabama and pioneered bluegrass music there with his Green Valley Boys.
• The bothers recorded for Rich-R-Tone and Mercury. Carl and his band recorded for Capitol and Republic Records.
• 1996, Copper Creek Records released a retrospective album of their early radio recordings: On WCYB – Bristol.
• Carl retired from music in 1962, took over a radio station in Gonzales, Louisiana in 1969.
• J.P died in 1984.
• Carl died in 2005.

ZEKE SAUNDERS (AND THE BLADES OF GRASS)

• From Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
• Harold K. (“Zeke”) Saunders was a former pilot and Senior Vice President of Piedmont Airlines (now U.S. Air).
• He received the Distinguished Flying Cross medal for his service as a pilot during World War II.
• For many years, he had a radio program on the all-bluegrass station WPAQ, Mt. Airy, North Carolina.
• Between 1987-2003, recorded six albums including There’ll Be No Broken Hearts for Me (1990, Heritage).
• He died in 2014 at the age of 93.

SAWMILL ROAD

• Based in Carson City, NV.
• Formed in 2006 by Steve Spurgin (bass and lead vocals), Mark Miracle (mandolin), Dick Brown (banjo), Charles Edsall (guitar) and Bruce Johnson (fiddle).
• Spurgin previously was the lead singer with California and Bluegrass Etc. and was also known as a hit songwriter.
• Johnson previously worked with Byron Berline & the LA Fiddle Band, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and the Laurel Canyon Ramblers.
• Edsall previously worked with Feather River, High Strung and Ron Spears & Within Tradition.
• Miracle previously worked with such bands as Shady Creek and Mountain Therapy.
• Brown previously worked with the Lynn Morris Band, Traditional Bluegrass and Lost Highway.
• 2007, released first album Sawmill Road (no label)..
• 2008, Johnson was replaced by fiddler Doug Barlett, formerly with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver.
• 2009, released “Fire on the Kettle” album.
• 2010, broke up.
• 2018, reunited to perform on an occasional basis, with guitarist David Dickey replacing Edsall.

CHARLES SAWTELLE

• From Boulder Colorado.
• Played guitar for the group Hot Rize.
• After the group disbanded in 1990, he built “Rancho De Ville” a vintage recording studio in Boulder.
• 1993, was diagnosed with leukemia. He died from the disease in 1999.
• 2001, an album was released posthumously of music recorded at his studio. It was nominated for an IBMA award for Recorded Event of the Year.

THE SAWTOOTH MOUNTAIN BOYS

• From Monmouth (Willamette Valley), Oregon.
• Oregon’s “original bluegrass band.”
• Formed in 1970 by Steve Waller (mandolin) and Mike Eisler (banjo). Before then, the two had a group called the Sawtooth Mountain Volunteers. They were both students at Oregon State University at the time.
• The band was named after a mountain range in Idaho.
• Waller died in June, 2015.

THE SCHANKMAN TWINS

• From Calabasas, California (San Fernando Valley).
• A bluegrass/country duo featuring Identical twins Dana (banjo) and Lauren (fiddle).
• They both played the role of “Heather” on the CBS TV soap opera “Young and the Restless.”
• Their first “bluegrass” influence: a Donald Duck and Goofy record with “Dueling Banjos” on it.
• Dana won the Topanga Banjo contest and the New York City banjo contest, both at age 14.
• They began performing bluegrass music professionally when they were 16 years old (1996).
• 1996, released Duality album (City West).
• An early highlight of their musical career was performing with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys.
• 2002, graduated from UCLA, both majoring in ethno-musicology.
• 2002, signed with Rounder Records.
• 2004, released an album (country) Malibu Storm under the name Malibu Storm.
• 2010, after a five-year hiatus from music to marry and have children, they returned to performing and recording as Dana and Lauren. First single: a cover of Tupac Shakur’s “California Love.”

MARK SCHATZ

• From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts (near Boston). Lives in Nashville.
• First band: Mandala, a folk dance group.
• Has played bass with Tasty Licks, Spectrum, the Tony Rice Unit and the Bluegrass Album Band.
• 1990-1997, played bass with Tim and Mollie O’Brien as one of the O’Boys. He continues to work with Tim and Mollie on selected dates.
• Also plays clawhammer-style banjo (his banjo is heard on theme music for the IBMA awards show.)
• 1995, released Brand New Old Tyme Way album (Rounder).
• Is an accomplished dancer; serves as musical director for the dance troupe Footworks. In 1996, he performed with the hit show Riverdance.
• 1998, formed a side band with Tim O’Brien, Jerry Douglas and Charlie Cushman called The Flatt Heads.
• 1994, 1995, won IBMA award for Bass Player of the Year.
• 2003, began performing regularly (on bass) with Nickel Creek.
• 2006, released Steppin’ in the Boiler House album featuring his clawhammer banjo playing & original songs.
• 2008, joined the Claire Lynch band.
• 2014, re-joined Nickel Creek for their 25th anniversary tour.

PETER SCHWIMMER

• From New York. Lived several years in Colorado before moving to Portland, Oregon.
• Has played with several bluegrass bands from New York to Seattle, including The Virginia Mountain Boys, Del McCoury’s Dixie Pals, and Generic Bluegrass.
• 1983-1989, played banjo with Front Range.
• 1985, won the banjo, mandolin and guitar contests at Telluride.
• 1998, joined Sam Hill (an Oregon-based band).

BECKY SCHLEGEL

• From St. Paul, Minnesota.
• Began performing in high school in central South Dakota, performing at VFW and American Legion Halls. She also spent four summers as part of the “Mountain Music Show” in the Black Hills.
• 1997, formed a bluegrass band called True Blue.
• 1998, released This Lonesome Song album (no label).
• 2001-2004, won Bluegrass/Old Time Artist of the Year at the Minnesota Music Awards (4 years in a row).
• 2002, released first solo album Red Leaf (Lilly Ray).
• 2005, released Drifter Like Me album (Lilly Ray).
• 2006, appeared in the movie “A Prairie Home Companion” with Garrison Keillor. She has been a frequent performer on the radio program.
• 2006, formed the Becky Schlegel Band.
• 2007, released For All the World to See album (Lilly Ray).
• 2007, released Heartaches album (Lilly Ray).
• 2008, released Country Ballads album (Lilly Ray).
• 2010, released Dandelion album (Lilly Ray).
• 2012, released Opry Lullaby album (no label).

BARRY SCOTT

• From Ellijay, Georgia.
• Began singing and playing bass with his family band (The Scott Family Band) at age 7. At age 11, he learned to play piano.
• 1984 (age 17), formed a southern Gospel quartet called The Harmony Brothers.
• 1986, joined The Perry’s, another southern Gospel group.
• 1988, worked with the Gold City Quartet and the Dixie Melody Boys.
• 1990, formed a bluegrass gospel group called Silver Creek with Barry Abernathy.
• 1993, rejoined The Perry’s.
• 1996, joined Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, playing guitar and singing lead. Worked with Doyle for nine years.
• 2005, left Doyle Lawson to pursue a solo career. Formed his own band, Second Wind.
• 2009, released first album In God’s Time (Rebel).
• 2010, teamed up with former Quicksilver bandmate Darren Beachley to form the Beachley and Scott Band.
• 2011, left the Beachley and Scott Band to return to gospel music.

DARRELL SCOTT

• Born in London, Kentucky. Grew up in the Chicago area. Lives in Nashville.
• A successful songwriter: “Long Time Gone” and “Heartbreak Town” (Dixie Chicks); “Great Day to Be Alive” (Travis Tritt); “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” (Patty Loveless, Brad Paisley); “Born to Fly” (Sara Evans); “When No One’s Around” (Garth Brooks).
• 2o12, released Live: We’re Usually A Lot Better Than This (Full Skies), an album of duets with Tim O’Brien.
• 2013, released Memories & Moments, a second album of duets with Tim O’Brien (Full Skies).

MIKE SCOTT

• From Wautaga, Tennessee. Lives in Gallatin, Tennessee.
• 1972-1973, formed his first band at the age of 10, the Rocky Mountain Boys.
• 1974-1977, played with The Tennessee Bluegrass Four.
• 1978-1979, played with The Cumberland Mountain Boys.
• 1980-1982, played with Carl Story and the Rambling Mountaineers.
• 1982-1986, played with Jim and Jesse and the Virginia Boys.
• 1983, released first album “Classics for Banjo” (CMS).
• 1986, formed Mike Scott and The All American Band.
• 1987-1991, performed part-time with Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass.
• 1995, married Brenda Marshall (formerly of the Marshall Family, a gospel group).
• 2002, joined Ronnie Reno and the Reno Tradition (as well as performing with Jesse McReynolds, Danny Davis and his own band.)
• 2005, recorded several instrumental albums (“Star Spangled Bluegrass,” “Mountain Valley Bluegrass,” and “Applachian Sunday Bluegrass”) for Homestead Music, a Nashville label specializing in the gift shop market.
• He is also an expert woodworker who restores vintage homes.
• Nickname given to him by Bill Monroe: “Mike the Smilin’ Scott.”
• He performs with his own band Mike Scott and the Nashville Band.
• 2012, released Blue Moon of Kentucky: An Instrumental Tribute to Bill Monroe (Rural Rhythm)
• 2012, released gospel album Take Me Lord & Use Me (Rural Rhythm).
• 2013, released Home Sweet Home, an album of civil war era instrumentals (Rural Rhythm).
• 2015, released Foggy Mountain Breakdown album (Green Hill Productions).

THE SCOTTSVILLE SQUIRREL BARKERS

• From San Diego, California.
• Included Chris Hillman (who was still in high school), Larry Murray, Kenny Wertz, Ed Douglas and Gary Carr.
• 1963, recorded a now-legendary album called Blue Grass Favorites (Crown).
• Kenny Wertz (banjo) later played with the Country Gazette and the Flying Burrito Brothers. He still lives in San Diego and plays with a local band.
• Wertz was replaced in the Squirrel Barkers by Bernie Leadon (later a member of the Eagles.)
• Chris Hillman (mandolin) left this group to play with The Golden State Boys (AKA The Hillmen) and was a founding member of The Byrds and the Desert Rose Band. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Byrds.
• Larry Murray (Dobro™) later formed the folk-rock group Hearts and Flowers.
• Ed Douglas (bass) later managed the rock group The Stone Ponies (with Linda Ronstadt).
• Gary Carr (guitar, lead vocals) later performed with Geoff Stelling’s Hard Times Bluegrass Band (late 1970’s). He died in 1985.

JEFF SCROGGINS (AND COLORADO)

• From Oklahoma. Has also lived in Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas and Canada (British Columbia).
• Grew up playing rock guitar in several garage bands but picked up a banjo at age 19 and became obsessed with it.
• 1989, won the National Bluegrass Banjo championship at Winfield, Kansas.
• 1990, was a founding member of the Andy Owens Project.
• 1996, was inducted into the Texas Tornadoes, an unofficial Texas music Hall of Fame.
• 1999, formed Big Twang, a Wichita, Kansas group.
• 2007, joined the Blue Canyon Boys, a Colorado-based band which won the Telluride Band Contest a year later.
• 2009, moved to Colorado and formed his own band Colorado with his 13-year old son Tristin (mandolin). Other members include Greg Blake (guitar), Annie Savage (fiddle), KC Groves (bass).
• 2013, released Western Branches album (no label) produced by Sally Van Meter.
• 2016, released “Ramblin Feels Good” album (no label) produced by Bill VornDick.
• 2019, released Over the Line album (Patuxent), produced by Mark Schatz (who also played bass on the album).
• 2019, the group disbanded (except to play selected dates). Greg Blake (lead vocals, guitar) moved to Kansas City to form his own band Real Country. Tristan Scroggins (mandolin) moved to Nashville and is pursuing other musical opportunities. Jeff formed a new band called The ScroggDogs.

EARL SCRUGGS

• From Shelby, North Carolina. Lived in Madison, Tennessee for most of his life.
• Full name: Earl Eugene Scruggs.
• He is credited with being the first master of the three-finger style of banjo-playing which defines bluegrass music and which bears his name. Every bluegrass banjo player plays a variation of “Scruggs-style” banjo.
• First pro job:  At age 15, he played banjo with Zeke and Wiley Morris, the Morris Brothers.
• 1945, age 21, joined Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys.
• 1948, Earl and Lester Flatt left Monroe’s band to form their own group, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys.
• 1969, after 21 years, he parted company with Lester Flatt to form a new country-rock band with his sons, Gary, Randy and Steve: The Earl Scruggs Revue. The group disbanded ten years later.
• 1992, was presented with the National Medal for the Arts by President George H.W. Bush in a ceremony at the White House (July 22).
• 1994, received the Million-Air Award from BMI representing one million broadcast performances of “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.”
• 1996, underwent hip replacement surgery and suffered a heart attack requiring bypass surgery, all in the same month (October).
• 1997, returned to the stage, performing at the IBMA Awards Show, the Grand Ole Opry (with Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, Marty Stuart and Alison Krauss), and selected festivals. Also played on son Randy’s solo album, and was nominated for Banjo Player of the Year (1998 IBMA Awards).
• 2002, won Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance for “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” from his Earl Scruggs And Friends album (MCA Nashville).
• 2003, received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• 2003, recorded and performed with Doc Watson and Ricky Skaggs as The Three Pickers (Rounder).
• Quote from John Hartford: “Who was the first three-finger style banjo picker? It doesn’t really matter, because without Earl no one would be asking that question.”
• Quote from Sammy Shelor: “Without Earl Scruggs, none of us would be here.”
• 2005, the Country Music Hall of Fame presented a year-long special exhibit honoring Earl Scruggs titled “Banjo Man: the Life and Legacy of Earl Scruggs.”
• 2005, appeared on the David Letterman show with Steve Martin, Peter Wernick and other banjo players in a group called “Men With Banjos Who Know How to Use Them.” They played “Foggy Mountain Banjo” together.
• 2008, received a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement.
• 2008, released Earl Scruggs with Family & Friends: The Ultimate Collection – Live at the Ryman (Rounder), recorded in 2007 at age 83.
• 2010, his wife Louise was inducted into the IBMA’s Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame for her contributions to the business side of bluegrass.
• 2012, Earl died on March 28 at the age of 88.
• 2014, The Earl Scruggs Center, a museum honoring the life and legacy of Earl Scruggs, was opened in his home town of Shelby on January 11.

CURLY SECKLER

• From China Grove, North Carolina..
• Real name: John Ray Sechler.
• First band: The Yodeling Rangers, with his brothers (1935).
• 1939, was one of the original members of Charlie Monroe’s Kentucky Partners.
• 1945, first played on the Grand Ole Opry, with Danny Bailey.
• 1946, recorded with Charlie Monroe (first recordings by the Kentucky Partners).
• 1949, joined Flatt & Scruggs, over the next dozen years he sang tenor and played mandolin on many of their biggest hits of the day and their most popular classics all of have stood the test of time.
• 1952, recorded with Jim & Jesse McReynolds on their first Capitol records.
• 1955-1962, appeared with Flatt & Scruggs on television across the southeast, and on the Grand Ole Opry.
• 1962, retired from music (temporarily) and started a trucking business.
• 1971, recorded “Curly Seckler Sings Again” (Country Records).
• 1973, un-retired to join Lester Flatt and The Nashville Grass. Lester died in 1979, but at Lester’s request, took over the Nashville Grass and kept the group going until 1994 (He formed a partnership with lead singer Willis Spears, who joined the group in 1981).
• 1994, released 60 Years of Bluegrass album (Vine Street Records). This album was later re-issued by Copper Creek Records (in 2005).
• 1996, received a Distinguished Achievement Award from IBMA.
• 2004, inducted into IBMA Hall of Fame.
• 2005, released That Old Book of Mine album (County).
• 2005, released Down in Caroline album (Copper Creek).
• 2006, released Bluegrass Don’t You Know album (Copper Creek).
• 2008, performed on the PBS show, Song of the Mountains, accompanied by the Steep Canyon Rangers.
• 2010, inducted into North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.
• 2010, celebrated his 90th birthday and his 75th anniversary in music.
• 2011, inducted into Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Hall of Fame.
• 2016, his biography was published Foggy Mountain Troubador (Univ. of Illinois Press), written by Penny Parsons.
• 2017, died at the age of 98 (on 12/27)