Audie Blaylock Explained

Audie Blaylock
Birth Date:18 August 1962
Birth Place:El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Death Date:January 2024 (aged 61)
Death Place:Auburn, Indiana, U.S.
Genre:Bluegrass music
Occupation:Musician
Instrument:Guitar, vocals, mandolin
Years Active:1983–2024
Label:Rural Rhythm, Patuxent
Past Member Of:Jimmy Martin, Red Allen, Lynn Morris, Rhonda Vincent, Michael Cleveland, Audie Blaylock and Redline

Audie Blaylock (August 18, 1962 – January 2024) was an American singer, guitarist, mandolinist and composer in the bluegrass tradition.

Biography

Early years

Blaylock was born in El Paso, Texas, but was raised in Lansing, Michigan. Growing up in a family where both parents played music, he learned guitar at age 8. He grew up playing guitar and mandolin in local bands.[1]

Support for Other Artists

In 1982, at age 19, Blaylock joined Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys, and spent nine years with them playing mandolin.[2] [3]

In 1990, Blaylock worked with Red Allen until his death in 1993.[4]

Starting in 1993, Blaylock played both mandolin and guitar with the Lynn Morris Band.[5]

From 1997 to 2000, Blaylock played with Harley Allen (Red Allen's son). Allen was an accomplished country music songwriter (for Garth Brooks, John Michael Montgomery, and others), and recorded for Mercury Records.[6]

From 1999 to 2003, Blaylock worked with Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, playing guitar and singing harmonies.[7] [8]

From 2006 to 2007, Blaylock and fiddler Michael Cleveland formed "Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper featuring Audie Blaylock."[9] [10]

Trains Are the Only Way to Fly

In 2001, Bllaylock recorded his self-released solo album Trains Are the Only Way to Fly, featuring Tom Adams (banjo), Jesse Brock (mandolin), and Ron Stewart (fiddle).[11]

Audie Blaylock and Redline

Blaylock started Redline in 2004, took time out to work with Michael Cleveland, and reactivated Redline in 2007. The current band consists of Evan Ward on banjo, Reed Jones on the bass, and Mason Wright on fiddle. Patrick McAvinue played fiddle in the band prior to joining Dailey and Vincent. Russ Carson played banjo in the band prior to joining Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. Matt Wallace played bass at first, but was later replaced by Reed Jones.

Blaylock and Redline released the Audie Blaylock & Redline album in 2009 on the Rural Rhythm label.[12] [13] In 2010, they released Cryin' Heart Blues which was compared favourably to the music of Jimmy Martin.[14] [15]

In 2011, Blaylock released the I'm Going Back to Old Kentucky: A Bill Monroe Celebration album (Rural Rhythm). Special guests included Ronnie McCoury, Glen Duncan, Jason Carter, Bobby Osborne, Lou Reid, Del McCoury, and Carl Jackson.[16]

Blaylock released the album Hard Country in 2012, produced by Scott Vestal.[17] Blaylock chose the album name to emphasize how closely bluegrass and country music are related.[18]

In 2016, Blaylock and Redline released The Road That Winds album for Patuxent Music. Banjoist Evan Ward returned to the band, joining Blaylock, McAvinue, and Jones. The album was recorded at Scott Vestal's Digital Underground Studio.[19]

Other projects

In 2004, Blaylock was a primary coordinator for and contributor to the A Tribute to Jimmy Martin: The King of Bluegrass project, which also featured Kenny Ingram, J. D. Crowe, Paul Williams, Michael Cleveland, Jason Moore, and Sonya Isaacs.[20]

Luthier Teddy Workman of TW Guitars in West Virginia designed and constructed the Red Line edition guitar in 2010, with rosewood back and sides and a thin red line running up the fret board into the peghead.[21]

Death

Blaylock's death, earlier in the week, was announced on January 12, 2024. He was 61.[22]

Discography

Solo albums

With Audie Blaylock and Redline

As primary contributor

Also appears on

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A Conversation with Audie Blaylock. Hudson Valley Bluegrass Association. September 1, 2017. Jaques DiCroce. April 10, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20170331193701/http://hvbluegrass.org/articles/interviews/642-a-conversation-with-audie-blaylock.html. March 31, 2017. dead.
  2. News: Heibutzki. Ralph. Five questions with ... Audie Blaylock. September 1, 2017. Herald-Palladium. July 4, 2013.
  3. News: Weisberger. Jon. Jimmy Martin, 1927-2005. September 1, 2017. Nashville Scene. May 19, 2005.
  4. Web site: Red Allen. International Bluegrass Music Museum. September 1, 2017.
  5. News: MacTaggart. Garaud . The Bluegrass is Greener in the Lynn Morris Tradition. September 1, 2017. The Buffalo News. March 27, 1996.
  6. Web site: Harley Allen Dies. BMI. September 1, 2017. April 5, 2011.
  7. News: staff writer. Rhonda Vincent and the Rage: Stylish Bluegrass. September 1, 2017. The Washington Post. October 20, 2001.
  8. News: Weisberger. Jon. Rhonda Vincent - More than a feeling. September 1, 2017. No Depression. June 30, 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20170902094637/http://nodepression.com/article/rhonda-vincent-more-feeling. September 2, 2017. dead.
  9. Web site: Out on a limb with fiddlin': Mike Cleveland. LEO Weekly. September 1, 2017. Mary W. Burton. July 31, 2007.
  10. News: Roberts. Tim. Michael Cleveland: Fiddlin' with the Giants. September 1, 2017. Louisville Music News.
  11. Web site: Audie Blaylock: Trains Are The Only Way To Fly. Country Standard Time. September 1, 2017. George Hauenstein.
  12. Web site: Audie Blaylock And Redline - Audie Blaylock And Redline. Roughstock. September 1, 2017. Matt Bjorke. January 27, 2009.
  13. Web site: Audie Blaylock: Audie Blaylock & Redline. Country Standard Time. September 1, 2017. Tim FitzPatrick.
  14. Web site: Audie Blaylock and Redline - Crying Heart Blues. Banjo Hangout. September 1, 2017. James Stiltner. December 20, 2013.
  15. Web site: Cryin' Heart Blues: Audie Blaylock and Redline. Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange. September 1, 2017. Mark S. Tucker.
  16. Web site: Audie Blaylock and Redline – I'm Going Back To Old Kentucky (A Bill Monroe Celebration). Bluegrass Unlimited. September 1, 2017. November 3, 2011.
  17. Web site: "Hard Country" by Audie Blaylock and Redline Out June 19, Single on Charts. Cybergrass. September 1, 2017. June 14, 2012. September 2, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170902105021/http://www.cybergrass.com/node/1392#sthash.slgIBjG0.dpbs. dead.
  18. Web site: New Album Release by Audie Blaylock + Redline Next Week. Prescription Bluegrass. September 1, 2017. June 14, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20170902093749/http://www.prescriptionbluegrassblog.com/2012/06/new-album-release-by-audie-blaylock.html. September 2, 2017. dead.
  19. News: Lawless. John. Audie Blaylock back with The Road That Winds. September 1, 2017. Bluegrass Today. June 10, 2016.
  20. News: Weisberger. Jon. Various Artists - A Tribute to Jimmy Martin, "The King of Bluegrass". September 1, 2017. No Depression. August 31, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20170902101217/http://nodepression.com/album-review/various-artists-tribute-jimmy-martin-king-bluegrass. September 2, 2017. dead.
  21. Web site: The Redline Model TW Guitar. Hope River Entertainment. September 1, 2017. November 9, 2010. September 2, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170902094318/https://hoperiverentertainment.com/2010/11/09/the-redline-model-tw-guitar/. dead.
  22. Web site: Lawless . John . 2024-01-12 . Audie Blaylock passes . 2024-01-13 . Bluegrass Today . en-US.
  23. News: Weisberger. Jon. Audie Blaylock - Trains Are The Only Way To Fly. September 1, 2017. No Depression. August 31, 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20170902134059/http://nodepression.com/album-review/audie-blaylock-trains-are-only-way-fly. September 2, 2017. dead.
  24. Web site: Reviews – June 2009. Bluegrass Unlimited. August 31, 2017. June 1, 2009. September 2, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170902100256/http://bluegrassmusic.com/content/reviews/reviews-june-2009/. dead.
  25. News: Hyperbolium. Audie Blaylock and Redline - Cryin' Heart Blues (Rural Rhythm, 2010). August 31, 2017. No Depression. April 23, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20170902101228/http://nodepression.com/article/audie-blaylock-and-redline-cryin%E2%80%99-heart-blues-rural-rhythm-2010. September 2, 2017. dead.
  26. News: Moulton. Jim. "I'm Going Back To Old Kentucky" - Audie Blaylock & Redline - A Review. September 1, 2017. No Depression. June 8, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20170902094526/http://nodepression.com/article/im-going-back-old-kentucky-audie-blaylock-redline-review. September 2, 2017. dead.
  27. Web site: Audie Blaylock & Redline: Hard Country. Hudson Valley Bluegrass Association. September 1, 2017. Glen Herbe. January 26, 2013.
  28. Web site: Audie Blaylock and Redline: The Road That Winds. Country Standard Time. August 31, 2017. Fred Smith.
  29. Web site: Originalist - Audie Blaylock and Redline. 5 November 2019.
  30. Web site: Tribute To Jimmy Martin "The King Of Bluegrass". Hybrid Magazine. September 1, 2017.