Dixie Flyers Explained

Dixie Flyers
Origin:London, Ontario, Canada
Genre:bluegrass
Years Active:–present
Label:Boot, Flat top

The Dixie Flyers were a Canadian bluegrass band based in London, Ontario, Canada. The band first came together in 1974,[1] and became one of Canada's best known bluegrass bands.[2]

Career

Original members of the band were guitarist Bert Baumbach, mandolinist Ken Palmer, harmonica player Willie P. Bennett, bassist Brian Abbey and Dennis LePage on the banjo.[3] Although lead vocalists Baumbach and Palmer have been continuous members, over the years the band has seen a number of changes in the lineup.[4] Dixie Flyer band members have included:[5]

The Dixie Flyers played at the Carlisle Bluegrass Festival in 1975,[3] where they met Bill Monroe, and were subsequently invited to play at Monroe's Bean Blossom Festival in Indiana, USA.[7] [8] The band also played at the Cambridge Millrace Festival[9] and the Blueberry Bluegrass Festival in Stony Plain, Alberta.[10] They also played several times at the Canterbury Folk Festival in Ingersoll, Ontario.[11] The band performed regularly at the Flint Folk and Bluegrass Festival in Michigan.

The Flyers recorded a series of albums on the Boot Records label during the 1970s. They were the hosts of a television show called Bluegrass Express on CFPL in London in 1985 and also took part in a weekly radio show for seven years.[12] The band appeared on the Tommy Hunter Show, and for a time managed the Back 40 Bluegrass Festival at Woodstock, Ont.[2]

After a last stand with The Flyers at the Elgin County international plowing match in the fall of 2010, Ken Palmer retired due to heart problems.[13] The band played on briefly without him before going on indefinite hiatus. On October 30, 2013, Ken Palmer died at the age of 65 after a bout of pneumonia contracted after a heart transplant.[14] A few months earlier, in the spring of 2013, the band had been inducted into the London (Ontario) Music Hall of Fame, with both Palmer and Baumbach in attendance.[15]

Discography

Albums:

Name of AlbumLabelYear
Light, Medium, HeavyBoot Records1977
For Our FriendsBoot Records1980
Just PickinBoot Records1978
Cheaper to LeaseBoot Records1978
Five by FiveBoot Records1981
New HorizonsStony Plain1984
Business as UsualBoot Records1987
Live at the Wellington TavernFlat Top1990
Right on TrackFlat Top2005

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ken Palmer put the 'man' in mandolin –R.I.P.. Torontomoon.ca. October 30, 2013.
  2. Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia . 2013-11-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131203012205/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/dixie-flyers-emc/ . 2013-12-03 . live .
  3. Web site: London Free Press Columnist: Ames Reaney - Flyers mark 30 years of gi… . https://archive.today/20130410025743/http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/London/James_Reaney/2004/06/05/pf-486490.html . 10 April 2013 . usurped.
  4. Web site: Celebrating 35 years of making music | Londoner . 2013-03-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023349/http://www.thelondoner.ca/2010/05/05/celebrating-35-years-of-making-music . 2016-03-04 . dead .
  5. Web site: Dixie Flyers Right on Track. Exclaim.ca. October 13, 2019.
  6. Web site: Ken Palmer passes. Richard. Thompson. Bluegrasstoday.com. November 4, 2013. October 13, 2019.
  7. Adler, Thomas, Bean Blossom: The Brown County Jamboree and Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Festivals, p. 160, University of Illinois Press, 2011,
  8. News: Jack Richardson music awards . The London Free Press. February 26, 2013.
  9. Web site: Dixie Flyers land in Cambridge for bluegrass concert | guelphmercury . https://archive.today/20130411021855/http://www.guelphmercury.com/whatson/artsentertainment/article/440579--dixie-flyers-land-in-cambridge-for-bluegrass-concert . 11 April 2013 . dead.
  10. Web site: Festival History — Blueberry Bluegrass & Country Music Society Festival . 2013-03-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130415084821/http://blueberrybluegrass.com/festival-history/ . 2013-04-15 . dead .
  11. Web site: Archived copy . 2013-03-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222219/http://www.canterburyfolkfestival.on.ca/home/2001On.html . 2016-03-03 . dead .
  12. Web site: Dixie Flyers | Biography & History. AllMusic. October 13, 2019.
  13. Web site: Ken Palmer has retired from the Dixie Flyers. Last fall. | James' Brand New Blog . 2016-09-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161002022001/http://blogs.canoe.com/brandnewblog/entertainment/ken-palmer-has-retired-from-the-dixie-flyers-last-fall/ . 2016-10-02 . dead .
  14. News: Ken Palmer dead at 65 after catching pneumonia follow a heart transplant at University Hospital . The London Free Press. October 30, 2013.
  15. Web site: The Dixie Flyers Receive JRMA Hall Of Fame Honours – Country Music Association of Ontario. Cmaontario.ca. October 13, 2019.

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