Jerry Douglas

Equally appealing to fans of jazz, blues, folk, bluegrass, country and roots music, prodigal Dobra player Jerry Douglas first picked up the instrument at the tender age of eight. Influenced by the likes of Flatt & Scruggs’ Foggy Mountain Boys, Douglas joined his father’s bluegrass band in his teens where he was subsequently spotted at a local festival by the Country Gentleman. The young musician spent the rest of the summer touring with the Country Gentlemen before being invited to the studio to make his recording debut. With a growing reputation as a pioneering Dobra and lap steel player, Douglas was courted by the likes of J.D. Crowe & the New South, David Grisman, Doyle Lawson, appearing on a host of albums during the mid to late ‘70s.

In 1979 the musician issued his debut solo album “Fluxology” on Rounder Records. The progressive bluegrass style of the album was subsequently replicated, albeit with varying influences, on 1982’s “Fluxedo” and 1986’s “Under the Wire”. Following the releases Douglas continued his extensive collaborations, working with Dan Fogelberg, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Barenberg and Mayer. Douglas issued a pair of albums in 1987, the full-length “Changing Channels” and the Rounder Records compilation “Everything Is Gonna Work Out Fine”.

Arguably the finest Dobro player in contemporary acoustic music, in 1989 Douglas released the full-length “Plant Early” on MCA Records. The studio album “Slide Rule” followed in 1992 featuring Alison Krauss, Sam Bush and Tim O’Brien, succeeded by “Restless on the Farm” in May 1998. Shortly after the release the musician would begin his fruitful musical collaborations with Alison Krauss and Union Station, appearing on seven of the group’s albums from 1999-2011. The lap steel and Dobro player would also regularly tour with Alison Krauss when not fulfilling his own touring duties.

In 2001 Douglas earned his fourth Grammy Award for Album of the Year for his contributions to the “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack. The same year he collected two more Grammys, this time alongside Alison Krauss, for Best Country Performance (“The Lucky One”) and Best Bluegrass Album (“New Favorite”).

Douglas’ subsequent solo release was the full-length “Lookout for Hope”, which became his first charting album, peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard Bluegrass Album chart. Released on Koch Records, the musician’s ninth studio album “The Best Kept Secret” was issued in September 2005, and followed by the Sugar Hill label compilation “Best of the Sugar Hill Years” in 2007. The No. 69 charting country album “Glide” appeared in August 2008 featuring the likes of Earl Scruggs, Tony Rice and Rodney Crowell, followed by the Christmas album “Jerry Christmas” in 2009 and the full-length “Traveler” in 2012.