Del McCoury Band - 2008 IMBA Entertainer of the Year nominees
Category: IBMA Nominees
By Travis Tackett
August 21, 2008
The Del McCoury Band performs “All Aboard” at the 2007 MBOTMA Summer festival.
Perennial might best describe The Del McCoury Band’s appearance on IBMA award nomination lists. This year the band — described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “acknowledged contemporary masters of traditional bluegrass” are back with an Entertainer of the Year finalist nomination. Band patriarch Del McCoury heads to the Nashville awards show this year after his first experience hosting a large music festival –DelFest, held in Maryland over Memorial Day Weekend — and with a loud political statement to his credit via “Moneyland,” a various-artists CD on the McCoury Music label that carries a message about how greed has overpowered the common man, and especially rural America.
McCoury’s band lineup doesn’t change much from year to year. It’s son Rob on banjo, son Ronnie on mandolin, long-time band member Jason Carter on fiddle and Alan Bartram on bass. In other IBMA categories, Carter is up for fiddle player of the year and Ronnie McCoury, for mandolin player of the year.
McCoury started playing in regional bluegrass bands around Baltimore in the late 1950s as a banjo playing and vocalist. He later moved to the West Coast, but ended up moving back East.where he continued to play bluegrass. He caugh the attention of Bill Monroe who invited him to join the Blue Grass Boys in early 1963. Under the impression he was trying out for the banjo job, a surprised Del was offered the guitar slot instead. The gig lasted for about a year, when McCoury and his new bride moved to California. There, he formed the Dixie Pals, and his sons eventually worked their way into the band. On the move again with Rob and Ronnie at the forefront of his band, McCoury wound up in Nashville and changed the name of his group to the current name.
Web Site:
Del McCoury Band Discography:
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Blue Side of Town; The Del McCoury Band | Rounder |
| 1993 | Deeper Shade of Blue; Del McCoury | Rounder |
| 1996 | Cold Hard Facts; The Del McCoury Band | Rounder |
| 1999 | Family ; The Del McCoury Band | Ceili Music |
| 1999 | The Mountain; Steve Earle & The Del McCoury Band | E Squared |
| 2001 | Del & The Boys; The Del McCoury Band | Hollywood |
| 2003 | It’s Just the Night; The Del McCoury Band | McCoury Music |
| 2005 | The Company We Keep; The Del McCoury Band | McCoury Music |
| 2006 | The Promised Land; The Del McCoury Band | McCoury Music |
| 2008 | Moneyland; The Del McCoury Band & Friends | McCoury Music |
Other Del McCoury Band / Members Discography:
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | I Wonder Where You Are Tonight; Del McCoury | Arhoolie |
| 1968 | Del McCoury Sings Bluegrass; Del McCoury | Arhoolie |
| 1971 | Livin’ on the Mountain; Del McCoury | Rebel |
| 1971 | Collector’s Special; Del McCoury | Grassound |
| 1972 | High on a Mountain; Del McCoury and The Dixie Pals | Rounder |
| 1975 | Del McCoury and the Dixie Pals; Del McCoury and The Dixie Pals | Revonah |
| 1980 | Live in Japan; Del McCoury and The Dixie Pals | Copper Creek |
| 1987 | The McCoury Brothers; The McCoury Brothers | Rounder |
| 1988 | Don’t Stop the Music; Del McCoury | Rounder |
| 1998 | Del Doc & Mac; Mac Wiseman, Doc Watson & Del McCoury | Sugar Hill |
| 1999 | For the Love of God, Man, Let Your Sons Sing or Something!; Ronnie McCoury | Grassound |
| 2004 | Classic Bluegrass; Del McCoury & The Dixie Pals recorded between 1974 and 1984 | Grassound |
| 2004 | High Lonesome and Blue; Del McCoury | Rounder |
| 2007 | Little Mo’McCoury; Ronnie McCoury backed by Del McCoury Band | McCoury Music |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Organization | Award | Presented To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | IBMA | Male Vocalist of the Year | Del McCoury |
| 1991 | IBMA | Male Vocalist of the Year | Del McCoury |
| 1992 | IBMA | Male Vocalist of the Year | Del McCoury |
| 1994 | IBMA | Entertainer of the Year | The Del McCoury Band |
| 1994 | IBMA | Album of the Year | A Deeper Shade of Blue; Del McCoury |
| 1996 | IBMA | Instrumental Group of the Year | The Del McCoury Band |
| 1996 | IBMA | Entertainer of the Year | Del McCoury |
| 1996 | IBMA | Male Vocalist of the Year | Del McCoury |
| 1997 | IBMA | Instrumental Group of the Year | The Del McCoury Band |
| 1997 | IBMA | Entertainer of the Year | The Del McCoury Band |
| 1997 | IBMA | Album of the Year | True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe |
| 1998 | IBMA | Entertainer of the Year | The Del McCoury Band |
| 1999 | IBMA | Entertainer of the Year | The Del McCoury Band |
| 2000 | IBMA | Entertainer of the Year | The Del McCoury Band |
| 2002 | IBMA | Entertainer of the Year | The Del McCoury Band |
| 2002 | IBMA | Song of the Year | 1952 Vincent Black Lightning; The Del McCoury Band (artists), Richard John Thompson (writer) |
| 2003 | IBMA | Entertainer of the Year | The Del McCoury Band |
| 2004 | IBMA | Entertainer of the Year | The Del McCoury Band |
| 2004 | IBMA | Album of the Year | It’s Just the Night; The Del McCoury Band |
| 2006 | Grammy® | Best Bluegrass Album | It’s Just the Night - The Del McCoury Band |
Other Media:
Del McCoury Band - Moneyland at the 2008 Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, Walsh Farm, Oak Hill, N.Y. July 2008
Mollie and Tenbrooks Del McCoury Band , Vince Gill and David Grisman from the 1st annual Delfest
Read about other 2008 IBMA Entertainer of the Year Nominees
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