Editor’s note: We’ve met and visited with a lot of wonderful people in the bluegrass world in the past few years, and especially in the last six months that we’ve been involved in our Web site. We asked a handful of some memorable people we’ve visited with over the past year and invited them to share a bluegrass Christmas memory. Today’s memory is from the one of the great voices of bluegrass music, Steve Gulley of Grasstowne.

My father, Don, and I were booked to play a Christmas party along with the rest of the Pinnacle Boys in Knoxville, Tenn., back in the ’80s.That sounds pretty harmless right? Wrong!

When we got there, we found out we would be performing on a hay wagon out in the middle of this guy’s farm in below-freezing weather. Yes - outside! It was freezing cold with a dusting of snow on the ground.

We were provided salamander-type shotgun heaters next to the stage and, after every set, we managed to scorch nearly all the hair off the back of our hands just trying to get some feeling in them again. It was a memorable event to say the least.

I guess the crowd must have liked what they heard pretty well, because after about three sets of music, the fellow who booked us came up to us and offered a big bonus if we’d play another set.

So, being the true professional bluegrassers that we were, we got up on the trailer and gave the people what they wanted. I’ve never been so cold in my life, but I had a wonderful time and it remains one of my best musical Christmas memories.

You just can’t stop a bunch of dedicated bluegrassers!

Steve Gulley

Grasstowne

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Family, friends and faith abound in Steve Gulley’s new CD, “Sounds Like Home,” on Lonesome Day Records.

Gulley, you will recall, fronted Mountain Heart for the past few years, but is now with a new group, Grasstowne. I always thought his soulful voice simply got buried in the over-the-top musicianship of Mountain Heart, a short-coming that has been fully corrected with his new band.

And, as one might expect, Gulley’s vocal delivery reigns supreme on “Sounds Like Home,” a nice eclectic mix of tunes topped by what’s become his concert show-stopper, the George Jones’ classic, “The Grand Tour.” Conceding that the tune is his most requested song, Gulley writes in his liner notes that it “was never meant to be an impersonation but a tribute to my favorite country singer, George Jones. I hope I did it justice. George sure did.”

Gulley’s live performance of the country classic is, simply stated, a big, big bucket of musical guts; the recorded version isn’t far off. It is, without a doubt, the CD’s highlight.

But, there are other gems, including a couple of gospel tunes from the old “Red Book” Baptist hymnal that Gulley grew up with and a couple of original tunes.

Gulley brings his wife Debbie into the limelight for a cover of the old David Houston/Tammy Wynette country classic, “My Elusive Dreams.” It’s easy to tell that this isn’t Debbie Gulley’s first rodeo, so to speak. She’s a seasoned peformer in her own right and currently is the featured vocalist on the Renfro Valley Barn Dance in Kentucky.

In the family/friends category, Gulley performs a couple of tunes that his dad’s bluegrass band performed in years back. And, he brings his dad, Dan Gulley, to the forefront to do the lead vocals on “Nearer My God to Thee.” Added icing on this cake is Doyle Lawson, who added harmony to the track and also brought Ira Louvin’s old A-model mandolin into the studio to embellish the song. With all those ingredients, it’s a blue-ribbon recipe.

Gulley brings back his Mountain Heart bandmates for “Mountain Heart,” a Gulley-penned tune that gave the band its name. And IIIrd Tyme Out’s Russell Moore pitches in some stellar harmony on a honky-tonkin’, “Cheater of the Year.”

In another not too-far bygone era, Gulley could have become a country music superstar. He’s got that kind of voice, that kind of pleasant but powerful stage presence. So much for that past scenario that never transpired. Fast forward to today when Gulley is truly one of bluegrass’s top vocalists. “Sounds Like Home” serves as a good reminder of his stature.

Quicklinks:

www.SteveGulley.com
www.Grasstowne.com
Lonesome Day Records

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