XPost: alt.music.country.classic, rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic   
   From: gcmccoury@yahoo.com   
      
   This is a multi-part message in MIME format.   
      
   The Tennessean   
      
         By PETER COOPER   
      
      
         Burkett Howard "Uncle Josh" Graves, whose bluesy Dobro innovations   
   helped keep that curious and difficult instrument alive in country and   
   bluegrass music, died Saturday September 30 in Nashville after a lengthy   
   illness.   
      
         According to his family, Mr. Graves was 79 years old, though differing   
   dates of birth are listed in various publications.   
      
         If Mr. Graves' age was in question, the timelessness and agelessness of   
   his playing are not.   
      
         Three fingers on Mr. Graves' right hand struck his Dobro strings in a   
   rolling manner that allowed him great speed, and the silver bar that he held   
   in his left hand produced remarkable resonance and tuneful melodies. One of   
   only a few professional    
   Dobro players in the 1950s when he joined Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs' Foggy   
   Mountain Boys, he exhibited dynamic musicianship and stage presence that   
   reached audiences who watched Flatt and Scruggs' TV show and came to concerts.   
      
         "Playing straight hillbilly music, which we now call bluegrass, on the   
   Dobro back then was unheard of," Scruggs said on Sunday. "That instrument was   
   almost out of the picture. Brother Oswald was playing Dobro for Roy Acuff, and   
   he was a great,    
   great player, but Josh could also do that up-tempo stuff. Josh really had it   
   all as a musician."   
      
         The Dobro is similar in shape and size to a guitar, but it has a metal   
   resonator plate on its face and is played with a bar, not the fingers of the   
   left hand.   
      
         "The vehicle that Josh Graves had as a Foggy Mountain Boy with Lester   
   Flatt and Earl Scruggs allowed the Dobro to be showcased to the masses," said   
   WSM-AM on-air personality and country music historian Eddie Stubbs.   
      
         Mr. Graves' skill with the Dobro was an inspiration to other musicians,   
   including Jerry Douglas, considered the instrument's modern-day master.   
   Douglas has played with folk-pop icon James Taylor, R&B giant Ray Charles and   
   thousands of others, and    
   he credits Mr. Graves' work with allowing him such possibilities.   
      
         "He's like Bill Monroe to the mandolin or Earl Scruggs to the banjo,"   
   Douglas told Tennessean senior writer Tim Ghianni in 2003. "If you want to   
   learn the instrument, you listen to Josh play."   
      
         Another modern Dobro kingpin, Mike Auldridge, said: "He's the reason I'm   
   in the business."   
      
         A member of the International Bluegrass Music Association's Hall of   
   Honor, Mr. Graves' influence is not confined to bluegrass circles. He joined   
   The Earl Scruggs Revue in the 1970s, becoming a key member of that   
   country-rock group. And in the    
   studio he contributed to albums by nonbluegrass luminaries including Kris   
   Kristofferson, J.J. Cale, John Hiatt and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.   
      
         "He brought the Southern blues style to his instrument and gave it an   
   elegance," said Marty Stuart, who employed Mr. Graves to show-stopping effect   
   on this year's Live at the Ryman album. "Whatever he played, it always came   
   out as blues. Lester    
   Flatt used to say that Josh could make a blues out of 'The Old Rugged Cross.'"   
      
         Mr. Graves' home was known as a gathering place, and he was eager to   
   share road stories and musical tips.   
      
         "His house on Chadwell Avenue was a 24-hour-a-day playhouse for   
   grandchildren and stray musicians, including myself and Jerry Douglas and Sam   
   Bush," Stuart said. "You could find an open door and an open mind there in   
   Josh."   
      
         In recent years, Mr. Graves had been in ill health - he blamed years of   
   smoking and drinking - and had endured the amputations of his legs. He joked   
   about his predicament, noting that legroom wasn't an issue when traveling   
   anymore, and he continued    
   to play the Dobro whenever possible.   
      
         A deft songwriter and comedian in addition to an instrumental virtuoso,   
   Mr. Graves did not reap great financial rewards. Stubbs said he gave more than   
   he received.   
      
         "It would be impossible to put a monetary value on his contributions to   
   our industry and our music," Stubbs said.   
      
         Visitation will be 2-8 p.m. today and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday at Madison   
   Funeral Home, 219 Old Hickory Blvd. in Madison. A funeral service will take   
   place at Madison Funeral Home's chapel at 1 p.m. Burial will be at   
   Hendersonville Memory Gardens,    
   353 E. Main St. in Hendersonville.   
           
      
      
   Yet another $.02 worth from a "Bluegrass" music fan since in the womb...   
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
   
   
   
The Tennessean
   
   
 
   
   
   
      
        
        
       
By PETER    
         COOPER

   
         
Burkett Howard "Uncle Josh" Graves, whose bluesy Dobro    
         innovations helped keep that curious and difficult instrument alive in    
         country and bluegrass music, died Saturday September 30 in   
   Nashville    
         after a lengthy illness.
   
         
According to his family, Mr. Graves was 79 years old,    
         though differing dates of birth are listed in various publications.
   
         
If Mr. Graves' age was in question, the timelessness   
   and    
         agelessness of his playing are not.
   
         
Three fingers on Mr. Graves' right hand struck his   
   Dobro    
         strings in a rolling manner that allowed him great speed, and the silver    
         bar that he held in his left hand produced remarkable resonance and    
         tuneful melodies. One of only a few professional Dobro players in the    
         1950s when he joined Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs' Foggy Mountain Boys,    
         he exhibited dynamic musicianship and stage presence that reached    
      
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