Every Friday around 11 a.m. Central, it’s time for Classic Americana on Radio Heartland. We pull a special track from the archives or from deep in the shelves to spotlight a particular artist or song.

This week’s Classic Americana selection spotlights one the most influential bluegrass guitarists in the history of the genre: Tony Rice.

With his precise and fluid flatpicking style, Tony Rice has influenced such artists as Molly Tuttle, Andrew Marlin, Jason Isbell and Chris Eldridge; in fact, Rice was a mentor to Eldridge while Eldridge was a college student.

Tony Rice was born in Virginia on June 8, 1951, but he grew up in Los Angeles, where his father introduced him to bluegrass music. Rice pursued his studies of the genre among Los Angeles's purveyors of the style, eventually connecting with such artists as Ry Cooder, Chris Hillman and Clarence White.

As Rice’s career in music took flight, he returned east, settling in Louisville, Ky., where he met banjo player J.D. Crowe and became part of the band, J.D. Crowe and the New South. It was the beginning of many collaborations that mark Rice’s career, which also included work as a session musician for artists including Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Béla Fleck, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Dan Tyminski and Sierra Hull.

As a solo performer, Rice’s best-known albums include 1979's Manzanita and 1983's Church Street Blues. While it’s easy to focus on Rice’s excellent guitar playing, he also possessed a warm, mellow singing voice, as evidenced on such songs as “Church Street Blues.”

In 1990, he released the album Tony Rice Plays and Sings Bluegrass, and on that album is the song “Carolina Star,” a selection that nicely highlights Rice’s guitar-playing and vocals. It’s our Classic Americana pick this week.

Sadly, Tony Rice’s career was curtailed due to medical issues that affected both his voice and his guitar playing, rendering each a painful experience. Rice's final public performance was at his 2013 IBMA Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Rice died peacefully at home on Christmas Day, 2020. He was 69.

External Links

Tony Rice – Bluegrass Hall of Fame