Dixie Flyers
Dixie Flyers | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | bluegrass |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Labels | Boot, Flat top |
| Website | dixieflyers |
The Dixie Flyers were a bluegrass band based in London, Ontario, Canada. The band first came together in 1974,[1] and became one of Canada's best known bluegrass bands.[2]
Original members of the band were guitarist Bert Baumbach, mandolinist Ken Palmer, harmonica player Willie P. Bennett, bassist Brian Abbey and Dennis LePage on the banjo.[3] Although lead vocalists Baumbach and Palmer have been continuous members, over the years the band has seen a number of changes in the lineup.[4] Dixie Flyer band members have included:[2][5]
- Guitar: Bert Baumbach
- Fiddle: Gordon Stobbe, Peter Robinson, and John P. Allen.
- Mandolin: Ken Palmer (died October 30, 2013)[6]
- Bass: Brian Abbey, David Zdriluk, Chris Ingram
- Banjo: Dennis LePage, David Jack, David Talbot, Paul Hurdle, Walter Maynard, and Darin Parise
- Harmonica: Willie P. Bennett (died February 15, 2008) and Mike Ethelston
- Dobro: Al Widmeyer, Blair Heddle, Darin Parise
The Dixie Flyers played at the Carlisle Bluegrass Festival in 1975,[3] where they met Bill Monroe, and were subsequently invited to play at Monroe's Bean Blossom Festival in Indiana, USA.[7][8] The band also played at the Cambridge Millrace Festival[9] and the Blueberry Bluegrass Festival in Stony Plain, Alberta.[10] They also played several times at the Canterbury Folk Festival in Ingersoll, Ontario.[11] The band performed regularly at the Flint Folk and Bluegrass Festival in Michigan.[6]
The Flyers recorded a series of albums on the Boot Records label during the 1970s.[2] They were the hosts of a television show called Bluegrass Express on CFPL in London in 1985 and also took part in a weekly radio show for seven years.[12][3] The band appeared on the Tommy Hunter Show, and for a time managed the Back 40 Bluegrass Festival at Woodstock, Ont.[2]
After a last stand with The Flyers at the Elgin County international plowing match in the fall of 2010, Ken Palmer retired due to heart problems.[13] The band played on briefly without him before going on indefinite hiatus. On October 30, 2013, Ken Palmer died at the age of 65 after a bout of pneumonia contracted after a heart transplant.[14] A few months earlier, in the spring of 2013, the band had been inducted into the London (Ontario) Music Hall of Fame, with both Palmer and Baumbach in attendance.[8][15]
Discography
Albums:
| Name of Album | Label | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Light, medium, heavy | Boot Records | 1977 |
| For our friends | Boot Records | 1980 |
| Just pickin' | Boot Records | 1978 |
| Cheaper to lease | Boot Records | 1978 |
| Five by five | Boot Records | 1981 |
| New horizons | Stony Plain | 1984 |
| Business as Usual | Boot Records | 1987 |
| Live at the Wellington Tavern | Flat Top | 1980 |
| Right on track | Flat Top | 2005 |
References
- ^ "Ken Palmer put the ‘man’ in mandolin –R.I.P.". Toronto Moon.
- ^ a b c d e "Dixie Flyers", The Canadian Encyclopedia, retrieved 4 March 2013
- ^ a b c Reaney, James, "Flyers mark 30 years of gigs", London Free Press, 5 June 2004
- ^ Meyer, Sean, "Celebrating 35 years of making music ", The Londoner, 5 May 2010
- ^ Schneider, Jason, "Dixie Flyers Right on Track", album review at exclaim.ca
- ^ a b c Ken Palmer passes". Bluegrass today, 3 November 2013.
- ^ Adler, Thomas, Bean Blossom: The Brown County Jamboree and Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Festivals University of Illinois Press, 2011,
- ^ a b Reaney, James, "Jack Richardson music awards", The London Free Press, 26 February 2013
- ^ Reid, Robert, "Dixie Flyers land in Cambridge for bluegrass concert", The Guelph Mercury, 29 April 2010
- ^ Festival History - Blueberry Bluegrass Festival
- ^ Canterbury Festival - Archives
- ^ "Dixie Flyers" , Allmusic
- ^ http://blogs.canoe.com/brandnewblog/entertainment/ken-palmer-has-retired-from-the-dixie-flyers-last-fall/
- ^ http://www.lfpress.com/2013/10/30/london-musical-hall-of-famer-ken-palmer-dies
- ^ "The Dixie Flyers Receive JRMA Hall Of Fame Honours". Country Music Association of Ontario Newsletter, 2 May 2013.