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| George Shuffler & Buddy Woodward |
We have publicly announced that The Dixie Bee-Liners will play the Stanley Brothers' arrangement of "Will You Miss Me" at every gig from now until George Shuffler is inducted into the IBMA's Bluegrass Hall of Fame. It's long past time, & he deserves it for being a pioneer in bluegrass music, first as the Stanley's bass player where he developed the walking bass style taken up by so many subsequent players, & later as lead guitarist with his cross-picking style.
We're all huge Stanley Brothers fans of course, but I have a special connection. In 2005 I was hired to play the part of George Shuffler in a musical play called "Man Of Constant Sorrow: The Story of the Stanley Brothers" produced by The Barter State Theatre of Virginia. I performed in that production from 2005 - 2007, both on Barter stages, & in a national tour to packed houses all across the country.
Both James Alan Shelton (Dr. Stanley's current lead guitar player, & also a very close friend of George's) & George himself were encouraging, & extremely helpful giving me pointers & playing tips that enabled me to approximate George's cross-picking guitar style, which I've used to great advantage with The Dixie Bee-Liners. I've also been very fortunate to become friends with the whole Shuffler family, a nicer bunch of people you'll never meet.
Sav Sankaran (our bassplayer) & I were both invited to George's 85th birthday party last year, & it was an amazing honor to be there.
FYI, Inductees into the IBMA Hall of Fame are voted on by an appointed Panel of Electors -- NOT by the general membership of the IBMA. The electors receive ballots with the names of candidates selected by a committee, but they can also write in votes for people they deem worthy.
If one is an IBMA member, send an email to the IBMA-L list. Undoubtedly some of the members of the Hall of Fame Committee will read it. Also contact Nancy Cardwell at IBMA; she may have some additional suggestions. Also, see http://www.ibma.org/ibma.awards/hall.of.fame/index.a sp .Thanks for getting on board with this, we need a groundswell of support & really make this happen in 2011...to paraphrase Flatt & Scruggs, let's give him his flowers while he's living.
-Buddy
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The Bee Liners also write on their Facebook Wall:
Enough talk, time to take action if you want to see GEORGE SHUFFLER inducted this year into the IBMA bluegrass hall of fame. Write & mail a respectful letter to the IBMA nominating committee, c/o IBMA, 2 Music Circle South, Ste 100, Nashville, TN 37203. This needs to be done before the end of February.Thank You Dixie Bee Liners!
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