Bob Paisley

Father of Danny Paisley and Michael Paisley Bob Paisley born 14 March 1931 Ashe County, North Carolina-died 29 November 2004 Landenberg, PA The Paisleys moved to Landenberg, PA, just over the border from Wilmington, Delaware, when Bob was about three. Not only did Bob's mother play guitar, his father played clawhammer banjo. His uncle Wiley Paisley and a cousin played in the North Carolina Ridge Runners, as the duo Fats & Slim, and recorded singles in the late 1930s. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the lines between bluegrass and other forms of country music were not as heavily defined as they are today. As a youth, Bob learned to play guitar and harmonica and developed a keen interest in country music, particularly the old-time acts such as the Blue Sky Boys. He got early experience playing in the country music dance band of Ralph Jamison. And a surprising early musical influence was Spike Jones and His City Slickers. Jones was famed for musical mayhem in the form of outrageous, sound effect-enhanced comedy arrangements of popular tunes. Bob became friends with the redoubtable Mr. Jones and even corresponded with him. Obviously, the Southern Grass is not a musical parody act, but the fun and energy of the Spike Jones show made a lasting impression on Bob as a performer. Around 1951, during his Army service, Bob was stationed at Ft. Stuart in Savannah, Georgia. With a soldier from Alabama playing mandolin, he put together a Louvin Brothers-style duo act and they'd play at clubs and house concerts in Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia. About 1964 he joined with Ted Lundy, a banjo picker transplanted from Galax, Virginia and a veteran of the band of Alex Campbell and Ole Belle’s The New River Boys The pioneering traditional music team of Alex Campbell (3), Ola Belle Reed, and the New River Ranch Boys & Girls were friends of Bob's grandfather and often rehearsed at his home. Bob recalls that as a child he'd sit on Ola Belle's lap and listen to the music. Not many better vantage spots than that ! Bob and Ted founded their own group "the Southern Mountain Boys" : bluegrass-oriented, but as a dance band. The Southern Mountain Boys disbanded after Lundy committed suicide on 23 June 1980. Severe hip problems had cause Paisley to retire from music for a time, but reliant on a walking stick, he eventually returned and with his son Dan and Lundy's cousin Jerry, he re-formed as Southern Grass. They soon became popular playing the US bluegrass circuit and made several major European tours. In the 90s, Bob continued to play the US bluegrass festival circuit with a line-up that included his sons Dan and Mike. After Bob Paisley joined the Southern Mountain Boys as lead singer in the early 60's, the sons of Bob and Ted formed their own band while still young kids and called themselves the Bluegrass Buddies. That bunch of eager learners foretold the impressive collaboration that was to follow. Danny Paisley started playing guitar at age seven or eight. ("As soon as he was big enough to finger the chords," says Bob proudly.) His debut with his Dad and Ted came at age 16. Bob and Dan use thumbpicks to sound their guitar strings. It's a supercharged descendant of the old parlor style of guitar accompaniment, and it definitely defines the Paisley sound. Although flatpicks are employed by most of today's bluegrass rhythm guitarists, thumbpick strumming with a sharp, punctuated downbeat was once the dominant style, employed by such pioneers as Charlie Monroe, Clyde Moody, Jim Eanes, Carter Stanley, and Lester Flatt. The style is very much a Paisley family tradition - Bob learned it from his mother's playing. "It's really about the same style we use today, we just take it a little sharper," Bob says. Maybe Bob was born to the thumbpick-he did try a flat pick in his youth but confesses, "I couldn't do anything with it." Bob played with 2 bands - which - according to discog DO NOT EXIST: << Cannot use Ted Lundy, Bob Paisley And The Southern Mountain Boys because it does not exist or has no releases >> Ted Lundy, Bob Paisley And The Southern Mountain Boys Alex Campbell, Ola Belle Reed, and the New River Ranch Boys