For Session 3 of “The Banjo Style of J. D. Crowe.” Bill welcomes special guest Ron Block, who is best known for his work with Alison Krauss and Union Station as well as his recordings with Vince Gill and Dolly Parton and his work on the Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack as a Soggy Bottom Boy. In this session, Ron discusses many of the elements of J.D.’s banjo technique that can’t be expressed in tablature, including his approach to tone, drive, rhythm, and accenting. He also teaches two versions of the Gordon Lightfoot song “You Are What I Am” from his personal live tape collection and discusses the influence of J.D.’s banjo playing on the development of his own style.

Among hundreds of other recording credits, Ron has recorded five solo albums, including the banjo-oriented Hogan’s House of Music from 2015. Along the way, he has received 14 Grammy awards, six IBMA awards, and a Dove award. He is also a celebrated author, with his recent book Abiding Dependence: Living Moment-by-Moment in the Love of God from Moody Publishing. Learn more about Ron by visiting his homepage at ronblock.com.

Ron is one of bluegrass banjo’s deepest thinkers and has been closely analyzing and transcribing J.D. Crowe’s playing for over forty years. The two versions of the Gordon Lightfoot song “You Are What I Am” he teaches are from his personal live tape collection. The first is from 1975 and is played out of the key of G, while the second version  is from 1984 and is played out of C position. 

“You Are What I Am”

“You Are What I Am” from the all-time classic and groundbreaking Rounder 0044 album featuring Tony Rice, Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Douglas and Bobby Sloane. J.D.’s kick-off solo is similar to the solo from a 1975 live tape that Ron will teach.

“You Are What I Am” (video) from a Kentucky Educational Television performance recorded in 1999 at the Festival of the Bluegrass in Lexington, Kentucky. This song begins at 6:19 but the entire set is incredible—this is one of the best-ever versions of the New South.

You can download below the Tab and Audio MP3s for the two versions of “You Are What I Am” that Ron will teach. Make sure you listen to Ron demonstrating the solos at slow and performance speeds. The MP3s are from Ron’s Traditional Banjo Workbook. He has a number of online workshops and they’re all essential learning tools; I’ve learned so much from them myself! Here’s a link to learn more: https://ronblock.com/product/243865 

Bill and Ron don’t discuss J.D.’s biography in the early 1960’s at great length in this session, but you can watch Part 5 of the Kentucky Educational Television’s “A Kentucky Treasure: The J. D. Crowe Story” to prepare for future sessions.  This new video is 5 minutes long and here are the links to all five sections of this documentary (27 minutes in total length):

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfczIhoOwo8

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhlOTrdmJZc

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJdRdsZ-Ahs

Part 4: “The Jimmy Martin Years”

Part 5: “The Joslin Brothers, J. D. Crowe & the Kentucky Mountain Boys”

Looking ahead to Session 4 scheduled for March 1, Bill will take a look at J.D.’s great playing as a bandleader with the Kentucky Mountain Boys. In preparation for this session, read through Chapter 6 of Marty Godbey’s book, Crowe on the Banjo: The Music Life of J. D. Crowe, if you’ve been fortunate enough to find it!

Ron Stewart will be Bill’s special guest on Wednesday, March 29, and they’ll be coming to you live from Nashville.