Del McCoury: ‘It’s just a good time for bluegrass music’

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Del McCoury and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band will be at North Central College April 8. Courtesy of North Central College

Updated: January 18, 2012 4:50PM

Some must have been surprised to see Del McCoury announced last fall as one of two new inductees into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.

Not by the distinction — McCoury has been one of Bluegrass’ more historic and progressive figures for close to five decades — but that he wasn’t already enshrined for his career accomplishments.

Accepting the honor at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium — the same place he started playing in the band of Bill Monroe in 1963 — was an awesome accolade of itself, he said. “My mind was going at about a thousand miles an hour, going from here to there to everywhere. I couldn’t talk like I wanted to. I was forgetting people’s names and everything. But, I thought about it later.

“When I first started playing music, I never thought about awards and things like that. I just loved to play music. Sooner or later, people recognize you for wanting to do it.”

And do it he has. Starting with Monroe, McCoury has stayed with it over the years, and the McCoury name — through him and his sons Ronnie and Rob — has become one of the most associated with Bluegrass Music. He’s in Chicago for the Bluegrass & Blues Festival on Jan. 21.

For his latest album, McCoury decided to step back in time to those early days. “Old Memories: The Songs of Bill Monroe” is a tribute album to his mentor. In recording the disc, he wanted to approach it a little different than how others had paid tribute to the “Father of Bluegrass.”

“I had worked with him and sang some of the songs with him,” he recalls. ‘I think we did ‘In Despair’ on every show, so we put that on there. I didn’t want to put things on there that had been recorded a lot, like ‘Uncle Pen’ or ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky,’ but he had so many other good songs. I figured that if I was ever going to do a tribute to him, this would be the time — with his 100th birthday. Some of the songs on there, I had never heard him sing live. There were certain songs we would do for a while, then he would start doing things from a new record, and the older songs would get neglected.”

Of his favorites on the disc, McCoury said that “I love the ‘Lonesome Truck Driver’s Blues.’ It kind of hit home with me because before I went to work for Bill, I was driving a truck. I remember my brother G.C. bought that record. He was nine years older than me, so I got to listen to all the records he bought. ‘The Girl in the Blue Velvet Band,’ I guess those might be the closest to me than any. I’ve played them over and over,” he says with a smile.

McCoury says that the album came together as it went along, as there was no major blueprint for how it would come out.

“I didn’t really know what I was going to do when I got into the studio. I got in there with a few things in my head to do, and of course, the boys would suggest something, but for the most part, I had them in my head.”

Due on CD on Jan. 31, “Old Memories” already is available on vinyl — as well as for digital download.

“Isn’t that something,” McCoury said of the new wave of technology. “It’s so fast. If a person wanted to hear a song, you had to hunt up the record. I remember going to learn a song, I would have to go listen to the record in the WSM library. Now, all you do is punch a few words in on the computer, and there it is.”

McCoury says that he is thrilled with the state of bluegrass right now, saying that, “It is in better shape than it’s ever been in, as far as popularity, and people being able to get work. When I first started listening to it, there were only a few that were able to make a living playing. You could probably count on two hands. The artists are great, and the music is great, too. It’s just a good time for bluegrass music.”

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