Born as Gerald Calvin Douglas on May 28, 1956 in Ohio, Jerry Douglas is an American Dobro artist. His contemporaries often fondly called ‘Flux’, the nickname given to him by fellow artist Ricky Skaggs for his talents in playing the slide with incredible paces.
The New York Times has called Douglas the "dobro's matchless contemporary master," while legendary rock artists like John Fogerty has described him as ‘my favorite musician’. Although many experts are of the opinion that Douglas could have successfully innovated on a number of musical instruments, he personally chose the comparatively lesser known and unfamiliar Dobro.
Career
Jerry Douglas began his musical career at a very tender age. When he was barely five years old, Jerry took up playing the mandolin and soon moved to guitar. At the age of 11, Jerry Douglas was influenced by Flatt & Scruggs Dobro maestro Uncle Josh Graves’ performance and made a smooth transition to playing the Dobro – an acoustic guitar with a metal resonator built into its body.
When Jerry Douglas was 18 and a member of the band called Country Gentlemen, he secured a place in the Bluegrass festival tour full time. However, he soon quit Country Gentlemen and united with Ricky Skaggs to play for J. D. Crow’s band – New South. A few years later, the two young musicians left New South and formed their own band called Boone Creek in 1975. Three years hence, Skaggs went ahead with his flourishing solo career, while Jerry Douglas too secured his individual place in the music world doing all things with the Dobro.
Jerry Douglas associated himself with the Whites in 1983 and played for them for approximately two years. It was at this point in time that Jerry Douglas was one of the first artists to be signed up by the MCA Masters Series label and he recorded three solo albums for the company. In 1992, Douglas started recording for his solo album ‘Sugar Hill’ and followed it up with the release of ‘The Best Kept Secret’ over a decade later in 2005.
Recordings
Douglas has 11 solo releases and countless special projects to his credit. In addition, Douglas's exceptional performance has embellished more than 1600 albums including an assortment of musical styles. Douglas has accompanied varied artists like Ray Charles, Peter Rowan, Béla Fleck, Emmylou Harris, Phish, Dolly Parton, Paul Simon, Ricky Skaggs, Bill Frisell, John Fogerty, Nanci Griffith, Tony Rice, Elvis Costello, and James Taylor in their recordings.
Douglas has been an important member of Alison Krauss and Union Station and has been touring expansively and playing on a succession of platinum albums since 1998. And while he is not touring with Alison Krauss and Union Station, Douglas moves with his own band in support of his wide-ranging musical activities. More recently, Douglas has partnered with Scottish fiddler Aly Bain and served as musical director and playing on the all-star roots-music meeting Transatlantic Sessions III series for BBC Scotland.
Achievements
Douglas has exercised immeasurable authority on bluegrass and its many related varieties by realizing the potentials of the Dorbo through concentrated creativeness in acoustic music over a considerable period of time. Douglas’ inspirational methods and passionate musical ability have enabled him to secure 12 Grammy Awards as well as several International Bluegrass Music Association awards. The Country Music Association named him the ‘Musician of the Year’ in 2002, 2005 and 2007. He was also honored with the National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts in June 2004 in recognition of his creative brilliance and involvement in the nation’s conventional arts.
Some his albums include:
- 1979 - "Fluxology"
- 1982 - "Fluxedo"
- 1986 - "Under the Wire"
- 1987 - "Changing Channels" and "Everything Is Going to Work Out Fine"
- 1989 - "Plant Early"
- 1992 - "Slide Rule"
- 1998 - "Restless on the Farm"
- 2002 - "Lookout for Hope"
- 2005 - "The Best Kept Secret"
- 2007 - "Best of the Sugar Hill Years"
- 2008 - "Glide"
Some his Special Projects include:
- 1975 - "Holiday In Japan" and "New South Live"
- 1977 - "Boone Creek", "One Way Track" and "That Down Home Feeling"
- 1979 - "Buck and Family Live" and "More Pretty Girls Than One"
- 1983 - "Bluegrass Album Vol.3: California Connection"
- 1984 - "Snakes Alive"
- 1985 - "Bluegrass Album Vol.4"
- 1989 - "Bluegrass Album Vol.5: Sweet Sunny South" and "The Telluride Sessions"
- 1993 - "Skip, Hop & Wobble"
- 1994 - "The Great Dobro Sessions"
- 1996 -"Bluegrass Album Vol.6: Bluegrass Instrumentals", "Bourbon & Rosewater" and "Yonder"
- 2000 - "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"