Mike Auldridge

Mike Auldridge
Mike Auldridge at The Birchmere, December 2006
Background information
Born (1938-12-30)December 30, 1938
Washington, D.C.
Died December 29, 2012(2012-12-29) (aged 73)
Silver Spring, Maryland
Genres Bluegrass, Country, Instrumental
Instruments Dobro, Vocals
Years active 1960s–2012 (death)
Associated acts Seldom Scene, Chesapeake

Mike Auldridge (December 30, 1938 – December 29, 2012) was a Dobro player and a founding member of the bluegrass group The Seldom Scene. The New York Times described Auldridge as "one of the most distinctive dobro players in the history of country and bluegrass music while widening its popularity among urban audiences".[1] He also worked as a graphic artist.

Biography

Auldridge was born in Washington, D.C.,[2] and grew up in the suburban town of Kensington, Maryland. He attended Wheaton High School and, while in his teens, took classes at the Corcoran College of the Arts and Design.[3] Inspired by his uncle, steel guitarist Ellsworth T. Cozzens who had performed with Jimmie Rodgers during the 1920s,[3] Auldridge started playing guitar at the age of 13. His main influence through his early years was Josh Graves who also sold him his first dobro.[4] A 1967 graduate of The University of Maryland, Auldridge worked as a graphic artist for a commercial art firm in Bethesda, Maryland and then for the now-defunct Washington Star-News. He did not start playing music full-time until the Washington Star-News folded in 1981.

Auldridge last played with Darren Beachley and The Legends of the Potomac bluegrass band.[5] Past bands include The Country Gentlemen, Emerson and Waldron, Cliff Waldron and the New Shades of Grass, Seldom Scene (of which he was a founding member), Chesapeake, The Good Deale Bluegrass Band, and John Starling and Carolina Star (which featured three original members of The Seldom Scene). Mike was also a member of the touring bands of Lyle Lovett and Emmylou Harris.

He worked with Paul Beard (Beard Guitars) to produce the Beard Mike Auldridge Models of square-neck resophonic guitars (dobro), including an 8-string version.

Auldridge died on December 29, 2012, just one day prior to his 74th birthday, at home under hospice care in Silver Spring, Maryland after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer.[6][7]

Awards

Auldridge was nominated for four Grammy awards, including twice for Best Bluegrass Album with The Seldom Scene, in 1992 and 1994.[8] He won numerous awards including Frets Magazine's "Dobro Player of the Year" and the International Bluegrass Music Association's Distinguished Achievement Award. He is a recipient of the 2012 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the highest honor in the folk and traditional arts in the United States.[9]

Discography

References

  1. ↑ Friskics-Warren, Bill (December 31, 2012). "Mike Auldridge Dies at 73; Lent Dobro Fresh Elegance". New York Times. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  2. ↑ Allmusic biography
  3. 1 2 McArdle, Terence (2012-12-30). "Mike Auldridge, founding member of D.C.'s Seldom Scene bluegrass group, dies at 73". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
  4. ↑ Holland, William (November 19, 1972). "Young Man with a Dobro". Washington.
  5. ↑ "Good Deale Bluegrass Band: Band Members". Good Deale Bluegrass Band. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
  6. ↑ Cooper, Peter (December 29, 2012). "Mike Auldridge, 'hero' of the Dobro, dies at 73". The Tennesseean. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  7. ↑ Morris, David. "RIP Mike Auldridge". Bluegrass Today. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  8. ↑ "Grammy Award Results for Mike Auldridge". www.grammy.com. The Recording Academy. 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  9. ↑ "NEA National Heritage Fellowships 2012". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
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