Josh Graves

Born in 1927 in Tellico Plains, Tennessee, Josh Graves would go on to change the shape of bluegrass as we know it. While Graves was a talented vocalist, guitarist, and bassist, he found his calling when he picked up the dobro, an acoustic guitar with a large metal resonator beneath its strings. Graves is not only credited for introducing the dobro to the standard makeup of a bluegrass ensemble, but also for developing a unique style and vocabulary on it that revolutionized not only the instrument, but the sound of bluegrass itself.

Beginning in 1942 at the young age of 15, Graves began touring the US playing in several bluegrass ensembles (including, for a time, that of notable vocalist and CMH veteran Mac Wiseman). While he was a skilled sideman on many instruments, it wasn’t until he joined the Foggy Mountain Boys (the ensemble headed by bluegrass legends Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs) that his career really took off. Initially hired as a bassist and comedian, Graves joined the group in 1955, the year they became part of the Gand Ole Opry.

After overdubbing dobro on several of the ensemble’s recordings, Graves developed a new technique on the instrument based on Scruggs’ unique approach to the banjo. He soon took on the dobro as his primary role in the ensemble, revolutionizing both bluegrass music and his instrument of choice as we know it. Graves stayed with the Foggy Mountain Boys until the group’s dissolution in 1969, at which point he followed Flatt to his new ensemble, the Nashville Grass, and, later, Scruggs to his ensemble, the Earl Scruggs Revue.

In 1974, after three decades in a supporting role, Graves struck out on his own, launching a solo career that spawned upwards of a dozen excellent records. Beginning in 1976, Graves appeared on seven full-length albums for CMH. Of these are three excellent solo records (1977’s Same Old Blues, 1979’s Sing Away the Pain and 1980’s King of the Dobro), two appearances with The Boys From Shiloh, and a career retrospective in 1996 entitled King of the Dobro. His work on these records are historic documents of this dobro virtuoso and great listens to boot.

In 1997, he received the honor of induction into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor. Graves passed away in 2006 at the age of 79, leaving an incredible legacy of dobro disciples in his wake.