Influential acoustic guitar picker passed suddenly in December
A string of 2008 and 2009 concerts that paired Mountain Heart, the progressive bluegrass group co-founded by Ellijay banjo player Barry Abernathy, with acoustic guitar great Tony Rice allowed Abernathy to perform alongside one of his musical heroes.
Rice, an acclaimed musician who many have called bluegrass music’s most innovative and influential guitar picker, passed away in December at age 69.
“There’s many things you can say about Tony, but you really can’t say enough. In my opinion, he’s the most influential acoustic guitarist in my lifetime,” said Abernathy.
Bluegrass and beyond
Abernathy was a member of Doyle Lawson’s bluegrass-gospel group, Quicksilver, when he first met Rice, probably sometime in the 1990s.
“I started playing professionally in 1993 and was out there for around 200 days a year. I was fortunate to meet and see a lot of the first generation of bluegrass musicians like Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, Earl Scruggs and Jim & Jesse toward the end of their careers, as well as a lot of the second generation players in their prime. Tony was part of that second generation of bluegrass,” Abernathy said.
Before the two first crossed paths, Abernathy was a fan of the work Rice had done with such groups as the Bluegrass Album Band and J.D. Crowe and the New South.
While backing up bandleader and banjo player Crowe, a very young Rice was part of a New South lineup with several other musicians who also made great strides in the bluegrass world, including Ricky Skaggs on mandolin and Jerry Douglas on dobro.
“Some of the earliest musical memories I have involve Tony Rice. People my dad’s age would’ve wanted to play bluegrass like maybe Flatt and Scruggs, Bill Monroe or the Stanley Brothers. For people my age down through now, more of them wanted to sound like Tony, J.D. Crowe or Doyle Lawson,” Abernathy said. “The Bluegrass Album Band took the songs of the first generation and put their take on it. It was clean, tight, in tune and in time. Tony brought his picking and rhythm style to it, which was so unique. Bluegrass took on a whole new life and everybody started copying that sound.”
Bluegrass remained at the heart of Rice’s music after he became the leader of his own group, The Tony Rice Unit, and performed in combos with such musical partners as Jerry Garcia, David Grisman and his former bandmate, Skaggs.
However, his exploration of other musical elements including acoustic jazz helped cultivate a hybrid style often referred to as “new acoustic music” or “newgrass.”
“He studied all kinds of music. He liked jazz and got deep into that. He had a unique take on it. You put all that stuff together with such a heartfelt musician and he (became) such an influence,” Abernathy said. “I think he was to the acoustic guitar what Earl Scruggs was to the banjo as far as bluegrass music is concerned. They both created whole new styles. The jazz licks, chords and rhythm patterns Tony played people had never heard before. Now you hear it everywhere.”
Rice joined Mountain Heart, the group formed by Abernathy and fellow Quicksilver alumni singer/guitarist Steve Gulley and fiddler Jim Van Cleve, for a string of live dates that showcased music from both camps. One of those shows was a spring 2008 appearance at Ellijay Elementary School.
Rice also joined the group for performances at the Grand Ole Opry and the International Bluegrass Music Association (IMBA) Conference, both in Nashville, Tenn.
“We probably did 30 or more shows with Tony over the years. We’d play for an hour or so and then bring him on and play for another hour or so. I loved being around him. He was funny and a classic professional. He knew what his gig was, and he showed up and did it,” Abernathy recalled.
Rice, who most always wore a suit and tie when performing live, was rarely seen without a guitar in hand, Abernathy noted.
“Tony would drive to each show at night and sleep during the day. When he would show up, we’d already be on stage and he’d be standing over there at the side of the stage in his suit, just watching us with his guitar. We always thought that was funny,” he added.
‘You take stuff like that for granted’
Rice passed away suddenly on Christmas Day 2020 at his Reidsville, N.C., home.
Also a vocalist throughout his career, he’d stopped singing years ago due to dysphonia, an ailment that affects the vocal cords. More recently, he stopped touring after developing a severe case of lateral epicondylitis, or tennis elbow, which limited his ability to play guitar.
A Facebook post from longtime friend, Skaggs, echoed sentiments also expressed by Abernathy.
“Tony Rice was the single most influential acoustic guitar player in the last 50 years. Many if not all of the bluegrass guitar players of today would say that they cut their teeth on Tony Rice’s music. Not only was Tony a brilliant guitar player but he was also one of the most stylistic lead vocalists in bluegrass music history. Our voices blended like brothers, “ said Skaggs in that post.
Abernathy, who now sings and plays banjo with the group Appalachian Road Show, is glad that Rice’s music will live on to inspire future generations. Still, he wishes they could’ve made music together one more time.
“I sure do hate it, because he was a treasure. You take stuff like that for granted when you get to hear somebody like Tony play all the time then, all of a sudden, he’s not traveling anymore. I would have loved to get him to do some shows with this band like we did with Mountain Heart, but it just wasn’t in the cards,” he added.