Interview with Byron Berline, June 8, 2006

Partial Transcript: This is, uh, June 8th, 2006.

Segment Synopsis: Byron Berline is introduced. He talks about his father's work as a farmer on land that his grandfather had staked out during the land rush in Kansas. He talks about his father's abilities as a fiddler, the style he played, the types of songs he would play, and where he would play. He tells a story about his father playing in a fiddle contest against

Keywords: Alexander Campbell "Eck" Robertson (Artist); Benny Thomasson (Artist); Berline, Lou (Artist); Children; Dances; Eck Robertson (Artist); Fathers; Fiddle contests; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Frank McGraw (Artist); Grandfathers; Land runs; Lou Berline (Artist); McGraw, Frank (Artist); Mississippi Sawyer (Song); Musical styles; Playing music; Robertson, Alexander Campbell "Eck" (Artist); Robertson, Eck (Artist); Sally Goodin (Song); Songs; Television; Thomasson, Benny (Artist); Time limits; Truth or Consequences (N.M.); Truth or Consequences, New Mexico; Tunes

Subjects: Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Families.; Family farms; Genealogy; Music--Instruction and study.; Musical ability.; Musical families; Musical instruments.; Old-time music.

Partial Transcript: You mentioned Frank Mitchell, uh, as being--and he was a, a good player?

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about the records that he would listen to as a child that influenced his fiddle playing. He talks about playing in fiddle contests during his youth and some of the other musicians he met, including the Solomon family. He talks about the National Oldtime Fiddle Contest in Weiser, Idaho.

Keywords: 1962; Accompaniment; Arkansas Traveler (Song); Bill Monroe (Artist); Fiddle contests; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Frank Mitchell (Artist); Impact; Influences; Learning; Mitchell, Frank (Artist); Monroe, Bill (Artist); Musical styles; National Oldtime Fiddle Contest Championship; Plainview (Tex.); Plainview, Texas; Solomon family; Sound recordings.; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Texas; Texas-style fiddling; Tone; Truth or Consequences (N.M.); Truth or Consequences, New Mexico; Weiser (Idaho); Weiser, Idaho; Youth contests

Subjects: Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Families.; Music--Instruction and study.; Musical ability in children.; Musical ability.; Musical families; Musical instruments.; Old-time music.

Partial Transcript: Also while you were in school, I n--this is a bit off, uh, the music but it's still a part of what you, uh, did.

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about playing sports in high school and college and being offered a scholarship to the University of Oklahoma for football. He talks about switching to track when he broke his fingers.

Keywords: 1962; Athletics; Basketball; Broken fingers; Dallas Cowboys (football team); Decathlons; High schools; Javelin; Kansas; Pole vaulting; Scholarships; Sports; University of Oklahoma

Subjects: College athletes; College sports.; Football players.; Football.; Track and field athletes.; Track and field.; Universities and colleges.

Partial Transcript: And, uh, then I got more involved in music.

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about his involvement with music during college, including trying out and becoming a band on a live television show. He talks about a show at the University of Oklahoma, after which he played the fiddle for Doug Dillard and ended up jamming with The Dillards for several hours. This led to him recording an album with The Dillards in Los Angeles, which he describes.

Keywords: Albums; California; Cleveland County Ramblers (Artist); Clubs; Concerts; Dickson, Jim; Dillard, Doug (Artist); Doug Dillard (Artist); Editing; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Folk music; Friday at Four shows; Gigs; Jamming; Jim Dickson; Los Angeles (Calif.); Overdubbing; Pickin' & Fiddlin' (Album); President John F. Kennedy assassination; Producers; Shows; Student unions; Television shows; The Dillards (Artist); Traditional; Tryouts; University of Oklahoma; Venues

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; College campuses.; College environment; College students--Conduct of life.; College students--Social conditions; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.; Records.; Sound recordings.; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Universities and colleges.

Partial Transcript: So then you come back to Norman and you're back in school.

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks more about playing music for live television shows during college and the band members he played with. He talks about suddenly replacing the house band on one television show.

Keywords: Alan Munde (Artist); Bass players; Bassists; Bill Caswell (Artist); Caswell, Bill (Artist); Concerts; Dances; Ed Shelton (Artist); Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Friday at Four shows; Gigs; Hamilton County Breakdown (Song); House bands; Influences; Live shows; Munde, Alan (Artist); Oklahoma City (Okla.); Owners; Shelton, Ed (Artist); Shows; Stone Mountain Boys (Artist); Television programs; Television shows; Television stations; University of Oklahoma

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; College campuses.; College environment; College students--Conduct of life.; College students--Social conditions; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.; Universities and colleges.

Partial Transcript: In addition to the sort of the bluegrass scene you're still--uh, do you still go to the fiddle contests when you can?

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about playing in more fiddle contests during college. He describes the rules of fiddle contests and the songs he would generally choose. He talks about how he came to learn a version of "Martin's Waltz" and the origins of the song.

Keywords: Benny Martin (Artist); California; Dillard, Doug (Artist); Doug Dillard (Artist); Fiddle contests; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Formats; Hartford, John (Artist); Hoedowns; John Hartford (Artist); Judging; Martin's Waltz (Song); Martin, Benny (Artist); Rules; Songs; Spreading; Texas fiddle contests; Tune of your choice; Tunes; Waltzes; Warmups; Weiser (Idaho); Weiser, Idaho

Subjects: Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; College students--Conduct of life.; College students--Social conditions; Music--Performance.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.; Universities and colleges.

Partial Transcript: Now after you recorded with the Dillards and the album came out, you and your dad, uh, went to Newport Folk Festival.

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about how he and his father came to play the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. He talks about other musicians on the program. He talks more about his musical influences as a fiddler and talks about meeting Bill Monroe.

Keywords: "Fiddling" Tex Logan (Artist); 1965; Albums; Barrier Brothers (Artist); Benny Martin (Artist); Berline, Lou (Artist); Bill Keith (Artist); Bill Monroe (Artist); Bob Dylan (Artist); Dylan, Bob (Artist); Fathers; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Influences; Jamming; Jim and Jesse and the Virginia Boys (Artist); Keith, Bill (Artist); Learning; Logan, “Fiddling” Tex (Artist); Lou Berline (Artist); Martin, Benny (Artist); Mike Seeger (Artist); Monroe, Bill (Artist); Newport Folk Festival; Ralph Rinzler; Rinzler, Ralph; Seeger, Mike (Artist); Songwriters; Studying

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.; Records.; Sound recordings.

Partial Transcript: Uh, when did you graduate from--

Segment Synopsis: Berline describes how he arranged for his military draft to be deferred to finish his last semester at Oklahoma University. He talks about how he came to play with Bill Monroe and tells stories about playing shows. He talks about their struggle to find a guitar player, and their struggles with their tour bus. He talks about how much he was paid to play shows in those days.

Keywords: 1967; Allen, Harley “Red” (Artist); Army; Benny Williams (Artist); Bill Monroe (Artist); Broken down; Buses; California; Concerts; Deferment; Doug Green (Artist); Draft boards; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Filling in; Freeze up; Gigs; Graduation; Grand Ole Opry (Radio program); Green, Doug (Artist); Grier, Lamar (Artist); Guitar players; Harley “Red” Allen (Artist); Harris, Fred; Income; Intimidating; James Monroe (Artist); Jamming; Lamar Grier (Artist); Mandolins; Military draft; Money; Monroe, Bill (Artist); Monroe, James (Artist); Musicians union; Nashville (Tenn.); Newport Folk Festival; Payment; Per diem; Physical education; Relationships; Rent; Roland White (Artist); Semesters; Senator Fred Harris; Senators; Shows; Tuning; Union scale; University of Oklahoma; Venues; Wages; White, Roland (Artist); Williams, Benny (Artist)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.

Partial Transcript: Did you, uh, play any music in Nashville on your days off?

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about jamming with various musicians. He tells a story about Scotty Stoneman and his worry about his quality as a fiddler.

Keywords: Alcohol; Alcoholism; Benny Martin (Artist); Bill Monroe (Artist); Buck White (Artist); Clubs; Drinking; Drinks; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Jamming; Martin, Benny (Artist); Monroe, Bill (Artist); Nashville (Tenn.); Orange Blossom Special (Song); Roland White (Artist); Scotty Stoneman (Artist); Stoneman, Scotty (Artist); White, Buck (Artist); White, Roland (Artist); Worries

Subjects: Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.

Partial Transcript: Uh, while you were with Monroe you recorded some with him.

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about the songs he recorded with Bill Monroe before shipping off for the Army. He describes their recording process, the producer, and how many takes it took to record.

Keywords: Albums; Army; Banjo breaks; Bass breaks; Berline, Lou (Artist); Bill Monroe (Artist); Bradley, Owen; Composers; Direction; Draft notices; Fathers; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; James Monroe (Artist); Jordan, Vic (Artist); Lou Berline (Artist); Military draft; Monroe, Bill (Artist); Monroe, James (Artist); Overdubbing; Owen Bradley; Parts; Practice; Producers; Recording sessions; Roland White (Artist); Runs; Sally Goodin (Song); Songs; Studio time; Takes; Texas style; Texas-style fiddling; The Gold Rush (Song); Third part; Train 45 (Song); Training; Tunes; Versions; Vic Jordan (Artist); Virginia Darlin' (Song); White, Roland (Artist)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.; Records.; Sound recordings.; Sound--Recording and reproducing

Partial Transcript: Well when did you, uh, leave, uh, Monroe's--

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about playing at Bill Monroe's first Bean Blossom Festival. He talks about the other musicians who played on the first festival and the logistics of the festival.

Keywords: Advertising; Allen, Harley “Red” (Artist); Audiences; Banjo players; Bathrooms; Bean Blossom Festival, Indiana; Benny Martin (Artist); Bill Monroe (Artist); Birch Monroe (Artist); Brown County Jamboree; Brown, Hylo (Artist); Butch Robins (Artist); Crowds; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Harley “Red” Allen (Artist); Hylo Brown (Artist); Lyle, Rudy (Artist); Martin, Benny (Artist); McCormick Brothers (Artist); Monroe, Bill (Artist); Monroe, Birch (Artist); Ralph Stanley (Artist); Robins, Butch (Artist); Rudy Lyle (Artist); Stanley, Ralph (Artist); Stone Mountain Boys (Artist); Tryouts

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass festivals; Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music festivals.; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.

Partial Transcript: So you went into the Army in, uh, September--

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about his early days in the Army and how he became a training NCO. He talks about how this position led to him organizing a music show on base and he talks about his struggle to find musicians in the Army. He talks about bringing the Stone Mountain Boys to play, playing an officers ball, and being offered a position in Special Services. He talks about his involvement with track in the Army. He talks about playing music off base during his time in the Army.

Keywords: Alan Munde (Artist); Baker, Kenny (Artist); Band instruments; Basic training; Bill Bailey; Bill Monroe (Artist); Bluegrass festivals; Bosco Land (Artist); Clubs; College graduates; Colonel Reed; Company commanders; Concerts; Country music; Family Day; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Football; Fort Polk (La.); Generals; Gigs; Guitar players; Javelins; Kenny Baker (Artist); Land, Bosco (Artist); Land, Mitchell (Artist); Leesville (La.); Military occupational specialty code (MOS code); Mitchell Land (Artist); Monroe, Bill (Artist); Munde, Alan (Artist); Non-commissioned officer (NCO); Officers balls; Paperwork; Payment; Shows; Special Services; Sports; Stone Mountain Boys (Artist); Talent shows; Tootie Williams (Artist); Track teams; Training NCO; Typing; University of Oklahoma; Wabash Cannonball (Song); Wages; Williams, Tootie (Artist)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Draft.; Leisure.; Military life.; Military training camps; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.; United States. Army--Military life; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Social aspects.; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Veterans--United States; Vietnam War, 1961-1975.

Partial Transcript: Uh, and before we get too far--much farther down in the--in your story...

Segment Synopsis: Berline tells the story of meeting his wife when they were students at Oklahoma University.

Keywords: 1968; Berline, Betty; Betty Berline; Married; Master's degrees; Newspaper articles; Piano; Piano players; University of Oklahoma; Wife; Wives

Subjects: Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Marriage; Military life.; Music--Performance.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.; United States. Army--Military life; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Veterans--United States; Vietnam War, 1961-1975.

Partial Transcript: When did you get out of the Army?

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about his decision to move to California to play with Dillard & Clark after leaving the Army. He talks about recording for movie scores, playing on the "Hee Haw" television show, and playing with Kay Starr.

Keywords: Albums; Army; Billy Ray Latham (Artist); Breaking down; Bush, Roger (Artist); Cars; Clark, Gene (Artist); Concerts; Dillard & Clark (Artist); Dillard, Doug (Artist); Doug Dillard (Artist); Fiddle contests; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Film scores; Gene Clark (Artist); Gigs; Harry Dean Stanton; Hee Haw (Television program); I-40; Jamming; Judging; Katherine Laverne Starks (Artist); Kay Starr (Artist); Las Vegas (Nev.); Latham, Billy Ray (Artist); Los Angeles (Calif.); Movie scores; Recording studios; Rhythm; Risqué; Roger Bush (Artist); Rollin' in My Sweet Baby's Arms (Song); Shows; Songs; Soundtracks; Stanton, Harry Dean; Starks, Katherine Laverne (Artist); Starr, Kay (Artist); Teaching; Touring; Weiser (Idaho); Weiser, Idaho; Wife; Wives

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.; Records.; Sound recordings.; Sound studios; Sound--Recording and reproducing

Partial Transcript: And during this time, uh, are you getting sessions doing other--playing for other people?

Segment Synopsis: Berline tells the story of recording with the Rolling Stones on their cover of "Honky Tonk Women." He talks about recording his part on the sidewalk outside of the studio. He talks about also recording with The Flying Burrito Brothers, and recording with Bob Dylan on the soundtrack for "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid."

Keywords: Bob Dylan (Artist); Bulldozers; Cocker, Joe (Artist); Dylan, Bob (Artist); Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Film scores; Glen Johns; Gram Parsons (Artist); Honky Tonk Women (Song); Jagger, Mick (Artist); Joe Cocker (Artist); Johns, Glen; Kaufman, Phil; Keith Richards (Artist); Knockin' on Heaven's Door (Song); Limousines; Mick Jagger (Artist); Movie scores; Parsons, Gram (Artist); Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (Album); Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (Motion picture); Phil Kaufman; Producers; Recording sessions; Recording studios; Richards, Keith (Artist); Rolling Stones (Artist); Sidewalks; Soundtracks; The Byrds (Artist); The Doors (Artist); The Flying Burrito Brothers (Artist); Turkey Chase (Song)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.; Records.; Sound recordings.; Sound--Recording and reproducing

Partial Transcript: Okay, uh, s--uh, what happened to the Dillard--the Doug Dillard Expedition?

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about the end of the Doug Dillard Expedition and the formation of Country Gazette. He talks about their tour in Europe with most of the members of The Flying Burrito Brothers. He talks about recording an album in Holland and their shows while on tour.

Keywords: Alan Munde (Artist); Albums; Booking; Bush, Roger (Artist); Chris Hillman (Artist); Concerts; Country Gazette (Artist); Doug Dillard Expedition (Artist); Europe; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Gigs; Guitar players; Herb Pedersen (Artist); Herbert Joseph "Herb" Pedersen (Artist); Hillman, Chris (Artist); Holland; Katherine Laverne Starks (Artist); Kay Starr (Artist); Kenny Wertz (Artist); Kleinow, Peter E. "Sneaky Pete" (Artist); Manassas (Artist); Munde, Alan (Artist); Pedersen, Herb (Artist); Pedersen, Herbert Joseph "Herb" (Artist); Peter E. "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow (Artist); Press; Rick Roberts (Artist); Roberts, Rick (Artist); Roger Bush (Artist); Shows; Starks, Katherine Laverne (Artist); Starr, Kay (Artist); Stephen Stills (Artist); Stills, Stephen (Artist); The Flying Burrito Brothers (Artist); Touring; Tours; Wertz, Kenny (Artist)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.; Records.; Sound recordings.; Sound--Recording and reproducing

Partial Transcript: Now your, your first album with United Artists was, uh...

Segment Synopsis: Berline describes the process of recording the album "A Traitor in our Midst," beginning with the record deal. He talks about playing at Disneyland at the Country Bear Jamboree.

Keywords: A Traitor in our Midst (Album); Album covers; Albums; Country Bear Jamboree; Dickson, Jim; Different; Disneyland; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Herbert Joseph "Herb" Pedersen (Artist); Jim Dickson; Pedersen, Herbert Joseph "Herb" (Artist); Presidents; Producers; Record deals; United Artists Records; Vocal styles

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.; Records.; Sound recordings.; Sound--Recording and reproducing

Partial Transcript: Uh, after that first album came out, uh, what kind of touring did the group do and--

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about touring with Country Gazette and names some of the other musicians they played with. He talks about Clarence White's fatal accident and funeral. He talks about Gram Parson's funeral months later.

Keywords: Accidents; Chris Ethridge (Artist); Clarence White (Artist); Clark, Jim; Concerts; Country Gazette (Artist); Deaths; Emmylou Harris (Artist); Ethridge, Chris (Artist); Europe; Festivals; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Funerals; Gigs; Gram Parsons (Artist); Harris, Emmylou (Artist); Hot Burrito Revue (Artist); Income; Jim Clark; Kentucky Colonels (Artist); Kleinow, Peter E. "Sneaky Pete" (Artist); New York; Parsons, Gram (Artist); Payment; Peter E. "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow (Artist); Promoters; Shows; The Byrds (Artist); Touring; Tours; Wages; White, Clarence (Artist)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.

Partial Transcript: Okay, then there's a second Country Gazette album which is, uh--

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about recording the Country Gazette album, "Don't Give Up Your Day Job." He talks about writing the song "Huckleberry Hornpipe." He talks about covering songs like "Honky Cat" and "Teach Your Children Well."

Keywords: Al Perkins (Artist); Alan Munde (Artist); Albums; Breaks; Clarence White (Artist); Country Gazette (Artist); Dickson, Jim; Don't Give Up Your Day Job (Album); Elton John (Artist); Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Graham Nash (Artist); Herb Pedersen (Artist); Honky Cat (Song); Huckleberry Hornpipe (Song); Jim Dickson; John, Elton (Artist); Kenny Wertz (Artist); Live albums; McCabe's; Munde, Alan (Artist); Nash, Graham (Artist); Pedersen, Herb (Artist); Perkins, Al (Artist); Roland White (Artist); Songs; Songwriting; Teach Your Children (Song); Tunes; Versions; Wertz, Kenny (Artist); White, Clarence (Artist); White, Roland (Artist)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.; Records.; Sound recordings.; Sound--Recording and reproducing

Partial Transcript: And then, uh, when did you leave the group?

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about leaving Country Gazette in 1975 to focus on his work as a session musician. He talks about jamming with Dan Crary and Joe Hickman which led to them forming a band. He talks about how Vince Gill came to join the band. He talks about continuing to record as a trio with Crary and Hickman.

Keywords: 1975; Albums; Auditions; Bluegrass Alliance; Byron Berline & Sundance (Artist); Crary, Dan (Artist); Dan Crary (Artist); Fiddle bands; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Gill, Vince (Artist); Hickman, John (Artist); Jack Skinner (Artist); Jamming; Japan; John Hickman (Artist); Leaving; Live albums; MCA Records; McCabe's; Quitting; Record deals; Session musicians; Session work; Skinner, Jack (Artist); Spurgin, Steve (Artist); Steve Spurgin (Artist); Touring; Tours; Trios; Vince Gill (Artist)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.; Records.; Sound recordings.; Sound--Recording and reproducing

Partial Transcript: Uh, before we leave your L.A. period, could you go through a list of some of the people and movies, titles that you did...

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks more about the other artists he has recorded with, including Elton John, The Eagles, Emmylou Harris, and more. He talks about working with Henry Mancini on a film soundtrack. He talks about creating his own publishing company.

Keywords: Albums; American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP); Bob Dylan (Artist); Credits; Dylan, Bob (Artist); Elton John (Artist); Emmylou Harris (Artist); Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Film scores; Films; Guests; Harris, Emmylou (Artist); Henry Mancini (Artist); John, Elton (Artist); Junior Bonner (Motion picture); Mancini, Henry (Artist); Movie scores; Movies; Publishing companies; Rod Stewart (Artist); Royalties; Runaway Country; Soundtracks; Stewart, Rod (Artist); The Eagles (Artist); Vanishing Point (Motion picture)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.; Records.; Sound recordings.; Sound--Recording and reproducing

Partial Transcript: Why, uh--with all the success you had in L.A., why did you decide to leave?

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about his reasons for leaving California and moving to Guthrie, Oklahoma. He talks about his interest in collecting instruments and opening the Double Stop music shop.

Keywords: 1987; Collecting; Collections; Collectors; Country music; Double Stop Fiddle Shop; Earthquakes; Family; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Guthrie (Okla.); Leaving; Los Angeles (Calif.); Luthiers; Nashville (Tenn.); Publishing companies

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Families.; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.

Partial Transcript: Well tell us about your new band.

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about the new band he formed after moving to Guthrie, Oklahoma. He talks about the connections and networks among musicians. He talks about their current shows.

Keywords: Albums; Billy Joe Foster (Artist); Bob Wood (Artist); Concerts; Connections; Contacts; Current; Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Fish, Jim (Artist); Foster, Billy Joe (Artist); Gigs; Greg Kennedy (Artist); Guthrie (Okla.); Jim Fish (Artist); Kennedy, Greg (Artist); Networks; Oklahoma; Richard Sharp (Artist); Sharp, Richard (Artist); Short, Steve (Artist); Shows; Steve Short (Artist); Streaming; The Byron Berline Band (Artist); Wood, Bob (Artist)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.; Records.; Sound recordings.; Sound--Recording and reproducing

Partial Transcript: Also you have, uh, started a festival here.

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about his involvement in the creation of the Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival along with the Oklahoma Tourism Board. He talks about the countries from which the bluegrass bands hail.

Keywords: Canada; Czech Republic; Germany; Headliners; Holland; Italy; Japan; Japanese; Oklahoma; Representative Joe Hutchison; Scotland; Switzerland; Tourism boards; Tourists

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass festivals; Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music festivals.; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.

Partial Transcript: Well let's, uh, just now to wrap this up with just a few closing, uh, questions is, uh...

Segment Synopsis: Berline talks about his contributions to the music industry. He offers his advice for young musicians.

Keywords: Advice; Available; Careers; Contributions; Country Gazette (Artist); Country Gentlemen, the (Artist); Fiddle players; Fiddlers; Fiddles; Foundations; Future; Future of bluegrass; Learning; Listening; Melodies; Melody; Musical styles; New Grass Revival (Artist); The Country Gentlemen (Artist); Young people; Youth

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.

Partial Transcript: Cut. [Laugh]

Segment Synopsis: Berline tells a story of Bob Dylan meeting Bill Monroe and Monroe trying to get Dylan to sing with him.

Keywords: Bill Monroe (Artist); Bob Dylan (Artist); Dylan, Bob (Artist); Mandolins; Monroe, Bill (Artist); Palomino Club; Recording sessions; Robbie Robertson (Artist); Robertson, Robbie (Artist); Singing; The Band (Artist)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.

Partial Transcript: While we're doing this, mention the, the time when you were playing with Monroe and he had his accident.

Segment Synopsis: Berline tells a story of Bill Monroe falling off of a raised platform during a formal event at the Nashville Civic Center. The interview is concluded.

Keywords: Accidents; Benny Williams (Artist); Bill Monroe (Artist); Dreams; Falls; Formal events; Grier, Lamar (Artist); Holland; James Monroe (Artist); Lamar Grier (Artist); Mandolins; Monroe, Bill (Artist); Monroe, James (Artist); Nashville Civic Center; Platforms; Repairs; Roland White (Artist); Stages; White, Roland (Artist); Williams, Benny (Artist)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Old-time music.