Bluegrass and

hospitality unsurpassed

Staff Reporter

heraldeditor@alltel.net

The drive to Carl Collett's place at Essie takes about 45 minutes from Hazard, and it's well worth the time. As Carl pointed out, it's only 17 miles from Hyden, but it seems longer on the way over because you get anxious to be there. Ky. 406 turns off Ky. 421 at Stinnett, and Essie is approximately 10 miles from there.

Once you get to the house the drive time disappears, and the only thing that matters is what goes on inside. The time inside is not measured in minutes or hours, it's measured in songs.

Entering the house alerts you to another pleasure you have been longing for, Carl's pinto beans, cornbread, and ribs and potatoes. The scent is so tempting you have to look for your guitar after you eat because you don't remember where you put it when you walked in.

Being the gracious host, Carl tells you, "Git ye a plate full, there's a plenty, and I've got the coffee brewin."

Carl doesn't live in the house, he lives next door. The entire house is used for picking Bluegrass music, and fine eating. It's where Carl's friends come to pick and sing on Saturday afternoons. Carl's friends just happen to be some of the best musicians in the country, and to hear them together is like nothing you have ever experienced.

The music is that of Flatt and Scruggs, the Osborne Brothers, Bill Monroe, Don Reno, and a host of others. Sometimes it is original to the very pickers there. Wherever it comes from, the music at Carl's is the best, and the food is not far behind.

Lige Collett is Carl's neighbor. Lige is one of best fiddle players this writer has ever heard. He started out as a five-string picker, and then went to the mandolin and fiddle. Twelve years ago he devoted his skill to the fiddle, and has not been seen playing any other instrument since.

Buddy Spurlock is the fire on the five-string banjo that lights up any room he enters. Buddy, originally from Dwarf in Perry County, was the banjo picker for the Bluegrass Alliance with Dan Crary on the guitar, and Ebo Walker on the bass. The group cut two classic albums in the 70s that are still recognized for their sound.

Buddy started out learning to play the banjo by listening to Don Reno records slowed down to a lower speed. He did that to be able to learn the patterns of the music.

Also on the five-string, and sometimes on the guitar is Curt Allen of Rowdy. Curt can play and sing with the best of them. Curt also provides harmony when it comes time to do the chorus on the songs.

Another five-string player that shows up from time to time and can play the five-string banjo or the guitar is Alvin Bush. Another renegade from Dwarf, Alvin was content to play the guitar until one of our buddies said, "Alvin will never learn to play the five-string."

That was all it took to prompt Alvin to devote his time to learning the banjo, and he learned it well. Now the next question is, "What will he learn next, and when will he shut up?"

Melvin Griffith is a 16 year old who plays the banjo and the guitar like a seasoned veteran. Melvin's mother bought him a toy guitar when he was two. At the age of four he had to have a real guitar, and it was at that age that he started playing songs. Today he is playing the banjo without error, and his guitar playing is wonderful. At 16 Melvin is playing far ahead of his time, and it will be no surprise when he becomes well known nationwide.

Larry Morgan provides the Mandolin work. Sometimes Larry looks like he's going to hesitate, but when his turn comes he jumps into the middle of it with a strange look on his face, and the right notes flowing from the instrument.

Big Al Stacy is the dobro player in the crowd. Alvin always liked to be around Bluegrass, and for a time he was content to throw in a little bass, chime in with the spoons, or just listen. Lately he has been learning the dobro, and to nobody's surprise he is doing a great job.

Ovitt Couch and this writer have been plunkin on the bass for years. Ovitt still uses tape on the fingers of his right hand while I do not. He leaves the pickin with no problems. I leave with blisters. He lasts longer than I can. The upright bass is a hard instrument to play for long periods of time, but without it the music suffers. (The old-timers don't even like to talk about an electric bass)

The vocals are a tough slot to fill. To begin with you have to have someone who can sing, and that means someone who knows all the words. Harmony guys can easily remember the choruses to hundreds of songs, but seldom can they remember all the words to one song.

Bobby Freeman is one of those who knows the words. Bobby is also known as "Little Mac," for Mac Wiseman. Mac gave him that name because if you hear Bobby, you will think you are hearing Mac Wiseman. Bobby is a great singer whose smooth voice ads a kind of musical history to the sessions. He's also written songs that have been recorded by major stars.

Vernon Couch is a truly great singer. Vernon takes his Martin, and dives into some of the most beautiful bluegrass songs ever written. He also writes some of the most beautiful songs to be heard. Vernon has been knocking around for years, and those of you who follow the music have heard him. If you haven't, you have missed one of the great voices in the field.

These are not all the pickers and singers who come to Carl's. They are just the ones I have gotten acquainted with over the past three weeks. We had to skip one week because Lige was down with the flu, but he's back now, and the pickin is as it should be, sweet notes that blend perfectly in the mountains.