Doyle Lawson
(born April 20, 1944) is an American bluegrass and gospel musician. Doyle is best known as an accomplished mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 5-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.
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DOYLE LAWSON TICKETS
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Biography
Doyle Lawson was born in Ford Town,
Sullivan County,
Tennessee, near
Kingsport, the son of Leonard and Minnie Lawson. The Lawson family moved to
Sneedville, Tennessee in 1954, around the time that Doyle acted upon his love for music.
Doyle grew up listening to the
Grand Old Opry on Saturday nights. This is where he became inspired by
Bill Monroe, the
"founding father"
of
bluegrass, and his band
the Blue Grass Boys
.
Doyle became interested in playing the mandolin around the age of eleven so his father borrowed a mandolin from Willis Byrd, a family friend and fellow musician. Doyle taught himself how to play the mandolin by listening to the radio and records, and watching an occasional TV show. His love for music grew and Doyle decided to learn to play the
guitar and
banjo as well.
Doyle’s perseverance and hard work style has shown through over forty albums since 1977 and through his band’s schedule, which includes over sixty concerts in one year.
His hard work and high expectations for his band seem kind of humorous to some with Doyle’s recollection of one practice when he
"instructed each member to go to a separate room in the house and continue singing. If the individual members were no longer in pitch when they rejoined their leader, they'd start over again. ‘Of course, they thought I was crazy,’ he told John Wooley in Tulsa World, ‘but I told 'em that if it'd work for the banjo, it'd work for vocals. What it does is, it gets you to do things without being conscious of it, because we all were being programmed the same way.’"
Doyle expects a lot from his band and it shows with numerous awards and nine nominations for this year’s
International Bluegrass Music Association Awards.
Every year Doyle hosts the Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver Festival in
Denton,
North Carolina.
He has one son, Robbie,and two daughters Suzi and Kristi. Kristi gave birth to the Lawson’s first grandchild, Spencer, in July 2007.
Doyle rededicated his life to
Jesus in May 1985 and is a member of Cold Spring Presbyterian Church.
1960's
In 1963, at the age of eighteen, Doyle went to
Nashville, Tennessee to play the banjo with
Jimmy Martin and the
Sunny Mountain Boys.
In 1966, Doyle started playing with
JD Crowe and the
Kentucky Mountain Boys (later the
New South), in
Lexington,
Kentucky.
Doyle went back to play the mandolin and sing tenor with Jimmy Martin in 1969 for six months. After he left Martin’s band he went back to play with Crowe until August 1971.
1970's
On September 1, 1971, Doyle started playing with the Country Gentlemen and remained part of the band for almost eight years, when in March 1979 Doyle left the band.
Doyle states that at that time in his career he wanted to make his own sound and that he has done.
In April 1979 Doyle formed his own band and called them
Doyle Lawson and Foxfire
, which quickly changed to
Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
.
"No one since the late great Bill Monroe melds bluegrass with gospel music quite like the former Country Gentlemen member Doyle Lawson…"
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Original Lineup:
Terry Baucom-banjo, vocal
Doyle Lawson-mandolin, vocal
Jimmy Haley-guitar, vocal
Lou Reid-bass, vocal
Current Lineup:
Jason Barie-fiddle
Joey Cox-banjo
Doyle Lawson-mandolin, vocal
Darren McGuire-guitar, vocal
Josh Swift-dobro, vocal
Carl White-bass, vocal
Discography
Studio albums
Year
| Album
| US Bluegrass
| Label
|
1977
| Tennessee Dream
|
| County
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1980
| Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
|
| Sugar Hill
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1981
| Heavenly Treasures
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Quicksilver Rides Again
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Rock My Soul
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1985
| Once and for Always
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1986
| Beyond the Shadows
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1987
| The News Is Out
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1988
| Heaven's Joy Awaits
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Hymn Time in the Country
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I'll Wander Back Someday
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1989
| I Heard the Angels Singing
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1990
| My Heart Is Yours
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1992
| Pressing on Regardless
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| Brentwood
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Treasures Money Can't Buy
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1995
| Doyle Lawson with Bobby Hicks & Jerry Douglas
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| Koch
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Never Walk Away
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| Sugar Hill
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1996
| There's a Light Guiding Me
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1997
| Kept & Protected
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1998
| Gospel Radio Gems
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1999
| Original Band
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Winding Through Life
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2000
| Just Over in Heaven
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2001
| Gospel Parade
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2002
| The Hard Game of Love
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2003
| Hallelujah in My Heart
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| Music Mill
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Thank God
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| Crossroads
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2005
| You Gotta Dig a Little Deeper
| 4
| Rounder
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2006
| He Lives in Me
| 4
| Crossroads
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2007
| More Behind the Picture Than the Wall
| 2
| Rounder
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2008
| Help Is On the Way
| 4
| Horizon
Rounder
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Compilation albums
Year
| Album
| US Bluegrass
| Label
|
1990
| The Gospel Collection 1
|
| Sugar Hill
|
1999
| A School of Bluegrass
| 9
| Crossroads
|
2007
| Best of the Sugar Hill Years
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| Sugar Hill
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References & External Links