Kentucky Colonels

The Kentucky Colonels were a bluegrass band that was popular during the American folk music revival of the early 1960s. Formed in Burbank, California in 1954, the group released two albums, The New Sound of Bluegrass America (1963) and Appalachian Swing! (1964). The band featured the influential bluegrass guitarist Clarence White, who was largely responsible for making the acoustic guitar a lead instrument within bluegrass, and who later went on to join the Los Angeles rock band the Byrds. The Kentucky Colonels disbanded in late 1965, with two short-lived reunions taking place in 1966 and 1973. History Early years In 1954, the three White brothers, Roland (mandolin), Clarence (acoustic guitar), and Eric Jr. (banjo and double bass) formed a country trio called Three Little Country Boys. The family group, which was occasionally augmented by the brothers' sister Joanne on bass, won a talent contest early on in their career, on radio station KXLA in Pasadena, and, by 1957, had managed to attract the interest of country guitarist Joe Maphis. With Maphis's help, the Three Little Country Boys made several appearances on the popular television program Town Hall Party. As a result of Roland's growing interest in bluegrass music, the group soon switched to an entirely bluegrass repertoire. In 1957, banjoist Billy Ray Latham and Dobro player LeRoy Mack were added to the line-up, with the group renaming themselves the Country Boys soon after. In 1961, bassist Roger Bush replaced Eric Jr., who had left the band to get married. That same year, the quartet had become popular enough to appear twice on The Andy Griffith Show. Between 1959 and 1962, the Country Boys released three singles on the Sundown, Republic and Briar International record labels.