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The Lilly Brothers, (Bea Lilly, born Michael Burt Lilly, December 15, 1921 – September 18, 2005 and brother Everett Lilly, born July 1, 1924 – May 8, 2012) were bluegrass musicians born in Clear Creek, West Virginia. They have been credited with bringing bluegrass to New England and with influencing such future bluegrass artists as Peter Rowan, Joe Val and Bill Keith, among others.[1]
The Lilly Brothers | |
|---|---|
| Origin | West Virginia; Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| Genres | Bluegrass |
| Occupation | Bluegrass artists |
| Years active | 1950s–70s |
| Past members | Mitchell Burt "Bea" Lilly Charles Everett Lilly Don Stover Benjamin F. Logan Joe Val |
Influenced by the traditional music they heard in their youth, Bea began playing the guitar and Everett the mandolin. In 1938, they made their radio debut on the Old Farm Hour show at WCHS in Charleston, West Virginia. Other radio works followed at WJLS in Beckley, West Virginia and on several other Southern radio stations during the 1940s.[2][3] In 1945, they appeared on the Molly O'Day radio show at WNOX in Knoxville, Tennessee.[2] In 1948, the brothers signed with the WWVA Jamboree in Wheeling, West Virginia as members of "Red Belcher's Kentucky Ridge Runners",[4] but they quit two years later because of a financial dispute and the brothers retired temporarily. In 1951, Everett joined Flatt & Scruggs as mandolin player. The next year, in 1952, 'Tex' Logan, whom they had met at the WWVA Jamboree, persuaded the brothers to reunite.[2]
The Lilly Brothers moved to Boston and formed a group called the "Confederate Mountaineers" who consisted of the brothers on guitar and mandolin, Logan on fiddle, and Don Stover on banjo.[4] They performed on WCOP's Hayloft Jamboree[3] and as a house band at local clubs such as the Plaza Bar, the Mohawk Ranch, and the Hillbilly Ranch.[4] Soon, they were making records for the Folkways, Prestige and Event labels.[2][5] Somewhere along the line they changed the group's name to the Lilly Brothers.
In the 1960s they appeared in concerts at several major colleges and at folk festivals.[3] The personnel of the Lilly Brothers didn't change between 1952 and 1970 and is considered one of bluegrass music's most stable lineups. The death of Everett Lilly's son, Giles, in a car crash in 1970 brought to an end the brothers’ career in Boston and Everett left the town. For the remainder of the 1970s, the brothers would reunite on several occasions.[2] In 1973 the Lilly Brothers made a tremendously successful tour of Japan, including the release of three live albums.[6] The Lilly Brothers’ career was later chronicled in a 1979 documentary "True Facts in a Country Song".[5] In the 1980s, as Bea retired, Everett and his son Mark played together in the group "Clear Creek Crossin'".[2]
Everett Lilly continued to play and perform with his sons in a band called Everett Lilly and the Lilly Mountaineers until his death in 2012.
Joe Val once said of the Confederate Mountaineers’ influence on urban Massachusetts, Those guys hit on like a bombshell. Nobody’d ever heard anything like that before.[5]
The Lilly Brothers’ singing has been described as rich, mountain-flavoured bluegrass and their brand of dynamic, no holds barred traditional bluegrass has been noted as haunting and earthy.
- In 1986. the Lilly Brothers were inducted into the Massachusetts Country Music Hall of Fame and Don Stover was inducted the following year.
- On October 17, 2002, the Lilly Brothers and Don Stover were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.[4]
- In November 2008, the Lilly Brothers were inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.
78 RPM
| Year | Song Titles | Label | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | "What Are They Doing in Heaven" / "They Sleep Together Now at Rest" | Page | 505 |
| 1957 | "Tragic Romance" / "Are You Tired of Me, My Darling" | Event | E-4261 |
| 1959 | "John Henry" / "Bring Back My Blue-Eyed Boy to Me" | Event | E-4272 |
Albums
| Year | Title | Label | Number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Folk Songs From the Southern Mountains | Folkways | FA 2433 | one side with Don Stover |
| 1963 | Bluegrass Breakdown | Prestige Folklore | FL14010 | with Don Stover |
| 1964 | The Country Songs of the Lilly Brothers | Prestige Folklore | FL14035 | with Everett Alan Lilly |
| 1970 | Early Recordings | County | 729 | with Don Stover, recorded 1956–57 |
| 1973 | What Will I Leave Behind | County | 742 | with Don Stover |
| 1974 | Holiday in Japan, Part 1 | Towa | TWA 101S | with Don Stover & Everett Alan Lilly live in Japan |
| 1974 | Holiday in Japan, Part 2 | Towa | TWA 102S | with Don Stover & Everett Alan Lilly live in Japan |
| 1974 | Holiday in Japan, Part 3 | Towa | TWA 103S | with Don Stover & Everett Alan Lilly live in Japan |
| 1996 | Live at Hillbilly Ranch | Hay Holler | HHCD1333 | recorded in Boston, July 1967 |
| 2001 | Live at Tamarack 2001 | Lilly Bros | 5704 | with the Lilly Mountaineers |
| 2002 | On the Radio 1952–1953 | Rounder | 1109 | with Don Stover |
| 2003 | West Virginia, Oh How I Miss You | Lilly Bros | with the Lilly Mountaineers |
Compilations and reissues
| Year | Title | Label | Number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Bluegrass Breakdown | Rounder | SS01 | reissue of Prestige FL14010 |
| 1977 | The Lilly Brothers – Country Songs | Rounder | SS02 | reissue of Prestige FL14035 |
| 1991 | Early Recordings | Rebel | 1688 | reissue of County 729 |
| 1999 | The Prestige/Folklore Years, Vol 5: Have a Feast Here Tonight | Prestige | 9919 | CD reissue of Prestige FL14010 and FL14035 |
| 2001 | Newport Folk Festival – Best of Bluegrass 1959–66 | Vanguard | VCD-187-89-2 | 2-CD set, includes 5 live tracks by the Lilly Brothers |
| 2003 | What Will I Leave Behind | Rebel | 1788 | reissue of County 742 |
| 2005 | Bluegrass at the Roots | Folkways | SWF40158 | reissue of Folkways FA2433 plus 2 unreleased tracks |
Video appearances
| Year | Title | Label | Formats | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | "True Facts in a Country Song" | Burt/Chadwick | 16mm/DVD | 29-minute documentary by Susan Burt & Doug Chadwick |
| 2005 | Festival! | Eagle Vision | DVD | Newport Folk Festival 1963–66, with Don Stover, Tex Logan, and Everett Alan Lilly |
| 2006 | Bluegrass Country Soul | Time Life | DVD | Camp Springs, NC Bluegrass Festival 1971, various artists |
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