- The Greenbriar Boys
The Greenbriar Boys were a seminal northern
bluegrass music group who first got together in jam sessions inNew York 'sWashington Square Park . Along with theNew Lost City Ramblers , their urban traditional country sound inspired a generation of musicians and fans. Son of an Armenian poet, guitarist/vocalistJohn Herald , joined with classically trained banjo playerBob Yellin and mandolin player/folklorist,Ralph Rinzler . In 1962, they released their first eponymous album on Vanguard. Three more albums followed: "Ragged but Right!" in 1964, "Dian and the Greenbriar Boys" in 1965, and "Better Late Than Never" in 1966 (with the additions of mandolinist/vocalistFrank Wakefield , who replaced Rinzler, and fiddler,Jim Buchanan ). The 1966 album included the original recorded version ofMike Nesmith 's "Different Drum ", which was made into a hit song the following year bythe Stone Poneys . By the last album, Rinzler had left to become director of the folklife area [http://www.folklife.si.edu/center/Archives/archives_Collections.html] at theSmithsonian Institution which now bears his name. The Greenbriar Boys disbanded in the late 60's, reuniting occasionally in later years. John Herald released albums with The John Herald Band and a solo album, in 2000, "Roll On John," before committingsuicide in 2005.
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