Ricky Skaggs – Luegra

Jim Mills RIP

Jim Mills, one of the best banjo players I have ever seen, passed away May 3rd of a heart attack at his home in North Carolina. He was 57 years old, a way too young age to pass away for a man who showed us so much on the five-string as well as being an expert on the history of the banjo, especially pre-war Gibson models.

Both his father and grandfather were also banjo players. His hearing of Flatt& Scruggs’ “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” cemented his interest in the instrument as well. As a youngster, he was so infatuated with Earl Scruggs that he would put a toothpick between his two front teeth to create a gap like what Scruggs had.

After performing with some regional bluegrass bands, Mills spent much of the 1980s and 1990s performing with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, recording four albums with the band. He then joined Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder around 1998, and stayed with the band until 2010. Afterwards, he spent most of his time collecting and detailing history of banjos, especially early Gibson models. Huber Banjo issued a Jim Mills signature model, which was a replica of his prized Gibson Mastertone RB-75 “Mack Crow” model.

During the 2000s, he was a studio stalwart, recording with Dolly Parton, Dan Tyminski, and Alan Bibey, as well as with Skaggs and two banjo-centric albums for Huber. In 2012, he served as banjo player for Vince Gill on a brief bluegrass tour. He also found time to record three solo albums.

His research with banjos produced a book on Gibson pre-war models in 2009 entitled Gibson Mastertone: Flathead 5-String Banjos of the 1930s and 1940s. He built a museum of sorts in his basement of vintage banjos, including a Gibson RB-4 model that was originally owned by Snuffy Jenkins. He welcomed anyone from collectors to just browsers to his home to check out the collection. He would eventually expand his collection to include vintage guitars, including pre-CBS Gibson Les Paul models.

As far as accolades, he won six IBMA Banjo Player of the Year awards, and was on six Grammy-winning albums. There wasn’t a vintage musical instrument shop in the country that he didn’t stay in contact with, and his knowledge was always called upon when a unique banjo appeared at a shop.

I was fortunate enough to get to see him play with Kentucky Thunder at The Ark in Ann Arbor back in the mid-2000s. As fast as Skaggs like to play the songs, Mills could easily keep up and well as keep his cool. Although his biggest influence admittedly was Scruggs, his picking style and speed was much more akin to J.D. Crowe. No matter how fast the fingers were going, there were never any slip-ups or wrong notes. Everything was perfect.

I recommend checking out Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky live recording Live at the Charleston Music Hall to really hear how great Mills’ picking was and how well he fit into the band situation.

Jim, you are now able to do some jamming with Earl. Rest in Peace, sir.

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Ben Eldridge RIP

Earlier this week, one of the great second-generation bluegrass musicians passed away. Ben Eldridge was best known for his reserved yet perfectly fitting banjo work in The Seldom Scene. What made him unique was that he was able to fit the banjo tastefully into the progressive (for the time) songs that the band was perfroming.

With the folk-rock style songwriting of John Starling, and the in-your-face tenor vocals and mandolin leads of John Duffey, The Seldom Scene had an “artist’s artist” reputation in the bluegrass field. While highly respected among other bluegrass bands, The Seldom Scene gained praises from people in the pop, rock, and country music genres, including Linda Rondstadt, Emmylou Harris, and Ricky Skaggs. Eldridge helped solidify that reputation by being a banjo-slinger, not just a player. He knew exactly what would fit in each and every song. His playing was perfect in every song.

During the 1960s, he would play in a few traditional bluegrass bands, including with Cliff Waldron. However, it was when he hosted jam sessions with Duffey, Starling, and dobro player Mike Aldridge at his home in Bethesda, Maryland that there was a realization that something rich was going on. Most of the band had regular jobs and could not fully commit to a touring schedule, so on an off-shot remark from Country Gentlemen leader Charley Waller, they took the name The Seldom Scene.

Eldridge was a mathematician by trade at the time, but the band found themselves getting regular evening performances in the Baltimore and DC areas. Through the years, there were a number of personnel changes, to the point where, after Duffey’s death in 1996, Eldridge became the sole founding member. The band would continue to prolifically record albums and sparsely tour (sticking mostly to shows and festivals in the DC area), but after 44 years, Eldridge decided to retire in 2016. His legacy with the band included 55 albums, including one of the earliest live albums released by a bluegrass band.

Though he would appear on stage with either The Seldom Scene or other bands, the last few years of Eldridge’s life were spent in full retirement. He passed away on April 14 at the age of 85.

Unfortunately, I never got to meet Ben Eldridge, but I have conversed many times with his son Chris, who performs with the Punch Brothers. Chris is an amazing bluegrass guitarist, probably one of the best on the scene today. If there is ever any truth to the adage “the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree,” it would be of Chris and his father Ben.

I recommend that you seek out a Seldom Scene recording, especially a live one. I guarantee that you will hear some of the best interacting among players, be it musically or on-stage banter. Ben Eldridge’s to the band, as well as early progressive bluegrass music, cannot be denied.

Chew on it and comment.