Mike Auldridge

Mike Auldridge

Mike Auldridge at The Birchmere, December 2006
Background information
Born (1938-12-30)December 30, 1938
Washington, D.C.
Died December 29, 2012(2012-12-29) (aged 73)
Silver Spring, Maryland
Genres Bluegrass, Country, Instrumental
Instruments Dobro, Vocals
Years active 1960s–2012 (death)
Associated acts Seldom Scene, Chesapeake
Website www.MikeAuldridge.com
Notable instruments
Beard MA-6, Beard MA-8

Mike Auldridge (December 30, 1938 – December 29, 2012) was widely acknowledged as a premier Dobro player. He played with The Seldom Scene for many years, creating a fusion of bluegrass with jazz, folk and rock.

Born in Washington, D.C.,[1] Auldridge started playing guitar at the age of 13. His main influence through his early years was Josh Graves who also sold him his first Dobro.[2] A 1967 graduate of The University of Maryland, Auldridge worked as a graphic artist for a commercial art firm in Bethesda, Maryland and then for the now defunct Washington Star-News. He did not start playing music full-time until the Washington Star-News folded in 1981.

Auldridge last played with Darren Beachley and The Legends of the Potomac bluegrass band[3] Past bands include Emerson and Waldron, Cliff Waldron and the New Shades of Grass, Seldom Scene (of which he was a founding member), Chesapeake, The Good Deale Bluegrass Band, and John Starling and Carolina Star (which featured three original members of The Seldom Scene). Mike was also a member of the touring bands of Lyle Lovett and Emmylou Harris.

Auldridge worked with Paul Beard (Beard Guitars) to produce the Beard Mike Auldridge Models of square-neck resophonic guitars (dobro), including an 8-string version.

Just one day prior to his 74th birthday, he died on December 29, 2012 at home under hospice care in Silver Spring, Maryland after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer.[4][5]

Awards

Auldridge won numerous awards including a Grammy, Frets Magazine's "Dobro Player of the Year", the International Bluegrass Music Association's Distinguished Achievement Award and was named a National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellow in 2012.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic biography
  2. ↑ Holland, William (November 19, 1972). "Young Man with a Dobro". Washington.
  3. ↑ ."Good Deale Bluegrass Band: Band Members". Good Deale Bluegrass Band. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
  4. ↑ Cooper, Peter (December 29, 2012). "Mike Auldridge, 'hero' of the Dobro, dies at 73". The Tennesseean. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  5. ↑ Morris, David. "RIP Mike Auldridge". Bluegrass Today. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  6. ↑ "2012 NEA National Heritage Fellow Mike Auldridge". Lifetime Honors. National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
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