We’ve posted recently about banjo man Bill Emerson’s new CD, Bill Emerson and the Sweet Dixie Band, and the former member of The Country Gentlemen, The Sunny Mountain Boys and the US Navy Band’s Country Current coming back to music after several years in retirement.

Country Standard Time has a wide ranging interview with Bill published on their web site, where he discusses Charlie Waller, Jimmy Martin, his return to touring and recording and his new band and CD.

A few choice tidbits…

Recalling that Fourth of July 50 years ago when he and Charlie Waller brought the Country Gentlemen into being, he admits they were just doing what they needed to do at the time.

“We never thought we’d amount to that much, we just wanted to play music and make a little money, have some fun. We never thought we would ever get a recording contract and become the group that the Country Gentlemen became. I was just glad to play with somebody who could play guitar as well as Charlie Waller and somebody who was as great a singer as he was. I certainly benefited from that, and I hope he benefited from me being around, especially in the later years, and Charlie Waller is certainly one of the greatest lead singers of all time as far as bluegrass music goes.”

Emerson also notes that his former US Navy band mate Wayne Taylor will soon be a part of The Sweet Dixie Band.

“(Wayne’s) gonna be full time with me starting at the end of April when he retires…I’m not gonna start hittin’ it heavy until 2008. I’ve got some other people lined up, plus the thing we did in Nashville, the (IBMA) Rebel showcase was almost like a variety show. We had a lot of the people that were on this project with me, and we’re gonna try to maintain that concept.”

Read the the full piece by John Lupton online.