Penny Parsons passed along this word about one of the legends from the early days of bluegrass music. Penny is a bluegrass writer and photographer who currently manages the performance career of Curly Seckler.

Jody Rainwater (a.k.a Chuck Johnson), who spent two years as a Foggy Mountain Boy in the early 1950s, and later worked for many years in country radio, is having some serious health issues.  He spent several days in the hospital last week, after suffering a heart attack, and is now under nursing care at home.

During his 20 years at WSVS Radio in Crewe, VA, Jody became one of the most popular radio personalities and concert emcees in southern Virginia.  His format was classic country and bluegrass, and he possessed a vast record collection and a wide-ranging knowledge of the music.  He also promoted concerts in the area, and provided work for bands such as Flatt & Scruggs, the Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse, and many others, during a time when bluegrass was still relatively obscure and work was not always easy to find.  He went on to work at various other radio stations in Virginia and North Carolina before retiring in 1983.  He spent much of the next 20 years traveling with his wife, Emma, to various festivals around the southeast, and visiting with their many bluegrass friends.  To this day, Jody and Emma remain caring and devoted supporters of the music and the musicians.

Jody celebrated his 90th birthday on April 13, 2009.  In recent years, Jody’s health has prevented him from attending many festivals, but he still has close ties to WSVS Radio and the station has often featured him in guest spots on the air.  Now Jody needs our thoughts and prayers as he struggles with serious health challenges.

Get well wishes may be sent to:

Tom Thomas, the President of the Flatt and Scruggs Preservation Society, has announced the creation of a blog that will naturally focus on matters relating to Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.

Thomas said of his blog…

"(It) will display any new information concerning upcoming appearances of Earl or any of the remaining Foggy Mountain Boys as well as information about tributes, performers recollections about the group, etc."

Among the early postings is a selection of photographs that Thomas has in his collection. The most recent story is the announcement that Earl Scruggs will be making a personal appearance at the Rockygrass Festival in July.

Volumes 7 and 8 of the fantastic series of DVDs of the Flatt & Scruggs TV Shows from the 1950s and 1960s will be released by Shanachie Records on February 24.

One of these sets features the earliest surviving show, from 1956 (the band began doing these shows in 1955). Curly Seckler is featured on tenor vocals and mandolin on both volumes and on one of them he sings one of his trademark solos, What’s the Matter Now.

Other members of the Foggy Mountain Boys at about that same time were Buck Graves, Paul Warren and Jake Tullock.

Flatt and Scruggs are one of the most popular bluegrass bands of all time. Along with Bill Monroe, they developed bluegrass music into a widely successful and artistically praised musical format. The Best of the Flatt and Scruggs TV Show series contains the best musical performances from a long lost TV show taped in the 1950s and 1960s.

Never available before, this footage in this series features Flatt and Scruggs in their prime with their group the Foggy Mountain Boys playing many of their most famous songs as well as many other bluegrass classics. The first two DVDs in the series were released in March 2007.

These two DVDs will be available wherever music DVDs are sold, from Curly Seckler at his show dates and from his web site. Each volume contains two shows.

They came from Japan…  Hordes of miniature Lester and Earls!

What a movie poster that would make.

Japanese retailer Kurama Instruments specializes in bluegrass instruments and accessories, and on their web site – along with the banjos and mandolins, capos and tuners – is an offering for these tiny Flatt & Scruggs pendants.

From the photos online, they would appear to be about an inch tall, with a short, woven strap attached. They sell for 1800Ôø•, which is roughly $20 (US).

Satoshi Yoshida of Kurama tells us that they are molded plastic, hand painted, and then coated with clear lacquer. The supply is limited since they are made by traditional Japanese artisans, but they sure would look cool hanging from a strap handle. yes?

You can see additional photos on the Kurama site, which is all in Japanese.

Yoshida performs with The Japanese Bluegrass Band (yes, that’s their name) on banjo and guitar. You can hear samples from their Blue Moon CD online.