Rebel Records has recently announced news of the forthcoming release on March 25 of a various Artists collection entitled Best Loved Bluegrass: 20 All-Time Favorites (REB-8004).

The 20 song anthology embraces some of the classic songs in bluegrass music from some of the great acts in the business (track listing below).

So many of the songs here are inextricably linked with the Rebel catalogue; Bringing Mary Home, Fox On The Run and Atlanta Is Burning being three notable examples. These are signature songs as is Love Of The Mountains. There are the tour de force pieces like Rice’s Nine Pound Hammer and JD Crowe’s Train 45 also.

Most of the material is direct from the Rebel vaults, whereas some came to them indirectly, such as - and I speculate here - the Lilly Brothers track, which was originally recorded for Event Records in 1956 or 1957 and later appeared on a County LP. It was subsequently reissued on a Rebel CD (1688). Others in this category are Little Rosewood Casket - Don Reno & Red Smiley (from a Wango LP), Footprints In The Snow - Mac Wiseman (Vetco material, perhaps), Poor Ellen Smith - Ted Lundy & the Southern Mountain Boys (County), Pig In A Pen - Stanley Brothers (Wango) and Lonesome Road Blues - Larry Richardson & Happy Smith (County).

There’s lots of fine traditional material here, which is typical of this series, and which, apparently, has been doing very well for Rebel. Judging by the titles and the artists listed, the potential for this set to match its predecessors is great.

For those who have a long-time interest in bluegrass music the songs and the respective bands speak for themselves; for newcomers this album is a good place to start investigating the Rebel catalogue.

Thanks must be made to Gary Reid for sharing his thoughts on some aspects of this collection.

Complete track list… (more…)

This Christmas wish comes from Debbie Mills, whose husband Allen is the patriarch of The Lost & Found. Her post was inspired by one we published several months ago - one of our most popular posts - about their 4 year old grandson, Zacrye, who made his debut with the band at the Floyd Country Store.

Since Zacrye’s ‘concert’ with Lost & Found in Floyd, he has been asking for a banjo. We looked everywhere and could not find
a child sized version.

Allen went to see Darrell McCumbers, and he had a hand made banjo/mandolin combination, but he thought that would be confusing. I finally searched the internet one more time and found the perfect child banjo, and promptly ordered it. We will have to get it to him ahead of time, because if we wait until Christmas when my family gets together, all the other children will want to play it!

Zacrye saw Santa on November 29 and told him about wanting a banjo and a tool bench. About two days later, he asked his mom if he could write to Santa and tell him he would rather have a mandolin than a tool bench….oh well, grandma and grandpa will see he has one at least in time for his February 4th birthday!

My nephew, Jason Moore plays with Mountain Heart and his brother Darren plays with Jeremy Stephens and Cecil Hall at times. Darren has 3 year old twins that are crazy about the music too. Our family gets together on Christmas Eve and of course there is always music. My brothers and I both play, so with Allen, Jason, Darren and everyone singing….we just have a grand old time.

Of course, this will be our first Christmas without my Dad, who passed away in July, but one of his greatest legacies was passing along to us his love of Bluegrass music, and what better way to honor him than to carry on the tradition.

Happy holidays to all our friends and fans and we look forward to seeing you in 2008!

Deb & Allen Mills, Scottie Sparks, Ronald Smith and Scott Napier
The Lost & Found Band

The accompanying photo shows Lost and Found with their newest member. And no… we don’t mean the diminutive guitarist on the far right.

The photo comes from the Blue Ridge Muse blog, and was taken by Doug Thompson. It shows the band with their actual newest member, Scott Napier, on mandolin - plus their stand-in on guitar that evening, Zacrye Porter, the four year old grandson of Lost and Founder Allen Mills.

Allen tells us that Zachary stood right there in front of his microphone for both sets at the Floyd Country Store, and though he doesn’t know his chords yet, he matched the band in emotion and exuberance throughout the show.

When the evening’s events were concluded, Allen went to each band member in turn to see that their efforts were compensated. After he sat down on the couch to relax, Zacrye sidled over and leaned in to say, “Papa… where’s my money?”

Well.. it sounds like he earned it!

There are a few more photos on the Blue Ridge Muse.

And now they are four..

The Lost and Found have officially brought mandolinist Scott Napier on board as a full time member. Scott had been filling in with the band as his schedule allowed since the tragic and untimely death of original mandolinist Dempsey Young in December of 2006.

Napier had toured recently with Marty Rabon, and before that with Dale Ann Bradley. He is an extremely gifted young musician, and may be among the few able to occupy the void left behind when Dempsey passed away.

The band had been working on a new CD, but recording was halted when they lost Dempsey. With a full complement, they’ll soon be back in the studio working to finish the new project with the current band: Allen Mills (bass and vocals), Scotty Sparks (guitar and vocals), Ronald Smith (banjo and vocals), Scott Napier (mandolin).

Speaking of Lost and Found… I had a rare chance about two weeks ago to see the band perform with original banjo picker Gene Parker. I was at a festival with Acoustic Endeavors, sharing the bill with Lost and Found and several other groups. Shortly after the L&F bus pulled in, a buzz went through the campground that Gene was on the bus.

It turned out that their fill-in mandolinist for the day had canceled at the last minute, so regular banjo picker Ronald Smith took that spot and Gene played banjo. It was quite a treat to hear him on all the old songs he had recorded with the band “in the day.

He hasn’t lost a thing - his playing was brilliant.

We got a nice note from Allen Mills of The Lost & Found this morning. He wanted to pass along some words of thanks to the many folks who expressed their grief over the untimely death of Dempsey Young on December 10, 2006, and share some news on the band’s first few shows without him.

Dempsey was the original and only mandolinist the band had ever known, and had been a member since 1973 when the band was formed.

“Dempsey’s wife Lynette and the Lost and Found family would like to thank everyone who came to the visitation and funeral. The condolences sent via our website, the newspaper, the calls, cards and flowers were all GREATLY appreciated. The memorial fund is growing and will support their children’s future and education.

Although it has been hard, the band has performed five show in January with Scott Napier helping out on mandolin. Scott played several years with Larry Sparks and is currently working with Marty Raybon, but had some time off. He did a fantastic job with us and we sincerely appreciate his help.

We also appreciate our fans’ and promoters’ support during this transition phase for the Lost and Found. Please continue to keep us in your prayers!”

The Dempsey Young Memorial Fund is still accepting donations, and Allen also wanted to thank the many members of the bluegrass community, both industry professionals and devoted fans, who have given generously for the benefit of Dempsey’s family.

Anyone who would like to make a contribution can send a check to:

There is a nice remembrance of Dempsey Young in today’s edition of The Roanoke Times. Allen Mills reflects briefly on missing his friend, and Herschel Sizemore comments on Dempsey’s unique approach to the mandolin.

Read the article on The Roanoke Times web site, where Dempsey’s obituary can also be found.

Allen Mills of The Lost & Found asked that we post this for him, in response to the many folks who have expressed condolences regarding the death on Sunday morning of their dear friend and bandmate, Dempsey Young.

The out-pouring of love - the calls, emails, thoughts and prayers from our friends and fans has been absolutely overwhelming. We sincerely appreciate everyone and everything, for accepting and enjoying our 33 years of music together. Our fans and our God will determine our future…continue to keep us in your prayers.

The Lost & Found Band
Allen Mills, Scottie Sparks, Ronald Smith and Jerry Williamson
The Young Family

In our earlier post about the untimely passing of Dempsey Young, I made reference to a fund being established for the benefit of his family. That fund is now in place, and contributions can be sent to:

Dempsey is survived by his wife Lynette, daughters Stephanie and Demetra living at home, and son Christopher (USAF), stationed in Qatar. The memorial fund is to assist Lynette and the children, particularly with education expenses.

He also leaves 3 brothers, Steve, Randy and Scott all of Wirtz, VA and several extended family members. His band family consists of Allen Mills, business partner for over 33 years, Scottie Sparks and Ronald Smith.

Condolences can be sent to:

…or:

We will post about funeral arrangements as soon as we receive the information, hopefully later this afternoon.

UPDATE 4:10 p.m. Here is the information about Dempsey’s funeral arrangements, for any of his fans and friends who may wish to visit with the family to mark his passing.

We are deeply saddened to share the news that Dempsey Young, an original member of The Lost & Found, passed away early this morning.

His unique mandolin style and quick smile were as much a part of the band as Allen Mills’ distinctive voice. Allen and Dempsey kept Lost & Found on the road together with myriad personnel changes since they formed the group in 1973.

Dempsey will be missed by his family and a great many friends in bluegrass music.

We will post with details about arrangements as soon as we obtain them.

UPDATE 12/11: Debbie Mills is setting up a trust account today for the benefit of Dempsey’s children. She said that they have been getting calls from all over the country from kind hearted folks who would like to be of assistance.

We will update with details about how contributions can be made as soon as the account is established.