Wayne Yates, brother to former Country Gentleman Bill Yates, passed away last night (12/11) at the age of 75. He is picture on the left in this album cover from a project he and Bill made together.

Wayne worked with a number of bluegrass bands over the course of his life, including stints with both Red Allen and Del McCoury.

Dennis Saterlee, whose book on Red Allen, Teardrops In My Eyes, was published earlier this year, put together a brief history of Wayne’s contributions to bluegrass music.

Wayne Yates, originally from Manassas, Virginia, and his brother Bill, formed The Clinch Mountain Ramblers bluegrass band in the Washington D. C. area in the late 1950s. The Ramblers, which included, legendary banjo player Porter Church, recorded a few sides for the Nashville based Kash label.  To earn some extra money they also teamed up with Patsy Stoneman who had left the famous Stoneman family band to strike out on her own.  It was during that  period that a recently relocated Red Allen, fresh from Dayton, Ohio, started playing as a regular member of The Clinch Mountain Ramblers

Red was fresh from his breakup with the Osborne Brothers who had placed more than a couple of hits on the country music charts. It wasn’t long before Red arrived that he took over the band. They first started playing as Red Allen and the Yates Brothers but soon changed the name to the Kentuckians, Red’s original band name.

As the mandolin playing member of the Kentuckians, Wayne helped record two landmark albums.  One for the Washington based Melodeon label and a second for the fledgling County record label. With the addition of the Yates Brothers, Red had the ability to sing Osborne style harmonies once again. These recording were well received by the fans who remembered Red with the Osbornes as well as by a new audience which was coming to bluegrass music from the folk music explosion that was taking place in the nation.  These albums are currently available on the Rebel, Lonesome and Blue CD released a few years back. (more…)

Dennis Satterlee, the author of the Red Allen biography Teardrops In My Eyes, has written to share some good news for Allen fans eager to get their hands on the book, though tempered with some sad news as well.

It seems that the book will be available quite soon, but Dennis also mentioned that his publisher Norman Levine, passed away December 8 after a brief period of hospitalisation.

“It has been a busy week but I think we are finally in a position to tell the world that the book will be available shortly after Christmas. It will be sold through County Sales, Elderly Instruments and will also be available through the International Bluegrass Music Museum gift shop as well as a handful of regional outlets. Of course it can still be ordered through the Plucked String Foundation which has a new southern home at 20 Towne Drive, Box 107, Bluffton, SC 29910.

The late Norman Levine’s other book offerings are still available through his Maryland address [Box 2770 Kensington, MD 20891]and are not available at the Bluffton address.”

The Red Allen book retails at $25.00 and will be available from the Plucked String Foundation eBay store.

Levine was a long-time impressario and evangelist for the mandolin and mandolinists, having been the publisher of Mandolin Quarterly magazine, and a prime mover in the establishment of the Plucked String Foundation. The foundation exists to offer funding for projects that would not be justified based on commercial viability alone, but whose existence would further the goals of the organization, primarily teaching, research and new compositions for the instrument.

We just received an update from Dennis Satterlee, author of the upcoming biography of Red Allen, Teardrops In My Eyes.

Dennis tells us that he expects to have copies of the book available within the next few weeks, and that the publisher, Plucked String Foundation, is offering free shipping on all orders received by October 31.

Satterlee is donating his royalties from this book to benefit the work of the International Bluegrass Music Museum.

Fans of Red Allen’s music will be delighted to learn that there is to be a book published about him shortly. Author, Dennis Satterlee’s book, Teardrops In My Eyes – The Music Of Harley “Red” Allen, is scheduled to be made available in November, published by The Plucked String Foundation Inc. Press.

The book is expected to have about 220 pages and comprises a biographical study of Red Allen’s musical career and a detailed discography; with recording dates, musicians, vocal parts, studios, producers where available, album numbers, single numbers and EP numbers.

It is anticipated that the 8 x 10 format paperback will have between 20 and 30 black and white photographs that are, for the most part, from private sources and never before seen.

Satterlee, who has played bluegrass and brother-duet style music in various parts of the States, is originally from western New York State and worked for the federal government for almost 30 years. His work has taken him to Louisiana, Vermont, New Jersey and now, retired, he lives in South Carolina, and plays bluegrass in a Georgia band. Here he provides some background information that led him to write his book ……

“I started listening to bluegrass music in the early 1960s. Mostly Flatt and Scruggs and the Dillards because that’s all I could find in the record stores. My first Red album was the Folkways album with Frank Wakefield. It just struck me as something that fit between the smooth crooning of Lester Flatt and the more urgent styling of Bill Monroe. Red (and Frank) seemed to be a perfect combination for bluegrass. When I retired (1997) I started looking for Red’s albums and singles that I didn’t have in my collection. Someone told me about the Red Head’s recording (see my article in Bluegrass Unlimited, April, 2006). I called both Red Spurlock and Frank Wakefield to learn more about that recording session and they told wonderful stories. It occurred to me at that point that maybe I could put together a discography (which I was doing for myself anyway) and add some stories from the musicians who played on the sessions and do a book. Over 50 musicians, family members and friends have added stories and remembrances to this work.”

The book, of which there will a first print run of 500 copies, is expected to retail at $25. Plans to determine through what outlets it will be sold have yet to be finalized. Watch this space!

Satterlee, who is a member of the International Bluegrass Music Museum and Hall Of Honor in Owensboro, Kentucky, is donating his royalties from this book to the museum.