His influence on me, and all Dobro players can’t be overstated.

I’ve spent many hours pouring over his songs, listening to every detail. Trying to figure out how he played so cleanly, and just the right notes. His versions of all the great Dobro songs are still the best. Maiden’s Prayer, Fireball, Home Sweet Home, Flatt Lonesome, and many others make up the standard Dobro repertoire, and Josh is the one who made them sound so good.

We all, as musicians, strive to find the best tone, and the best timing. I think any player, of any instrument, can learn a lot from hearing Josh’s Dobro playing. Not to mention the presence he had when he stepped up to the mic.

What warms my heart is to see how popular the Dobro has become. All over the country, everywhere I go, young kids are playing the fire out of the Dobro.

Whether they know it or not, Uncle Josh started it all, and his impact on music is being felt now more than ever.

The photos page is a treasure for students of his music, or anyone with memories of the early days of bluegrass music and Josh’s place in it from the very beginning until his passing.

I was able to go to the service on Tuesday, and it was a really nice tribute to Josh. Eddie Stubbs gave an amazing eulogy.

Josh Graves’ was probably the first dobro playing I ever heard. My older brother played banjo, so we were always listening to Foggy Mountain Banjo – even before I started playing. I loved everything Josh did on that record, especially the breaks on Home Sweet Home and Reuben. They were so soulful, and had such an incredible sound.

That really stood out at the service. They played some of his recordings before and after, and I was struck again by his sound. You hear one note and you know who it is. There is so much feeling that comes through in every note he plays.

Musically, one of the chief things I got from Josh was the feeling that everything he does fits. He can play one note, or a whole lot, and it always seemed appropriate, and adds to the whole thing. I guess that is the main lesson I took from listening to Josh for many, many years.

Plus, he had a great feeling for the blues. That has been a good influence on me.

We all know that he was a great musician, but I want to remind everyone of his wonderful sense of humor. He was always so… cool. Even with all his health problems, he always stayed cool. He would crack everyone up, but remained mellow and calm throughout.

I’m really glad that I was able to be there for the service.

This post is a contribution from Casey Henry. Casey is the daughter of banjo player and bluegrass entrepreneur, Murphy Henry, and an accomplished banjo player in her own right, as well as an experienced instructor. Currently Casey and her brother Chris are fronting a band called The Two-Stringers.

Yesterday at Madison Funeral Home a packed crowd gathered to say goodbye to Uncle Josh Graves, to honor his life, his music, and the tremendous impact he had on the lives of others. Many beautiful arrangements of flowers surrounded the casket, including white and yellow roses from Alison Krauss. Red roses adorned the coffin. I know a couple of Josh’s sons, so I said hello to them and conveyed my condolances. Brian mentioned he needs to come back to the dentist office where I work, and Josh Jr. said he still intends to get me to play some gigs with him, which he initially called me about at least a year ago–unfailingly good natured and polite even in their hour of grief.

Eddie Stubbs delivered the eulogy, giving a run-down of Josh’s life and career. His first job was with Esco Hankins. He married his wife Evelyn when he was 17 and she was 15. 61 years of marriage. We gave her a round of applause for that. There were so many stories about Josh. He wrote some songs for Flatt and Scruggs, some of which had the good fortune to be on the B side of hits. Josh commented “My side sold just as many as the A side.” Eddie asked him how he was doing after he lost his legs. Eddie “cleaned up” Josh’s answer: “I ain’t kickin’ no posteriors.”

Jerry Douglas, who is on tour on the west coast, flew in for the visitation on Monday. He had to fly back to play in San Diego Tuesday but left a letter which Eddie read. He talked about when he was learning, when all he thought about was how to make the sounds he heard coming out of the Dobro on records, that Josh was his “invisible friend,” always with him, always in his head throughout the day, in school or wherever. One of the most important events in his life occurred when he met Josh for the first time at the festival campsite of some friends. Josh gave him something more important than a handshake or a pick or a string clipping. He asked young Jerry to sit down and play a tune with him. He handed Jerry his Dobro and he played Jerry’s. He made time for this skinny kid who wanted to learn to play. And that has stayed with him every since.

Someone else who Josh called “Kid” is Marty Stuart. Marty told about how when the Flatt and Scruggs TV show came on in Phildelphia, Mississippi, when he was growing up, the air would lift. In a town torn apart by racial tension and violence it was like a respite, a bright spot that left a hole each week when it ended. Marty called that band “A divinely called band made up of divinely called men.” He played a moving, bluesy version of “Flatt Lonesome”, accompanied by Ricky Skaggs on guitar. When he played the first few notes he stopped and said to us “I’m out of tune” and proceeded to tune. He turned toward Josh, lying in his coffin at the front of the room and said, “I know I’m out of tune.”

Music played an important part of the service. Tim Graves started the program with “What a Friend” on the Dobro. Dean Osborne’s band sang “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” The Whites, with Ricky Skaggs, sang a song Josh wrote, “Come Walk With Me” and later sang “Farther Along.” Before the service they played the instrumentals Josh recorded with Flatt and Scruggs (so loud the little funeral home speakers were kind of distorting) and the postlude was Josh’s recording of “Flatt Lonesome”.

Josh was buried in Hendersonville but I couldn’t go to the graveside service because I had to come back and teach banjo in the afternoon. In attendance were Gary and Randy Scruggs, Carol Lee, Tim O’Brien, Rob Ickes, Randy Kohrs, Phil Ledbetter, Kim Gardner, everyone from the IBMA office, David Crow, Jill Douglas, Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Ronnie McCoury, Carl Jackson, Curley Seckler, Mac Wiseman, Jesse McReynolds, Mike Bub, Roland White, Eddie and Martha Adcock, Kenny Baker, Raymond Huffmaster, Toshio Watanabe, Saab Inoue, Lance LeRoy, Laura Cash and others I’m sure I missed. It was a fitting service for someone who was a hero, personally and musically, to thousands of people throughout his life.

Upon hearing of Uncle Josh Graves’ passing just two hours earlier as I was walking off the stage after playing with my band at the IBMA FanFest, a couple of saddening thoughts really struck me. How many people can actually say they revolutionized an instrument? He literally dissected the way the dobro was played, turned it over and examined it, and then went and invented a whole new way to get these incredible tones, incorporating Earl Scruggs’ three-finger roll and a lot of blues. He poured his soul into every note of his playing, a trait that made him one of my biggest influences. He’s one of the main ones I listened to, one of my musical heroes, as I was growing up learning to play, as does virtually every other Dobro player still to this day.

I recently came across some old video footage of Flatt & Scruggs on the Opry in the ’50’s that I’d never seen. Some of the licks he played back then made me realize just how ahead of his time he was. Although the Dobro has continued to evolve, just like every other instrument, by today’s standards, he would still rank among the best in the world. He was clean, consistent, had great timing, and just the right amount of flash to suit the song. Not only was his musicianship impressive, he was just an overall great entertainer. He never let an opportunity go by for a funny, quick-witted comment.

If it wasn’t for Josh, the modern day sounds of musicians like Jerry Douglas and Mike Auldridge would certainly have suffered. This goes without saying in my own regard, but I will say that it is hard to play a 3 hour recording session and not cross ground that Josh already covered. Although Josh may have crossed over to play with an ever growing angel band, he certainly has left an army of fellow resophonic guitarists to carry on and continue to carry the Dobro-torch in his honor.

This first comes from Mike Auldridge:

Josh Graves influenced my life beyond mere words of gratitude. He changed my life. I would not be a professional musician, or even have any real burning desire to play the steel guitar at all, had I not discovered his wonderful playing when I was about 12 years old. He became my mentor and then good friend, when I decided to try music as a profession. I will miss Josh deeply.

This next comes from Phil Leadbetter:

I don’t think I would have ever played the dobro guitar if it had not been for Josh Graves. The dobro guitar world changed forever on September 30th 2006 when we lost Uncle Josh. I will always treasure the first time I ever met Josh when I was only 12 years old, and he let me get up on stage and pick “Shuckin’ The Corn” with him in Maryville, TN in 1974. It was one of the highlights of my career. I have been blessed knowing Uncle Josh and calling him a friend. We lost a musical giant when we lost Josh.

The funeral will be held at the Madison Funeral Home in Madison, TN. The visitation is today, October 2 from 2-8 pm and tomorrow from 10 am to 1 pm. The funeral is tomorrow, October 3, at 1 pm.

You can send cards and flowers to:

Madison Funeral Home
219 E Old Hickory Blvd.
Madison, TN 37115

The phone number for the funeral home is (615) 868-9020

Full bio available here.

We’ll pass along more details as we are able to find them.

Our condolences and prayers go out to the family.