# Music by Genre > Bluegrass, Newgrass, Country, Gospel Variants >  R.I.P. Mike Auldridge

## Dobe

R.I.P. Mike Auldridge. One of my 1st Dobro heros.   Been a pretty sad year for bluegrass  :Frown: 
Here's one of my favorites:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNgWM5PuI70

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## Glassweb

ouch... what a great musician... RIP

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## swampstomper

He was tremendously influential with that "cool" resonator sound. When he came on the scene (not yet Scene) with Emerson and Waldron there was only "hard core" dobro playing by Josh, Kenny Haddock, Leroy Mack. Mike had that smooth, cool approach. He was also approachable -- at a festival in 1972 (when he was with Cliff Waldron) he graciously showed me how to get chimes at any position by using the heel of the right hand. I also enjoyed his older brother Dave (who died a few years ago) who only chopped mando but sang a tremendous tenor. RIP indeed.

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## mandopete

Not trying to be snarky, but I wonder where the likes of Jerry Douglas, Rob Ickes and Andy Hall would have been without Mike Auldridge.  Huge loss for the music world!

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## jmp

Saw him with the Seldom Scene at the Birchmere in Alexandria VA in the 1980's.  The best.

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## Marty Henrickson

So sorry to hear this.  "Rider" is one of my favorites.  RIP, Mike.

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## Mandolin Mick

Sorry to hear that.  :Frown:  What did he die of?

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## Mandoviol

I only recently discovered him when I got a turntable and could play my dad's old LP of _Blues and Bluegrass_.  The darn thing was so played that I can't play the last track where he's playing with Bromberg--too many scratches! God bless his family.

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## Pete Martin

So sad, what a great player!!!

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## Patrick Sylvest

Mike was a class act, a true gentleman picker! He'll be sorely missed.

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## Marty Henrickson

Mick, Bluegrass Today says he was being treated for cancer.

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## Russ Jordan

Mike Auldridge's performance at the National Endowment for the Arts 2012 National Heritage Fellows Concert (along with Andy Statman) is here:  www.nea.gov/honors/heritage/Oct4-webcast.html 

video starts about 20:00.

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## re simmers

Tasteful!   More than just a touch of class!   

Bob

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## Mandolin Mick

I subscribe to Bluegrass Today and received it yesterday ... but didn't open it yet ...  :Frown:

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## Jim Ferguson

R.I.P.........a talented gent on the Dobro for sure. Thanks for sharing the videos.
Peace,

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## coletrickle

> Not trying to be snarky, but I wonder where the likes of Jerry Douglas, Rob Ickes and Andy Hall would have been without Mike Auldridge.  Huge loss for the music world!


Well...here is a quote from Andy Hall via the Infamous Stringdusters' Facebook page:

"I can't believe Mike Auldridge is gone. I spent so many hours being absorbed by his playing. Trying to learn his magic, but never quite could. He had a touch no one could match. He was a true giant of the Dobro, and proved it every time he played. He was so kind and supportive to me, and would always play tunes whenever we got the chance. It's hard to explain how wonderful it was to have a real hero of yours, take the time and lift you up. I still look up to him as a player and as a person. He's the guy of guy everyone wants to be. So with a heavy heart, we'll say goodbye for now. R.I.P. Mike."

Says a lot about his impact...

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## Stephen Cagle

So very sorry to hear this. One of the Greats for sure. Our Prayers are with his family.  :Frown:

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## Charley wild

So sorry to hear of his passing! I played Dobro for years and still play lap steel. He was a big hero of mine for sure. My thoughts are with his family.

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## Bill Baldridge

Mike played a big role in my getting interested in bluegrass, but anytime I saw his name in liner notes I got interested.  R.I.P.

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## Raider rider

Sorry for the loss of this great musician.  Only have watched the videos on him on Youtube and he had a great sound.  
Just wanted to pay my respects

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## Andy B

He was my teacher and mentor--a great musician and a wonderful man.

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## Ivan Kelsall

I was fortunate to see Mike with the Seldom Scene at the Birchmere back in '92. Truly, a great Dobro player & musician,
                                                                                                                                                               Ivan

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## John Soper

A wonderful player, a great person to talk with, and always had the best-pressed jeans at any given Festival!  RIP

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## AlanN

I have so many records where he guested - Tony Rice California Autumn, Phil Rosenthal solo record, Old Dog, Grazz Matazz, countless others. Those 2 70's records under his name - Dobro and Blues & Bluegrass were terrific, ground-breaking recordings which every bg fan needed to get. He did the different - Walk, Don't Run (Doyle L. on hip mando solo), made Pickaway a staple, had Linda Ronstadt, Bromberg, Lowell George. His Eight String Swing a few years later was just as great - elegant, hip and cutting edge.

RIP, Mike Auldridge. You made this picker thrill to your music.

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## TDMpicker

Here is an article on his passing...

http://www.cybergrass.com/node/2103

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## Steve-o

This is sad news.  Mike's Blues & Bluegrass was my first introduction to BG back in '74. It left an indelible impression on me.  RIP Mr. Auldridge.

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## journeybear

Sad news, indeed. he was the best, he was the man, until Jerry Douglas came along. Some might argue he continued to be, and I won't get in the middle of that one. His expertise and touch provided much rewarding listening over the years - decades, really. Since he was the first dobro player to move me, I still hear his tone in my mind when I imagine the instrument, and judge others by how they measure up to him - yes, even Jerry. For many years I got to jam with Stacy Phillips at parties and such, and it was quite a treat to hear the instrument played so well up close. I can barely imagine what it would have been like to have that experience with Mike Auldridge. God bless and God speed.

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## allenhopkins

When I saw the Seldom Scene in concert, Duffey introduced Mike Auldridge as "Larry the Legend."  Humor aside, very few musicians in our lifetimes have been as influential on a specific instrument; one can think of Doc Watson on flat-picked guitar, Earl Scruggs and Bill Keith on 5-string banjo, Jesse McReynolds on mandolin.

I sorta play _at_ resonator guitar, with just a few licks, but a love for that "Dobro sound," and I appreciate both the skill and the taste Mike Auldridge showed.  Definitely a great loss.

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## greg_tsam

RIP Mr. Auldridge.  My condolences to the family.

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## Dennis Ladd

What a pleasure it has been over the years to hear him play and sing. I believe he was the first Dobro player to free himself from the tyranny of playing in positions. A game changer for sure.

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## mandolirius

Mike Auldridge, believe it or not, was responsible for me getting into mandolin. It was his solo record "Blues & Bluegrass". I ordered it (had to come from England, on a label called Sonnet). A local radio station had a blues show and had been playing a cut called "Everybody Slides", which featured Mike, Lowell George on electric slide and David Bromberg on acoustic slide. I was into bottleneck guitar and I loved it. But when the record came, that was the only cut like it. The rest was bluegrass and country. One of the cuts was a killer version of "Walk, Don't Run" by The Ventures. It had killer mandolin solo by Doyle Lawson and once I heard that, I knew I had to play mandolin. Of course, the dobro playing was fantastic too and I used to steal licks and ideas from Mike as well as Doyle and John Duffey, the other mandolin player on the record. Also my introduction to Vassar Clements. That album had a big, big influence on me. RIP, Mr. Auldridge.

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## Rob Wallace

A huge loss and I feel fortunate to have seen him several months ago at the Birchmere with another group of greats.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...xDJ2-wno#t=71s

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## tmsweeney

I saw  Mike Auldridge doing a  workshop with  Jerry Douglas at the Winterhawk fest (  way back when when it was Winterhawk)

they did "House of the Rising Sun" on two dobros - unforgettable!

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## Willie Poole

The Washington Post had two whole pages telling about Mikes life and all of the people that he played and recorded with, I met him at a birthday party about a year ago but never really got to know or pick any with him I am sad to hear of his passing....

     Willie

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## swampstomper

All these nice tributes (including one from me) are nice but of course Mike can't read them. Remember to "give the roses while they live" to those musicians (and others of course!) who deserve them. In the case of Mike, I could do that the last time I saw him, filling in for Fred Travers at a Scene gig in Orange, VA about eight years ago. I talked to him between sets and told him how much pleasure I had struggling with his excellent instruction book and how his playing with Cliff Waldron had motivated me to learn some dobro. Just a small gesture on my part of sincere appreciation. So, if there's someone you want to compliment, go ahead and do it now!

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Dobe, 

mandolinlee, 

Marty Henrickson

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## brunello97

Here's a link to the WPost article that Wiilly referred to:

Auldridge Obit

Local boy makes good.

Mick

Listening to Tones Poems with DG, Brozman and MA right now. The man passed too soon.

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## ukebassmandozouk

A very nice remembrance from singer/songwriter/music journalist Peter Cooper:

http://blogs.tennessean.com/tunein/2...dge-taught-me/

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## Tim

I somehow missed this news and this past weekend David Grisman mentioned this as one of the greats lost this past year.  His "Treasures Untold" album is one of my favorites by anyone, any genre.

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