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Thread: JD Crowe

  1. #1

    Default JD Crowe

    There's a 10 part video on Youtube called "JD Crowe, a Kentucky Treasure" that is a very in depth telling of his history. And there's a lot of mandolin action along the way. And very few Loar's in sight.
    When he was in The Kentucky Mountain Boys which preceded the New South, Doyle Lawson was on mandolin and he was playing an obvious F5 copy with "The Gibson" inlay. Wondering if anyone knows what that was.

  2. #2
    Registered User sunburst's Avatar
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    Default Re: JD Crowe

    I do not know, but my first guess would be Paganoni.
    (Mostly just posting to see if I turn out to be correct when somebody who actually knows comes along.)

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  4. #3

    Default Re: JD Crowe

    This one looked way more crude than any Pag I've seen. But could have been an early one. Also this was in the 60's I think and may have been before Pag showed up.

  5. #4

    Default Re: JD Crowe

    This is about the best shot I could get of it.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Of course, upside down. It's right on my computer.
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  6. #5
    Registered User Drew Egerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: JD Crowe

    Doyle gave some insight into his mandolins over the years in this recent article: https://bluegrasstoday.com/the-schoo...your-mandolin/

    Guessing it was that F5 copy he mentions before the Paganoni
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  8. #6
    Registered User sunburst's Avatar
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    Default Re: JD Crowe

    Even in the grainy B&W image it does in fact look a little crude to be a Paganoni.

  9. #7

    Default Re: JD Crowe

    There's another photo in the film of Doyle with what must have been a 50's or possibly 60's F-12. F-12's had back binding didn't they? Those early F-12's were often seen in early bluegrass.

  10. #8

    Default Re: JD Crowe

    Flips if you click on it. Weird.

  11. #9

    Default Re: JD Crowe

    Well, this gets my curiosity up anyway.
    Doyle says he doesn't remember what that mandolin was but it had to be a very early replica, as early or earlier than the oldest Randy Woods but I've seen early Randy and they weren't that rough. But it shows that there was a search for something better than Gibson was offering even if Loars were out of reach.

  12. #10
    Registered User Jim Roberts's Avatar
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    Default Re: JD Crowe

    Didn’t Roland White for years play an F5 built by Randy Wood that had “The Gibson” inlayed on the headstock?

  13. #11

    Default Re: JD Crowe

    Paganoni never did a "The Gibson"
    except #3 was a 1969 F-12 he bought new and reworked ,dont think Doyle ever used it .i use to own it.
    Danny Clark

  14. #12
    Registered User Dan Adams's Avatar
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    Default Re: JD Crowe

    I had the opportunity to play Roland’s Randy Wood Gibson at a clinic hosted by the Pickin Parlor in Arvada, CO. Impeccable workmanship, but showed all those years of wear and an unbelievable tone, especially when played by Roland. He freely admitted it was built by Wood with the Gibson inlay. If Doyle was playing a similar instrument? Bravo!
    Play em like you know em!

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  16. #13

    Default Re: JD Crowe

    This is from a Country Gentlemen video where they are practicing Matterhorn before taking the stage.
    Doyle seems to have a different F copy than the one from the JD video. The fingerboard is a giveaway that it's not a Gibson.
    This is probably late 60's.
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  17. #14
    Registered User Drew Egerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: JD Crowe

    I don't have anything else to add other than the article I shared before, but I did want to say that I watched all 10 parts of the JD Crowe Kentucky Treasure series on Youtube and it was really interesting! I had heard bits of this from reading Ricky and Tony's books but I learned a lot about JD. Thanks for mentioning that!
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  18. #15

    Default Re: JD Crowe

    There's another Kentucky Treasure video on the Osbornes that's just as good.
    Who knew JD dropped out of music to do a rural mail route!

  19. #16
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    Default Re: JD Crowe

    When I heard J D Crowe's band in Lexington in 1969, Doyle Lawson played an instrument built by Homer Ledford, better known, I believe, for his mountain dulcimers. Me and my friends chatted a bit with Crowe and Lawson between sets. I tried to play Lawson's axe, but the action was impossibly high.

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  21. #17

    Default Re: JD Crowe

    Never heard of Homer before.

  22. #18
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    Default Re: JD Crowe

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Hilburn View Post
    Never heard of Homer before.
    He lived in Winchester, about 20 miles East of Lexington. Have you seen the Dig a Little Deeper video with Lawson's band (you can probably find it on YouTube) ? He's the old man appearing in that video.

  23. #19
    Ursus Mandolinus Fretbear's Avatar
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    Default Re: JD Crowe

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Hilburn View Post
    Who knew JD dropped out of music to do a rural mail route!
    "Now J.D. Crowe he owned the farm,
    From the Hog-lot to the barn
    From the barn to the rail,
    He made his livin' by carrying the mail..."

    "Down the Road"

    John Prine too.....!
    But Amsterdam was always good for grieving
    And London never fails to leave me blue
    And Paris never was my kinda town
    So I walked around with the Ft. Worth Blues

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  25. #20
    Registered User jim simpson's Avatar
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    Default Re: JD Crowe

    and Johnny Staats delivers the goods with UPS!
    Old Hometown, Cabin Fever String Band

  26. #21

    Default Re: JD Crowe

    Quote Originally Posted by Fretbear View Post
    "Now J.D. Crowe he owned the farm,
    From the Hog-lot to the barn
    From the barn to the rail,
    He made his livin' by carrying the mail..."

    "Down the Road"

    John Prine too.....!

    To be fair, I think John Prine dropped out of carrying the mail to play music.

    Phil Lesh drove a mail truck for a while too.

  27. #22
    Registered User Hendrik Ahrend's Avatar
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    Default Re: JD Crowe

    Quote Originally Posted by Southern Man View Post
    To be fair, I think John Prine dropped out of carrying the mail to play music.
    Naturally – as he passed in 2020, he became quite passive anyway.

  28. #23

    Default Re: JD Crowe

    I got to play Roland Wkite's "Gibson " Randy Wood mandolin at Randy's shop years ago, I remember being startled at the volume, and the tone was ancient !!!

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