Audie Blaylock, lead singer and guitarist of the bluegrass band Redline who wrote songs for Garth Brooks and John Michael Montgomery, died unexpectedly on this day (Jan. 10) in 2024. He was 61 years old.
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Audie Blaylock Lived the Bluegrass Life
Born Aug. 18, 1962, in El Paso, Texas, Blaylock grew up part of a musical family in Lansing, Michigan, learning to play guitar at just 8 years old. “On the weekend, we’d be at one place or the other and everybody would just play music on a Saturday night,” he recalled in a 2012 interview. “That was normal for me.”
Blaylock was just 19 years old when he joined Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys. He played mandolin for nine years.
“It was a tremendous experience and I’m very grateful to be able to have had that opportunity,” Blaylock said of his time with Martin. “I feel sorry for some of the younger generation that will never be able to experience it first hand. I’m glad we have the recordings that they can listen to, but those first generation players, not only were they great players and singers, but they were also teachers.”
Later, Blaylock coordinated the 2004 album A Tribute to Jimmy Martin: The King of Bluegrass. The record scored a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album.
In 1990, he began working with another bluegrass legend, Red Allen, later joining his son Harley. After Allen’s death in 1993, he spent time with The Lynn Morris Band, Chris Jones & The Night Drivers, and Rhonda Vincent & The Rage.
After self-releasing a solo album, Trains Are the Only Way to Fly, in 2001, Blaylock started the bluegrass band Redline in 2004. With Redline, he released six albums, the last of which, Originalist, came in 2019.
On His Playing Style
Audie Blaylock remained fiercely committed to preserving the art of his craft. That’s probably why he insisted on playing the festival circuit. “Small venue live music can’t be replaced,” he said. “There is nothing like going to a live show and experiencing it with someone. It’s a bonding thing, a memory that you will always share with your family or friends. I grew up around music and that’s the only thing I wanted to do.”
Featured image by Jay West/WireImage
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