Search - The Osborne Brothers: In Concert at Renfro Valley on DVD

Clear documentation of these IBMA's Hall of Honor inductees

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 04/04/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Renfro Valley Barn Dance has a long, exciting history of nearly 70 years. After radio broadcasts from Ohio in 1937-38 over station WLW, the show took up permanent residence in late-1939 in the big barn in Renfro Valley, Kentucky. It was ten years later (1949) that Kentuckian Bobby Osborne began his long-tenured career in music with The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers. Sonny Osborne joined the group a year later (1950) at age thirteen. When The Osborne Brothers were recorded at the Renfro Valley Barn Dance on August 6, 1992, they had already been members of the Grand Ole Opry for nearly three decades and "Rocky Top" had been the designated state song of Tennessee for almost ten years.

While this concert was previously released on video in 1997, it is now available from Pinecastle Records on DVD. Besides Sonny (banjo, gitcho, vocals) and Bobby (mandolin, vocals), the rest of the band was the late Gene Wooten (Dobro), Terry Eldredge (guitar, vocals), David Crow (fiddle), and Terry Smith (bass). From North Carolina, Wooten would have just joined the Osborne Bros. in 1992, and they were clearly enjoying his presence with them on stage. Wooten went on to win SPBGMA's Dobro Player of the Year in 1994. An 18-year-old David Crow, a Florida State Fiddle and Mandolin Champion, would have also just joined up with the Osbornes in 1992. He had moved to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt University a year before this concert was recorded. From Indiana, Terry Eldredge had previously played with Lonzo & Oscar, and he was appearing on the Grand Ole Opry before he was even old enough to vote. Terry's tenure with The Osborne Brothers spanned the period from 1988-2000. He'd began with them as their bass player but switched to guitar when Terry Smith joined up.

The professional camera work was done by WKYT out of Lexington, Ky. After opening with a couple up-tempo numbers (Paul Craft's "Fastest Grass Alive" and Jimmy Skinner "Doin' My Time"), the band settles into their musical groove characterized by sincerity, realism and showmanship. Sonny's own "Me and My Old Banjo" is a crowd-pleaser, and Buck Graves' "Foggy Mountain Rock" allows for plenty of hot licks from all the band members, including a bass break by Smith. At the midpoint, the country medley of "My Favorite Memory," "You Win Again," and "Today I Started Lovin' You Again" seemed to drag a tad, but I'm sure that they felt those numbers were right at the time as they worked the mostly older audience. Of course, "Kentucky" and "Rocky Top" were played with the former eliciting many of the crowd to stand up in pleasure and appreciation. Terry Eldredge (now with The Grascals) sang lead on Judy Osborne's "One Tear," and the band's closing number is Darrell Sadler's "Bluegrass Melodies."

As musical ambassadors from Kentucky, The Osbornes were right on that evening and playing to a hometown crowd. While a little short, this concert is a rare treat from the annals of bluegrass and country music history. It provides clear video documentation as to why The Osborne Brothers were 1994 inductees into IBMA's Hall of Honor, only about two years after this show was recorded. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)
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Worth the purchase price

Judith A. Neilson | 07/11/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Bluegrass Concerts: THis is a great video for anywone who is into bluegrass, especially the older musicians. My husband is an avid fan of this type of music and even I enjoy the videos."