By John Clise
J.D. Crowe, a Bluegrass music legend whose career spanned seven decades, has passed away at the age of 84, according to a family post on the JD Crowe Facebook fan page.
“This morning at around 3am our dad, JD Crowe, went home. Prayers needed for all during this difficult time.”
According to his son David, Crowe had recently been hospitalized but was recuperating well.
Crowe was born August 27, 1937, in Lexington, Kentucky. He got his first job playing music from Raymond “Curly” Parker when he was only a teenager. He then played four years with Jimmy Martin in the 1950s where he gained attention and became a better-known player.
He formed the Kentucky Mountain Boys in 1961, changing the band’s name to The New South in 1971, in what would become a legendary period from the 1970s up to his retirement in 2015. Crow included country as well as rock musical sources as he influenced generations of players
He continued releasing albums even in retirement. The latest is set to be released soon with Rickey Wasson who was a member of the the New South. The album is titled Crowe and Wasson, and was recorded partly in the ’90s with some cuts coming more recently, according to media sources.
Crowe was inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2003. He recieved Grammy nominations in 1995 for Flashback in the Best Bluegrass Album and again in 2008 in the same category for Lefty’s Old Guitar.
No cause of death has been announced.
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