RIP Uncle Josh Graves

How sad to learn that Uncle Josh passed away a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't seen him in years (since he had his own band after he left the Earl Scruggs Revue and he called me to come down and see them) (but that is another story). Anyway, I will always think very fondly of Josh and remember the times that Jody Maphis, Randy Scruggs, Lyn Scholz, Vassar Clements, Josh Graves and myself drove around Los Angeles in a Monte Carlo rented by a friend of Josh's, blaring Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" and rocking out. Lord. I remember Lyn and I flying into Burbank to see the Revue (on a relative whim) and Jody and Randy picking us up at the airport in said Monte Carlo. Go - that was 34 years ago this Thanksgiving week. I feel mighty old. Anyway, I was going through some photos and was able to extricate one from those stupid sticky photo albums (I had been planning to re do everything but you know, stuff rips up when you try to peel the pictures out) and I scanned it - not too well. That's Josh on the far left next to Gary Scruggs, with Earl on the right and the late Stevie Scruggs bringing up the rear. This is a rare photo from that time because Gary is not wearing his orange and white "carnaby street" shirt (that I think his ex wife, Mary, made for him) - he stopped wearing that shirt after I casually pointed out in March 1973 in Dayton, Ohio that we were laying odds as to whether or not he'd have it on. (I was kind of a bitch back then, come to think of it). Anyway, this photo is from the Thanksgiving run at the Boarding House in San Francisco before we flew down to Los Angeles for the Troubador shows.

Last time I saw Josh, my husband had driven me to Pasadena to see Josh and his band and I just figured he would (as MOST people are, tee hee) be thrilled to see me. He didn't act terribly excited and then he opened his mouth and I realized why - he did not have his teeth in and I caught him by surprise. He always called me to come down to his shows when he was in San Francisco and I usually went. Josh introduced us to Ed Dopera (the Dobro inventor) and we spent a lot of time sitting around in hotel rooms, listening to really good music being played by Josh and the rest of the guys from the Revue.

Ah, man, another one gone.