March 31, 2020

136 - Tony Rice's 6 Guitar Influences (Joni Mitchell, Clarence White)

1 hour 1 minute

★ All show notes and links: https://acousticlife.tv/at136

★ Get the show: https://tonypolecastro.com/get-acoustic-tuesday

Tony Rice is one of the most important bluegrass guitarists in history. Why? On today's episode of Acoustic Tuesday, I'm answering that question in the best way I know how: by playing the 6 degrees of Tony Rice.

The thing is, the best way to understand Tony Rice's impact is to look at his influences, to see how much he borrowed and blended to create some unforgettable music.

Now, I'd feature Tony Rice's covers on this episode of Acoustic Tuesday, but copyright laws be darned, I can't. So, instead, I'll feature other covers of the songs that Tony Rice covered!

If you want links to the actual Tony Rice covers, be sure to head to www.acousticlife.tv/at136

To kick things off, let's talk about the 6 most influential guitar players in Tony Rice's music.

6) Clarence White

From his flatpicking to owning his actual guitar, Tony Rice was heavily influenced by Clarence White. Tony Rice went as far as owning the exact Martin D-28 that Clarence White owned. Now, for those of you who don't know Clarence White was a member of The Kentucky Colonels, The Byrds, and many more bands. As you listen to Clarence White, you can absolutely hear how the rolling flatpicking sounds influenced Tony Rice.

5) Tom Paxton

For those of you who don't know, Tom Paxton is an incredible songwriter. Paxton led the charge on the folk revival. Born in Chicago, he relocated to New York City and frequented the Gaslight Cafe. Tony Rice pays homage to Tom Paxton by covering "The Last Thing on My Mind," on Church Street Blues. If you listen to the acoustic tone and song selection, Tom Paxton was a huge influence on Tony Rice.

4) Jim Croce

In 1994, Tony Rice covered Jim Croce's "Age" on the Bluegrass Band Vol. 4 album. Now, besides this album featuring some of the best musicians out there, Jim Croce's influence on Tony Rice is apparent. And, while I can't feature the Croce original or Rice's cover, I can show you Seth Avett's cover of "Operator," so be sure to listen to it today!

3) Ian Tyson

Ian Tyson is a huge influence on Tony Rice. In fact, Tony Rice covered his song "Summer Wages" not once but twice. The time Tony Rice covered it was on Native American and the second time was on J.D. Crowe and the New South's self-titled album. If you haven't heard that album, you need to hear it!

2) Joni Mitchell

In Tony Rices 1992 album Native American, he covered Joni Mitchell's gentle seasonal ballad "Urge for Going." Now, if you haven't heard the original, I highly recommend it. The lyrics are great, the phrasing is fantastic, and I love Joni's voice. All of this is to say that Tony Rice definitely tried to borrow from Joni Mitchell's lyricism. To help illustrate it and show the profound impact that Joni Mitchell had on the scene and how it further influenced Tony Rice, I've featured a clip of Dave Van Ronk covering "Urge for Going."

1) Gordon Lightfoot

The first degree of influence, of course, is Gordon Lightfoot. Lightfoot's influence on Tony Rice can be seen in his songwriting, flatpicking, and overall style and tone. See, Lightfoot led the charge on the folk revival in Canada. As such, Tony Rice actually dedicated an entire album to Gordon Lightfoot.

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By Tony Polecastro

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