Bluegrass Ambassadors

The McLain Family Band in Appalachia and the World

Paul O. Jenkins

• Publisher: West Virginia University Press
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781949199680
• eBook ISBN: 9781949199697
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Music Biographies

Bluegrass Ambassadors is the first book-length study of the McLain Family Band, which has spread the gospel of bluegrass for more than fifty years. Rooted in bluegrass but also collaborating with classical composers and performing folk, jazz, gospel, and even marches, the band traveled to sixty-two foreign countries in the 1970s under the auspices of the State Department. The band's verve and joyful approach to its art perfectly suited its ambassadorial role. After retiring as full-time performers, most members of the group became educators, with patriarch Raymond K. McLain's work at Berea College playing a particularly important role in bringing bluegrass to the higher education curriculum.

Interpreting the band's diverse repertoire as both a source of its popularity and a reason for its exclusion from the bluegrass pantheon, Paul Jenkins advances subtle arguments about genre, criticism, and audience. Bluegrass Ambassadors analyzes the McLains' compositions, recordings, and performances, and features a complete discography.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Family Tree
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. Beginnings
• 2. Berea and Beyond
• 3. All in the Family
• 4. Going Classical
• 5. In the Studio
• 6. Rosemary’s Songs
• 7. On the Road
• 8. “My Name’s Music”
• 9. In the Classroom: The McLains as Educators
• 10. Celebrating Life and Fifty Years Together
• Appendix A: Interpretations
• Appendix B: Solo Recordings
• Chronology
• Discography
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index