2004 NEA National Heritage Fellowships

JERRY DOUGLAS
Dobro player, Nashville, TN

At different times critics have called Jerry Douglas the Charlie Parker and the Jimi Hendrix of the Dobro. The Dobro, a resophonic guitar played with a slide, emerged as an instrument of choice in bluegrass, country, and Western Swing bands following the Hawaiian steel guitar fad in the early 20th century. Douglas, who was playing acoustic guitar in his father's string band in the steel belt town of Warren, Ohio, first heard the Dobro played by "Josh" Graves when Graves was touring with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. Having taken up the Dobro shortly thereafter, Douglas soon was touring with bluegrass bands. Before long he gained a reputation as both a technical master and a stunning innovator on the instrument. Today, having performed on well over 1,000 recordings, he can be heard playing with musicians as diverse as Stephane Grapelli, James Taylor, Ray Charles, Vishna Mohan Bhatt, Bela Fleck, Phish, and Yo Yo Ma. A recipient of five Grammy Awards, Douglas recently toured and recorded with Alison Krauss and Union Station. Music critic Tom Grill of Sydney, Australia, says of Jerry Douglas, "He may have peers in the future, but at the moment he stands alone on a musical pinnacle he created, eager for good resophonic company, but still quite alone after more than twenty years of touring and backstage teaching."

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