Ebook: Mandolin Man: The Bluegrass Life of Roland White

A No Depression Most Memorable Music Book of 2022

Roland White's long career has taken him from membership in Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys and Lester Flatt's Nashville Grass to success with his own Roland White Band. A master of the mandolin and acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, White has mentored a host of bluegrass musicians and inspired countless others.

Bob Black draws on extensive interviews with White and his peers and friends to provide the first in-depth biography of the pioneering bluegrass figure. Born into a musical family, White found early success with the Kentucky Colonels during the 1960s folk revival. The many stops and collaborations that marked White's subsequent musical journey trace the history of modern bluegrass. But Black also delves into the seldom-told tale of White's life as a working musician, one who endured professional and music industry ups-and-downs to become a legendary artist and beloved teacher.

An entertaining merger of memories and music history, Mandolin Man tells the overdue story of a bluegrass icon and his times.

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Title Page Copyright Contents Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Doing It for Real 2. Birth of a Dream 3. The Country Boys 4. The Original Kentucky Colonels 5. The Blue Grass Boys 6. The Nashville Grass 7. The New Kentucky Colonels 8. Country Gazette 9. The Nashville Bluegrass Band 10. The Roland White Band 11. Roland's Family Ties 12. A Visit with Roland and Diane 13. Back to Where It All Started Afterword Appendix A: People, Bands, and Venues Appendix B: Roland White's Family Appendix C: Roland White Instructional Materials Notes Roland White Recordings Cited Index Back cover|

"A warm and appreciative book that keeps White's presence alive." —No Depression

"Black's own relevant musical experience, alongside his interviews with White, his family, and country music icons such as Marty Stuart, make this biography a must-read for bluegrass aficionados. Although White may not be a household name to those outside the bluegrass scene, he richly deserves this long-awaited tribute." —Library Journal

"Superb. . . . Bob Black has delivered another instant classic biography of one of bluegrass music's most valuable, but perhaps under-appreciated, influencers and torch-bearers. If you read but one bluegrass history or biography this year, make it Mandolin Man: The Bluegrass Life of Roland White." —Bluegrass Unlimited

|Bob Black played banjo in Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys and recorded with Monroe on the Weary Traveler album. Black later played with Buck White and the Down Home Folks and has performed with Ricky Skaggs, Ralph Stanley, Rhonda Vincent, Marty Stuart, and many others. He is the author of Come Hither to Go Yonder: Playing Bluegrass with Bill Monroe.