# Bluegrass Guitar Great Tony Rice Dead At 69



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I was saddened to read the news of Tony's passing on Christmas day. I collected a dozen or more of his albums in the 80s & 90s along with his work with David Grisman and others. He was a one of kind musician with a distinctive sound and flawless technique. RIP
https://pitchfork.com/news/guitarist...ce-dead-at-69/


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

A sad opportunity to catch up on some of this feller's pickin', which is pretty darn good. Even great, I must say.
Rest in peace, Tony ... and we ol' gitar pickers 'll keep them fingers movin' for ya. Your stylings will live on in the hands of so many fans. But ... no one did it better than you.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

He was one of the greats. Was re-watching his live DVD where he played with Sam Bush, Mark O'Connor et all. Amazing musicianship


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

No Depression obit:

*Iconic Bluegrass Guitarist Tony Rice Dies at Age 69*
Stacy Chandler Posted On December 26, 2020

"Sometime during Christmas morning while making his coffee, our dear friend and guitar hero Tony Rice passed from this life and made his swift journey to his heavenly home," friend and collaborator Ricky Skaggs said in a statement authorized by the family, including Rice's wife, Pam, and their daughter, India.

Rice's unique style, vast recording catalog, and wide-reaching collaborations were foundational to many pickers in his generation and those that came after.

His presence on a recording was enough for me to know that I would enjoy it.

R.I.P. Tony -


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Many of his CDs & LPs are pretty scarce and expensive but there's a lot of good stuff on Spotify.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

starthrower said:


> Many of his CDs & LPs are pretty scarce and expensive but there's a lot of good stuff on Spotify.


I have a number of his older LPs in storage but listen mainly on Spotify. One of my favorite compilations is of his *Gordon Lightfoot* recordings.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

> His last public performance on guitar was at during the IBMA's awards show in 2013; later in the show, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. I was there, covering the awards show for the local paper in host city Raleigh, North Carolina. Crouched with my laptop in the very back of the cavernous theater, I could barely see Rice, tall and lean, as he walked onstage after the presentation remarks from Bush and Rowan. His brown hair in the ponytail that had become his stylistic signature - always tidy and elegant in its way, but also a statement against bluegrass business as usual - he stood in the spotlight and accepted many minutes of standing ovation from the audience. And then he walked to the podium and spoke, his voice a hoarse rasp. He looked back on his career and was generous in his thanks, but then the speech took a turn no one was expecting.
> 
> He referenced two elephants in the room: His own voice struggles, and the fact that acclaimed singer Alison Krauss had recently pulled out of the awards show and a planned IBMA headlining performance because of similar struggles with dysphonia. "One day I woke up and decided to try a few things with my voice, to see if anything at all could happen, even just a little stepping stone toward restoration of the voice. … If my heavenly Father is willing right now I might be able to show you a little bit of what I've been working on."
> 
> ...


You can watch Rice's Hall of Fame speech here, his reference to Krauss and his switch to his natural voice happens around the 11:15 mark.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

^^^
By far the most astonishing and inspiring moment I've experienced at an awards ceremony. Tony brought a lot of depth and shared his naked personal srtuggle with the audience at an otherwise annual event soon to be forgotten. He never had anything to do with show biz so he was just being himself.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

SanAntone said:


> I have a number of his older LPs in storage but listen mainly on Spotify. One of my favorite compilations is of his *Gordon Lightfoot* recordings.


Yeah, he always had a way with those songs. But he was a great interpreter of material and his superior musical skills and artistry elevated any material he performed. Some of my other favorites are the James Taylor tune, Nothing Like A Hundred Miles, Joni Mitchell's Urge For Going, and John Wilkes Booth written by Mary Chapin Carpenter. Those are all on Native American.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Just uploaded a few days ago.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

starthrower said:


> Just uploaded a few days ago.


Fantastic to see these two great guitarists live. Thanks for posting it.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

It's of an extremely amateur quality but at least it exists.


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