Doug Dillard has passed away.

[Ivan Kelsall]

A good friend of mine,Ian Sharp,from Darlington in the UK who's been a friend of Doug Dillard for some time,e-mailed me this morning to tell me that Doug passed away last night in hospital. Doug's wife,Vikki, was in touch with Ian yesterday to say that Doug was doing ok.Apparently he took a turn for the worst & was rushed to hospital,where he passed away.
That's another legendary picker gone from us & one of my premier influences when i began playing Banjo back in '63.
I am just so sad to hear this dreadful news - R.I.P. Doug Dillard,
Ivan

[Mike Snyder]

Doug and John Hartford- R.I.P. Some great banjo men come out of Missouri.

[Fretbear]

He used to swing through our town regularly along with Ginger Boatwright, Kathy Chiavola and Billy Constable burning the place down with his guitar and mandolin playing. He always wore buckskin moccasins on stage. R.I.P. D.D.

[AlanN]

We've picked Doug's Tune for years.

RIP, Banjo Man...

[MikeEdgerton]

The Dillard & Clark album is on my personal top 10 of all time list. That was the first time I heard him. Sad to see him pass.

[almeriastrings]

Feeling very sad. The Dillard's were wonderful. The "Live - Almost" album is one of the true greats. Great picking and fabulous humour and stage presence.

Gosh, we seem to be losing a lot lately.... :(

[Fstpicker]

So sorry to hear of this. The great ones are slowly being taken away from us, one by one.

Jeff

[greg_tsam]

Donald "Duck" Dunn, Donna Summer, and now Douglas Dillard. What a week.


http://youtu.be/9Wz03j-NlxQ

[f5loar]

I was so glad to see Doug, I guess doing his last show at the Monroe Birthday Bash in Owensboro. He was in good spirits then and looking forward to doing the Mayberry Days Show in Mt. Airy , NC this Sept. While Dillard & Clark is a favorite of mine, I liked his short tour with The Byrds when Gram Parsons was in the group in 1968. Doug plunking along to Byrd songs on an electric Rickenbacker banjo was something to see. To me The Dillards paved the way that Bluegrass music was more than just Bill Monroe and Flatt&Scruggs. Even in his later years when he got back together with Rodney and Dean Webb and Mitch Jayne the magic was always there.

[Elliot Luber]

A very talented musician.

[John McCoy]

Very sad to hear this. Just a couple of nights ago I re-watched the The Darlings Are Coming episode of TAGS and was reminded of just how good he was (they were). Another who will be sorely missed.



== John ==

[Charley wild]

A sad day indeed! I admired him very much. I was introduced to his music via The Andy Griffith Show like countless others! Later when I took banjo lessons my instructor made sure I learned some Doug Dillard. RIP Doug.

[bgmando]

This one hits me hard. I saw the Dillards warm up Elton John in Brewer Field House at MU and enjoyed them most. Looked forward to them most because I was exploring deeper into bluegrass.
I followed them through the years.
I'm a mandolin player, not a banjo player. But we're all interwoven.

bg

[Ivan Kelsall]

From AlanN - "We've picked Doug's Tune for years.". Alan,in close to 50 years of banjo playing,i'm the only other person that i've heard play Doug's Tune.That's not to say that i'm the only person who does play it,i've just never heard anybody else.It took me ages to get that sort of cross between a hammer-on & a choke to get it to sound as crisp as Doug got it.
The 2 Dillards LP's were amongst the first Bluegrass records i was able to buy over here,& Doug's playing was huge influence on me,every bit as much as the playing of Earl Scruggs when the Foggy Mt.Boys recording became available.The Dillards on stage with the wit & humour of Mitch Jayne,must have been one heck of an experience,
Ivan

[Jack Roberts]

Last week was Rodney's birthday. I never saw Doug on stage, but the Dillards were always a favorite of mine. I caught Rodney and Beverly when they were out here on the left coast last year.

Davy Jones, Earl Scruggs, Doug Dillard, I hate to see these people leave us: they were part of my childhood television second reality.