My old man played 5 string. He called it "Hillbilly Music.'' I was 6 years old. Next year I will be 70. Every day of my life, somewhere in the background, I have heard to a five string banjo, be it in my band or through a speaker.
I cannot play a banjo, only mandolin and guitar. But without realizing it, Bluegrass banjo has been a constant thread woven into some seven decades of my life.
I cannot remember the last time I cried.
I am crying now, not out loud and shreaking - just a few tears for a man who lived and worked his magic on the other side of the world.
We are all poorer for his passing.
Travel well man.