Famous Artists Course

The Grascals' core — lead vocalist, fiddler, and mandolin player Jamie Johnson, guitarist Terry Eldredge, bass and guitar player Terry Smith, and guitar and mandolin player Danny Roberts — all knew each other as polished sidemen and formed the Grascals to step out front and grab some of the limelight themselves. When Dolly Parton heard the band laying down tracks for their self-titled debut, she hired them to be her backing band. Her vocals on their first single, a bluegrass version of "Viva Las Vegas," helped the song debut at number three on the country charts and earned them an invitation to play the Grand Ol' Opry. The band continues to confound expectations on The Famous Lefty Flynn's by opening the album with a blazing cover of the Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville." The track features tasty solos from the two new Grascals, Kristin Scott Benson, IMBA Banjo Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009, and fiddler Jeremy Abshire…….

I'm Nearly Famous is the album which marked Cliff Richard's return from the commercial and, in many ways, creative void which had consumed him since the end of the 1960s. Recorded with former Shadow Brian Bennett in the production chair and boasting the most consistently excellent clutch of songs and performances Richard had mustered in over a decade, the album was previewed by the lovely "Miss You Night," opened with the neo-disco "I Can't Ask for Anything More," and peaked with "Devil Woman," a rocker which became his first ever U.S. Top Ten hit. But they were simply the best-known standouts.