Biography
During his high school years, Bill Price often imagined performing in an outstanding bluegrass outfit. An opportunity arose when prominent bandleader Jimmy Martin hired the teenager, immediately valuing his steady rhythmic guitar work and engaging way with the style's characteristically sentimental numbers. After finishing school, Price joined a strong trio that included Martin plus young banjoist J.D. Crowe, along with several other lineups, before going independent while Martin launched his celebrated progressive partnership with the Osborne Brothers. The two musicians also passed through Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys at separate times, Price stepping in for Martin during 1954.
Elsewhere in a nearby cluttered record store, Price and banjo-playing friend Bobby Simpson encountered guitarist and bluegrass/country singer Carlos Brock, sparking an instant rapport; Price later observed that his prospective bandmate brought to mind Western lawman Matt Dillon. Launching the new group proved straightforward amid Cincinnati's lively bluegrass milieu, where locals often browsed fresh releases at Jimmy Skinner's shop and pickers could broadcast live from the record racks.
The Country Pardners formed from that original roster of eager, capable players at the start of a new musical era, though the name later attached exclusively to Price while the others shifted to everyday work in insurance and finance, limiting music to occasional gigs or dropping it altogether. The ensemble's early promise secured an RCA recording contract produced by Chet Atkins, and Roy Acuff's publishing firm offered a deal. Among the first songs presented ahead of the major Nashville sessions was "Why Baby Why" by then-unknown songwriter George Jones; Price later recalled that faster action might have yielded the hit ultimately claimed by Webb Pierce and Red Sovine. The track came closest to success for the group, yet the four sides they cut remain fine examples of early bluegrass possessing uncommon charm.
Following a brief break, Price overcame rock & roll's setback through new management and several Opry guest appearances. In the late '60s he and his wife opened a booking agency that gained momentum once Bill Monroe became a client. Brother Charlie Monroe likewise generated strong revenue for the agency during the '70s, when the couple began staging multiple large-scale bluegrass festivals each year. The couple also recorded together, releasing several albums on Rural Rhythm. Price began performing under the name Bill Price & the Country Pardners, reviving his earlier group's title. He once hoped to reassemble the original members at one of his festivals and, in the mid-'70s, offered "five dollars each no matter what shape" for surviving copies of the old Country Pardners sides around the time Rounder reissued some tracks in its Early Days of Bluegrass series. He died at home from liver cancer; two of his children and first wife Betty also succumbed to the disease.
Elsewhere in a nearby cluttered record store, Price and banjo-playing friend Bobby Simpson encountered guitarist and bluegrass/country singer Carlos Brock, sparking an instant rapport; Price later observed that his prospective bandmate brought to mind Western lawman Matt Dillon. Launching the new group proved straightforward amid Cincinnati's lively bluegrass milieu, where locals often browsed fresh releases at Jimmy Skinner's shop and pickers could broadcast live from the record racks.
The Country Pardners formed from that original roster of eager, capable players at the start of a new musical era, though the name later attached exclusively to Price while the others shifted to everyday work in insurance and finance, limiting music to occasional gigs or dropping it altogether. The ensemble's early promise secured an RCA recording contract produced by Chet Atkins, and Roy Acuff's publishing firm offered a deal. Among the first songs presented ahead of the major Nashville sessions was "Why Baby Why" by then-unknown songwriter George Jones; Price later recalled that faster action might have yielded the hit ultimately claimed by Webb Pierce and Red Sovine. The track came closest to success for the group, yet the four sides they cut remain fine examples of early bluegrass possessing uncommon charm.
Following a brief break, Price overcame rock & roll's setback through new management and several Opry guest appearances. In the late '60s he and his wife opened a booking agency that gained momentum once Bill Monroe became a client. Brother Charlie Monroe likewise generated strong revenue for the agency during the '70s, when the couple began staging multiple large-scale bluegrass festivals each year. The couple also recorded together, releasing several albums on Rural Rhythm. Price began performing under the name Bill Price & the Country Pardners, reviving his earlier group's title. He once hoped to reassemble the original members at one of his festivals and, in the mid-'70s, offered "five dollars each no matter what shape" for surviving copies of the old Country Pardners sides around the time Rounder reissued some tracks in its Early Days of Bluegrass series. He died at home from liver cancer; two of his children and first wife Betty also succumbed to the disease.
Albums
