The Bluegrass Cardinals

The Bluegrass Cardinals took shape in Los Angeles during 1974 when banjoist Don Parmley joined forces with mandolinist Randy Graham and Parmley’s 15-year-old son David, establishing a bluegrass trio that would exert notable influence from the late 1970s into the early 1990s. Seven years earlier, Parmley and Graham had already formed a musical bond following the breakup of Parmley’s prior ensemble, the Hillmen, whose frontman Chris Hillman later achieved prominence with the Byrds; expanding that partnership into a family trio therefore felt like a logical step.

Relocating from southern California to Virginia in 1976, the group issued its self-titled debut on Sierra Records that same year and followed it in 1977 with Welcome to Virginia on Rounder. Those early releases quickly defined the group’s signature “Cardinal sound,” built around the layered harmonies of David Parmley’s lead, his father’s baritone, and Graham’s high tenor.

Lineup changes began almost immediately, positioning the Cardinals as a launchpad for numerous bluegrass players such as fiddler Dennis Fetchet, bassist Bill Bryson, and mandolinist Larry Stephenson. Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s the band cut multiple albums for the CMH label with these and additional musicians, while also making several Grand Ole Opry appearances. Between 1983 and 1986 the trio recorded three projects for Sugar Hill Records.

In 1991 Don and David briefly stepped away to collaborate with Del McCoury and his sons Ronnie and Rob McCoury on the album Parmley and McCoury -- Families of Tradition. David departed the Cardinals the following year to launch a solo career, ultimately releasing three albums under his own name. In 1995 he rejoined original fiddler Randy Graham to form the Continental Divide. The Cardinals remained active until 1997, when Don Parmley retired from music. Late in 2002, CMH Productions issued the David Parmley-curated retrospective The Essential Bluegrass Cardinals.