The McPeak Brothers

The McPeak Brothers emerged as a well-regarded bluegrass trio out of Wytheville, Virginia, featuring Dewey on banjo and guitar, Larry on bass and guitar, and Mike handling guitar and lead vocals. Their older sibling Udell had already entered the music scene by joining the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers in the 1950s. Udell, Dewey, and Larry launched the initial lineup of the McPeak Brothers in 1963, after which Udell departed to perform with Red Smiley’s band and Mike stepped in to fill the vacancy. Once fiddler Ernest Atkins and mandolin player Gus Ingo came aboard, the ensemble secured a weekly slot on a local radio broadcast beginning in 1969. Their first recordings appeared in 1970, followed two years later by the album Virginia, Where It All Began. A second release, Bluegrass at Its Peak, arrived in 1973. Atkins’s connection with Mel Tillis opened the door to appearances on Tillis’s syndicated television program, which in turn secured a deal with RCA Victor and yielded an album in 1974. After parting ways with the label, the group issued three additional albums on independent imprints. Several of their songs, among them “Somebody Socked It to Mine,” “Simon Crutchfield’s Grave,” and “Bobbi,” gained favor among progressive bluegrass musicians. Activity tapered off markedly in the mid-1980s, limiting the McPeaks to regional performances, though they returned to the studio for a new album in 1992 and subsequently assembled a collection highlighting standout tracks from their independent releases.