Biography
A fitting anthem for any touring musician, "If I Should Wander Back Tonight" evokes the lifestyle of the Pinnacle Boys, a sturdy bluegrass ensemble whose far-flung performances matched their consistent presence in record bins devoted to the genre. Observers have labeled the outfit both a bluegrass supergroup and the inventors of a bluegrass techno style in which the distinct traits of individual players yield to intense collective interplay. It follows that the band's tracks appear frequently on anthologies such as The Banjos That Destroyed the World, yet the Pinnacle Boys also produced material far removed from rural themes, most notably the eccentric "Latin Leprechaun." Knoxville served as the group's base, a city whose past residents helped shape the foundations of country and bluegrass.
During the 1970s the Pinnacle Boys ranked among the leading Knoxville acts in the contemporary bluegrass scene, alongside the Knoxville Grass. Personnel in both groups shifted unpredictably from one engagement to the next, with the movements of prominent sidemen across Appalachian bands proving too intricate to track without specialized investigation. Bud Brewster, formerly one of the Brewster Brothers who accompanied country legend Carl Story, handled frontman duties during the Pinnacle Boys' peak popularity. Banjo player Larry Mathis had previously performed with the Bailey Brothers, and additional members had already issued their own recordings on imprints including County and Atteiram. Beneath the surface of the group's sound lay an undercurrent of their hometown's nostalgic old-time sensibility that surfaced most clearly in their renditions of Louvin Brothers songs. That quality largely vanished, however, on the mid-1970s Rounder album intended to reach broader listeners; the label tempered much of the drive from the twin-fiddle configuration of Randall Collins and Jerry Moore, resulting in a lukewarm reception.
During the 1970s the Pinnacle Boys ranked among the leading Knoxville acts in the contemporary bluegrass scene, alongside the Knoxville Grass. Personnel in both groups shifted unpredictably from one engagement to the next, with the movements of prominent sidemen across Appalachian bands proving too intricate to track without specialized investigation. Bud Brewster, formerly one of the Brewster Brothers who accompanied country legend Carl Story, handled frontman duties during the Pinnacle Boys' peak popularity. Banjo player Larry Mathis had previously performed with the Bailey Brothers, and additional members had already issued their own recordings on imprints including County and Atteiram. Beneath the surface of the group's sound lay an undercurrent of their hometown's nostalgic old-time sensibility that surfaced most clearly in their renditions of Louvin Brothers songs. That quality largely vanished, however, on the mid-1970s Rounder album intended to reach broader listeners; the label tempered much of the drive from the twin-fiddle configuration of Randall Collins and Jerry Moore, resulting in a lukewarm reception.
Albums
