Curtis Burch (born 1945) played Dobro and guitar in New Grass Revival from its start in 1971 until 1981. He was part of the band that launched the newgrass movement with Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson, and later John Cowan. He was one of the featured players on The Great Dobro Sessions, which won the 1995 Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album. He entered the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame with New Grass Revival in 2020.
Why Burch matters
Burch was the Dobro player in the band that started newgrass. New Grass Revival took bluegrass instruments into rock, jazz, and reggae, and his Dobro and guitar were part of that sound through the band’s first decade. He showed that the Dobro could work in a band that took its cues from rock as much as from Bill Monroe.
Life and career
Curtis Eugene Burch was born on January 24, 1945, in Montgomery, Alabama. By 1971 he was in the Bluegrass Alliance, a Louisville band, with Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson, and Ebo Walker. When the band’s leader left and took the name with him, the others formed New Grass Revival.
Burch played Dobro and guitar with the band from 1971 to 1981. Their first album came out on Starday in 1973. His last album with the band was Commonwealth on Flying Fish in 1982, after which Pat Flynn and Béla Fleck replaced him and Johnson.
He has also performed with Leon Russell, John Hartford, Vassar Clements, Norman and Nancy Blake, and Doc Watson. In 1994 he played on The Great Dobro Sessions, and he performed on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack in 2000. In 2001 he recorded and toured with the Larry Keel Experience. He lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Playing style
Burch plays both Dobro and guitar, and the Hall of Fame lists both as his primary instruments. On The Great Dobro Sessions he played his own tunes Rainbow Bridge and Suitcase, the second with Jerry Douglas, and two duets with Tut Taylor.
Influences and legacy
Burch played beside Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson, Ebo Walker, Butch Robins, and John Cowan in New Grass Revival. He recorded with Tut Taylor and Jerry Douglas on The Great Dobro Sessions. Pat Flynn took over the guitar chair when he left.
Signature tunes and songs
Rainbow Bridge Suitcase.
Essential recordings
New Grass Revival (Starday, 1973) Commonwealth, New Grass Revival (Flying Fish, 1982) The Great Dobro Sessions (Sugar Hill, 1994)
Awards and honors
Grammy Award, Best Bluegrass Album, The Great Dobro Sessions (1995) International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, as a member of New Grass Revival (2020)
Watch and listen
Burch plays Dobro in a jam with banjo player Randal Morton and guitarist Jason Flourney.
What to learn from Burch
Learn a New Grass Revival song and play a Dobro break that uses blues notes: the flat third and flat seventh. Slide into them from a fret below. Then switch to guitar and play rhythm on the same song. Burch moved between the two in one band, and knowing both parts makes you a better player on either.
Sources
Burch, Curtiss, BluegrassBios.com New Grass Revival, Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum The Great Dobro Sessions, Wikipedia Awards by Category, IBMA
Related players
See the Dobro players hub and the Dobro guide. John Cowan and Sam Bush were his New Grass Revival bandmates. Tut Taylor played duets with him on The Great Dobro Sessions.