Mike Auldridge (1938 to 2012) was a founding member of the Seldom Scene and one of the most influential Dobro players in bluegrass. The New York Times called him one of the most distinctive Dobro players in the history of country and bluegrass. He is in the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame twice, with the Original Seldom Scene in 2014 and on his own in 2019. In 2012 he received a National Heritage Fellowship, the nation’s top honor in folk and traditional arts.
Why Auldridge matters
Auldridge took the Dobro from Josh Graves’s driving roll toward a smoother, chiming sound that fit the Seldom Scene’s mix of bluegrass, folk, and country-rock. He also brought swing into the instrument and played an eight-string resonator guitar. Readers of Muleskinner News voted him Best Dobro Player every year from 1974 to 1978.
Life and career
Auldridge was born on December 30, 1938, in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Kensington, Maryland. His uncle, Ellsworth Cozzens, played steel guitar and Dobro on some of Jimmie Rodgers’s early records. Auldridge started on guitar and banjo and at 15 was playing on WDON radio with his brother Dave in the South Mountain Boys.
In 1955 he heard Josh Graves with Flatt and Scruggs, and Graves became his biggest influence. In 1961 he bought his first Dobro from Graves for $150. He studied music and art at the University of Maryland and worked as a graphic artist, including for the Washington Star. He designed several early Seldom Scene album covers and the Bluegrass Unlimited logo.
In 1969 he joined Bill Emerson and Cliff Waldron’s New Shades of Grass and recorded two Rebel albums with them. In the fall of 1971 he co-founded the Seldom Scene with John Duffey, Ben Eldridge, John Starling, and Tom Gray. His first solo album, Dobro, came out on Takoma in 1972 with Josh Graves and Vassar Clements as guests. Blues and Bluegrass followed in 1974 with Linda Ronstadt and Lowell George.
He played full time after the Washington Star folded in 1981. Later bands included Chesapeake and John Starling and Carolina Star, and he toured with Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett. With Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes he recorded Three Bells, released in 2014, which won IBMA Instrumental Recording of the Year. He died on December 29, 2012.
Playing style
His first records show his admiration for Josh Graves. With the Seldom Scene his playing grew smoother, with what the Hall of Fame calls chime-like tones. In 1975 a brother left a steel guitar at his house, and he took up the steel guitar as well. He later played an eight-string resonator guitar, and he worked with Paul Beard to design the Beard Mike Auldridge model Dobro, including an eight-string version.
Influences and legacy
Auldridge learned from his uncle Ellsworth Cozzens and from Josh Graves. He played beside John Duffey, Tom Gray, and Ben Eldridge in the Seldom Scene. Fred Travers, who replaced him in the Scene, learned Dobro from him. He recorded with Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes on Three Bells. The DC Bluegrass Union runs a Mike Auldridge Instrumental Composition Contest in his name.
Signature tunes and songs
Spanish Grass Laura’s Tune Rock Bottom Wake Forest, from The Great Dobro Sessions.
Essential recordings
Act I, the Seldom Scene (Rebel, 1972) Dobro (Takoma, 1972) Blues and Bluegrass (Takoma, 1974) Three Bells, with Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes (Rounder, 2014)
Awards and honors
Muleskinner News readers’ poll, Best Dobro Player (1974 to 1978) IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award (2007) National Heritage Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts (2012) International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, as a member of the Original Seldom Scene (2014) IBMA Instrumental Recording of the Year, Three Bells (2015) International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame (2019)
Watch and listen
Auldridge plays with Josh Graves and Jerry Douglas at a Dobro summit.
What to learn from Auldridge
Learn a slow Seldom Scene song and play backup with the bar held light on the strings. Let each note ring and fade instead of chopping it short. Then work on tone: pick closer to the neck for a warmer sound and closer to the bridge for a brighter one. Auldridge’s lesson is that tone is a choice you make with every note.
Sources
Mike Auldridge, Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum Mike Auldridge, Wikipedia Auldridge, Mike, BluegrassBios.com The Great Dobro Sessions, Wikipedia Travers, Fred, BluegrassBios.com Awards by Category, IBMA
Related players
See the Dobro players hub and the Dobro guide. Josh Graves was his model, and Fred Travers was his student and successor in the Seldom Scene. Tom Gray was his bandmate from the first Seldom Scene show.