Tut Taylor (1923 to 2015) was the Dobro player who picked with a flatpick instead of fingerpicks. He recorded Dobro Country with Clarence and Roland White in 1964 and played in John Hartford’s Aereo-Plain band in 1971. In Nashville he co-founded the instrument shop GTR, which grew into Gruhn Guitars. He co-produced The Great Dobro Sessions with Jerry Douglas, which won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album in 1995.
Why Taylor matters
Taylor showed there was more than one way to play the Dobro. Most bluegrass Dobro players use fingerpicks in a three-finger roll, as Josh Graves did. Taylor used a single flatpick, the way a guitar player does, and Wikipedia notes he was one of the few steel players to do so. He also helped build Nashville’s acoustic scene: the GTR shop, the Old Time Pickin’ Parlor, and hundreds of tapes of jam sessions and concerts that he donated for preservation.
Life and career
Robert Arthur Taylor was born on November 20, 1923, in Possum Trot, Georgia. His parents called him Tut as a child. He played banjo and mandolin as a boy and took up the Dobro at 14. He lived for years in Milledgeville, Georgia, and also worked as a sign painter, graphic artist, and luthier.
In the early 1960s he recorded 12-String Dobro with the Folkswingers, a group that included Glen Campbell. In 1964 he made Dobro Country with Clarence and Roland White for World Pacific. Later in the 1960s he played with the Dixie Gentlemen.
He moved to Nashville in 1970 and co-founded GTR with George Gruhn and Randy Wood. In 1971 he joined John Hartford’s band for the album Aereo-Plain, with Norman Blake and Vassar Clements. That band was also known as the Dobrolic Plectral Society, and Taylor later released an album under the name. His solo album Friar Tut came out on Rounder in 1972.
He co-produced The Great Dobro Sessions with Jerry Douglas, and the album won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album in 1995. In 2010 Douglas released Southern Filibuster: A Tribute to Tut Taylor. Taylor recorded Shacktown Road with Norman and Nancy Blake in 2007. He died on April 9, 2015, at 91.
Playing style
Taylor was called the flatpicking Dobro man. He held a flatpick, as a guitar or mandolin player does, rather than wearing a thumbpick and fingerpicks. He played banjo and mandolin as a boy before he took up the Dobro at 14.
Influences and legacy
Taylor played beside Clarence White, Roland White, Norman Blake, Vassar Clements, Sam Bush, and Butch Robins. Jerry Douglas honored him with a tribute album. Curtis Burch played with him on The Great Dobro Sessions.
Signature tunes and songs
Lonesome Dobro, from The Great Dobro Sessions Little Green Pill, with Curtis Burch.
Essential recordings
12-String Dobro, the Folkswingers (World Pacific) Dobro Country, with Clarence and Roland White (World Pacific, 1964) Aereo-Plain, John Hartford (Warner Bros., 1971) Friar Tut (Rounder, 1972) The Great Dobro Sessions, co-producer (Sugar Hill, 1994)
Awards and honors
Grammy Award, Best Bluegrass Album, The Great Dobro Sessions (1995)
Watch and listen
Hear Taylor’s 1964 album Dobro Country, made with Clarence and Roland White.
What to learn from Taylor
Try a fiddle tune on the Dobro with a flatpick instead of fingerpicks. Start with Salt Creek or Soldier’s Joy. Use alternate picking, down and up, and keep the bar steady. Taylor’s lesson is that the Dobro can take any right hand you bring to it, and a flatpick gives you a punchy, single-note sound.
Sources
Tut Taylor, Wikipedia Taylor, Tut, BluegrassBios.com The Great Dobro Sessions, Wikipedia
Related players
See the Dobro players hub and the Dobro guide. Norman Blake also played Dobro in Hartford’s circle. Jerry Douglas co-produced The Great Dobro Sessions with him, and LeRoy Mack also played Dobro with Clarence and Roland White.