Red Rector (1929 to 1990) was a mandolin player and singer from the mountains of western North Carolina. He turned pro in his early teens and spent most of his career in Knoxville, Tennessee. He worked as a sideman for Charlie Monroe and Carl Story, partnered with Fred Smith on Knoxville radio and television, and toured Europe with Bill Clifton. Bluegrass writers count him among the first mandolin players with a style all his own.
Why Rector matters
Rector proved you could come out of Bill Monroe and still sound like yourself. His playing was florid and full of ideas: quick runs, bluesy turns, and jazz touches that made him a favorite of other pickers. He spent his life as a sideman and duet partner rather than a star. That makes him a model for anyone who wants to serve a singer and still leave a mark.
Life and career
Rector was born on December 15, 1929, in Marshall, North Carolina. His mother played piano and organ, and his father sang in a church quartet. Red started on guitar. The Monroe Brothers’ record of New River Train turned him toward the mandolin. Around 1942 he heard Bill Monroe at a tent show in Asheville and went all in.
In his early teens he joined fiddler Jimmy Lunsford on radio in Asheville. He tried to join the Navy at 13 by lying about his age and was sent home. In 1943 he joined Wade and J.E. Mainer, and he worked on the radio show The Old Chisholm Trail. In 1946 he joined Johnnie and Jack at WPTF in Raleigh.
He then moved to Knoxville to play for Charlie Monroe and the Kentucky Pardners on WNOX. He also worked with Carl Story’s Rambling Mountaineers. Later he teamed with Fred Smith as the duo Red and Fred, with a long run on Knoxville television. In the 1970s Bill Clifton heard him at a festival and recruited him for the First Generation with banjo player Don Stover. Rector toured Europe with Clifton and recorded on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1976 he made a duet album with Norman Blake. He died on May 31, 1990, in Knoxville. Jimmy Gaudreau took his place in Clifton’s band.
Playing style
Rector’s playing was busy in the best sense. He filled a break with fast runs and ornaments, but every phrase landed back on the melody. He had a clean, bright tone and quick tremolo. He drew on Monroe for drive, on gospel for melody, and on swing for the passing notes that made his breaks sparkle.
His duet work with Norman Blake shows his range. On tunes like Limehouse Blues he swings like a jazz player while keeping a bluegrass attack.
Influences and legacy
Rector’s first hero was Bill Monroe, whom he heard on records and in person. He played beside Wade Mainer, Charlie Monroe, Carl Story, Fred Smith, Bill Clifton, Don Stover, and Norman Blake. He also crossed paths with Woody Guthrie, Burl Ives, and Cisco Houston.
His chair in Clifton’s band went to Jimmy Gaudreau, another stylist known for melodic, swinging breaks. The Country Music Hall of Fame holds a 1971 oral history interview with Rector.
Signature tunes and songs
Limehouse Blues New River Train.
Essential recordings
Songs from the Heart of the Country (1969) Norman Blake and Red Rector (1976)
Watch and listen
Rector plays on the TV show Pickin’ at the Paradise. Watch how much he packs into one break.
What to learn from Rector
Listen to Limehouse Blues from Norman Blake and Red Rector. Then steal his habit of passing notes. When the chord changes, do not jump straight to the new chord tone. Walk to it through one or two notes in between. That one habit makes a plain break sound like Rector’s.
Sources
Red Rector, Wikipedia Red Rector: Mandolin Virtuoso, Bluegrass Unlimited Bill Clifton, Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum Rector, Red, Bluegrass Bios Red Rector oral history, Country Music Hall of Fame
Related players
See the mandolin players hub and the mandolin guide. Rector learned from Bill Monroe. Jimmy Gaudreau followed him in Bill Clifton’s band. Buzz Busby was another early stylist who built his own sound.