Josh Crowe & David McLaughlin

The vocal harmonies of brother duos including The Louvin Brothers, The Stanley Brothers and Don Reno & Red Smiley have been one of bluegrass' most enduring sounds. That tradition was continued with Going Back, a 1993 album by Josh Crowe and David McLaughlin. Accompanying their heartfelt harmonies with virtuosic acoustic guitar flatpicking and joined by bassist Ronnie Freeland, Crowe and McLaughlin produced one of the strongest recordings of the past decade. Crowe and McLaughlin's collaboration was the product of many years on the bluegrass scene. Crowe, who was born in northern Georgia in 1957, toured for many years, with his brother Wayne, in the influential group, Raymond Fairchild And The Crowe Brothers. As a member of the band, Crowe recorded four memorable albums and became a regular at the Grand Ole Opry. In the late-1980's, Crowe's song, "The Winds Are Blowing In Maggie Valley" reached the number one position on the bluegrass chart, "The Grassometer." In 1990, Crowe was named Guitar Player of the Year by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America. A founding member of the Johnson Mountain Boys, McLaughlin has been at the forefront of bluegrass music since the late-1970s. The brother of Peter McLaughlin, who plays guitar and sings with Laurie Lewis And Grant Street, McLaughlin has displayed his mastery of a variety of acoustic instruments. He played fiddle in the original Johnson Mountain Boys and switched to mandolin and lead and harmony vocals after returning to the band following a short hiatus during which he attended college. Although they met in 1981, Crowe and McLaughlin didn't work together until 1992 when Crowe invited McLaughlin to perform with him at a bluegrass festival in North Carolina. Their performance was so successful that...