4/1/08: Shanachie Records released Volumes 5 and 6 of the fantastic Flatt & Scruggs TV shows from the early 1960s. Curly is featured singing a solo in Volume 5. Click here to order.

1/31/08: Curly was in the studio with his step-son, Johnny Warren, who worked with Curly in the Nashville Grass in the early 1980s. Johnny's new recording project will be a tribute to his father, the late, great fiddler, Paul Warren, who is best known for his work with Johnnie & Jack, the Foggy Mountain Boys, and the Nashville Grass. In addition to Curly, others helping Johnny out on the project are Earl Scruggs, Charlie Cushman, Marty Stuart, Tim Graves, and Kent Blanton. Watch for more details soon.

1/6/08: The Mountain Music Museum in Bristol, VA held Curly Seckler Day at its Pickin' Porch stage in the Bristol Mall. Tim White of the Appalachian Cultural Music Association introduced the program. Mayor David Helms of Marion, VA welcomed Curly and presented him with the key to the city. Then Curly and Penny Parsons took the stage for some reminiscing about Curly's 73 years in music. Tim White unveiled the new Curly Seckler exhibit, which will be on display at the Museum, and then Curly was joined by his favorite new band, The Steep Canyon Rangers for some rousing bluegrass tunes. Curly's friend and former singing partner, Willis Spears, was also on hand, and he and Curly recreated some great music from their years together. We surprised Curly with a belated birthday cake and banner celebrating his 88th birthday. Curly and the Rangers finished out the program, and we all ate cake and signed the banner for Curly as a memento of that great day. The event was attended by about 350 people, including Curly's old friend, Ramblin' Tommy Scott, Jim Sauceman and Imogene Sauceman Day (siblings of the Sauceman Brothers, with whom Curly performed in 1951 at WCYB in Bristol), Gary Reid of Copper Creek Records, and a host of other friends. Thanks to Tim White and all of the ACMA volunteers who helped make it a wonderful program. Thanks also to Larry Gorley at WOPI radio in Bristol for having Curly on his bluegrass show just prior to the event.

1/5/08: Curly performed at the Lincoln Theatre in Marion, VA, along with the Steep Canyon Rangers. Also on the show were the Kruger Brothers and Larry Sparks. This concert was taped for broadcast on the Song of the Mountains TV show on PBS. Song of the Mountains is an hour-long program, hosted by Tim White, which airs weekly on over 160 PBS affiliates nationwide. If your local affiliate does not carry this show, please write them and ask them to add it to their programming. The show featuring Curly Seckler and the Steep Canyon Rangers is scheduled for broadcast in June, as part of SOTM's third season. Check local listings for the air date. Curly also sang a song with Larry Sparks, which will be included in Larry's SOTM program, to air the following week.

12/30/07: Curly's friends Gerald and Martha McCormick hosted a fabulous birthday party for Curly at their home near Nashville. There was lots of food and music, and, of course, birthday cake. Among the pickers who joined Curly for a fun afternoon of tunes were Gerald, Haskel, and William McCormick, Charlie Smith, Johnny Warren, Charlie Cushman, Michael Cleveland, Wayne Lewis, Hoot Hester, Willis Spears, Roland White, and many more. You may view photos of the event by visiting:
http://www.stonewallmusic.com/artists/mccormick.html

12/26/07: Curly and his wife Eloise celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary!

12/25/07: Curly celebrated his 88th birthday! For a glimpse into Curly's recollections of Christmas past, please visit: http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/curly-secklers-christmas/

11/7/07: Curly did a live interview with Kyle Cantrell on XM Satellite Radio, which reaches the entire US and Canada. Thanks to all who wrote us to say your heard it!

10/18/07: We were saddened to learn this morning of the passing of Clarence "Tater" Tate on the night of October 17. Tater was a fine fiddle player, guitarist, and singer who had worked with many bluegrass groups over the years, including The Shenandoah Cut-Ups, The Sauceman Brothers, Lester Flatt's Nashville Grass, Bill Monroe, Red Smiley, Carl Story, and The Bailey Brothers. Curly and Tater worked together many times over the years, and Tater helped Curly to record his first solo album in 1971 (see "That Old Book of Mine" on Store Page). In 2004 Curly once again called on Tater to provide the majority of the fiddle work on his two newest releases, "Down in Caroline" and "Bluegrass, Don't You Know." Curly and Tater last performed together in March of 2007, at the Paramount Center in Bristol, TN (see photos on Scrapbook Page). Tater had been battling lung cancer for many months. The bluegrass world has lost a great fiddler and Curly Seckler has lost a true friend.
Clarence "Tater" Tate, 2/4/31 - 10/17/07.

10/7/07: Curly performed at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco, CA with the David Grisman Bluegrass Experience. Grisman had recently purchased the Gibson F-2 mandolin that Curly played on all concerts and recordings from 1941-1962. David had it restored just in time for this festival, and Curly played it again while performing "Salty Dog Blues" on stage with Grisman's band. A classic moment! (see photos on Scrapbook Page) Curly also made a guest appearance with The Steep Canyon Rangers while at the festival. This was Curly's first trip to the West coast since performing there with the Nashville Grass in the 1970s. A big thanks to David Grisman for making this happen! (To hear Sec and Dawg on record together, check out David Grisman's "Home is Where the Heart Is" on Rounder Records. This fantastic 2-CD set of traditional bluegrass was recorded in 1988, and features Curly on three songs: "Salty Dawg Blues," "Long Journey Home," and "Little Cabin Home on the Hill." Other guests include Doc Watson, Tony Rice, Red Allen, Ricky Skaggs, Del McCoury, J.D. Crowe, Sam Bush, Alan O'Bryant, and Bobby Hicks. Highly recommended!)

10/2/07: Curly attended a program at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, celebrating the release of the latest set of DVDs of the classic Flatt & Scruggs TV shows. On hand for the program were Ricky Skaggs and Randy Scruggs, who were featured as guests on the TV shows, along with Earl Scruggs and moderator Eddie Stubbs from WSM radio. Following the program, Earl, Curly, Ricky, and Randy signed autographs and greeted fans in the CMHOF gift shop. Click here to order DVDs.

6/5/07: Curly attended a VIP preview party for the opening of Marty Stuart's
new exhibit at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville. This special
exhibit, entitled "Sparkle and Twang," includes an impressive array of
country music artifacts that Marty has collected over the years, and is well
worth the trip for any fan of country/bluegrass music. The exhibit runs
through November 11. For more info, visit the museum's web site:
http://www.tnmuseum.org/information/news_sparkleandtwang_stuart.htm

6/07: Ramblin' Tommy Scott's book, "Snake Oil, Super Stars, and Me" was
released by Katona Productions. This 700 page autobiography includes
hundreds of photos, song lyrics, show posters, and Tommy's memories of his
illustrious career in show business with "Doc" Scott's Medicine Show. Of
special interest to Curly Seckler fans are the chapter about Tommy's work
with Charlie Monroe in 1939-1940 (Curly and Tommy both worked with Charlie
during that time), and the chapter entitled "The Adventures of Tommy and
Curly," which chronicles their year-long stint as a duo on radio in South
Carolina and Georgia in 1941. The book is available from Katona
Productions, Box 100, Toccoa, GA 30577.

5/07: David Grisman was recently able to purchase Curly Seckler's old F-2
Gibson mandolin - the instrument Curly played all through his tenure with
the Foggy Mountain Boys! David is having it restored by the Gibson Company
and hopes to have it in time for the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in
San Francisco, where Curly will make a special guest appearance with David's
band.

3/27/07: Shanachie Records, in conjunction with the Country Music Hall of
Fame, released the first in a series of DVDs of the Flatt & Scruggs TV
show, broadcast on WSM-TV in Nashville in the late 1950s and early '60s.
These shows feature Lester and Earl at their best, along with Foggy Mountain
Boys Curly Seckler, Josh Graves, Paul Warren, and Jake Tullock... plus a few
special guests. They are HIGHLY recommended. The music is fantastic, and
the shows demonstrate what consummate entertainers these men were. Each DVD
includes 2 half-hour shows, and there are 2 DVDs per set. Click here to order.

3/26/07: Curly performed as a special guest with the East Tennessee State
University Bluegrass Band at the Paramount Center in Bristol, TN. Also
performing was Curly's good friend and musical associate, fiddler Clarence
"Tater" Tate. Both Curly and Tater were presented with awards by ETSU's
Raymond McLain, in recognition of their lifelong contributions to bluegrass
music.

2/07: Enthusiastic review of "Bluegrass, Don't You Know" appeared in The
Old-Time Herald magazine.

12/25/06: Curly celebrated his 87th birthday!

12/12/06: The Chicago Tribune picked Curly's "Bluegrass, Don't You Know" CD
as one of the Top 10 bluegrass CDs of 2006! Reviewer David Royko stated

11/4/06: Curly made a guest appearance with the Steep Canyon Rangers at
Nashville's Station Inn, singing a number of his trademark songs, including
"Moonlight on My Cabin," "Down in Caroline," and "Salty Dog Blues." The
sell-out crowd gave them a standing ovation.

11/3/06: The Bluegrass Gospel Music Association presented Curly with an
award, in appreciation of his many years of performing bluegrass gospel
music, at their annual event at the Texas Troubadour Theater in Nashville.

11/2/06: Curly and his music were featured in a live 2-hour interview with
Eddie Stubbs on WSM Radio (650 AM) in Nashville. Thanks to the many
listeners from Pennsylvania to Washington state who called or emailed us
during and following the interview!

10/31/06: Curly did a live interview, along with the Steep Canyon Rangers,
on Kyle Cantrell's bluegrass program on XM Satellite Radio.

10/17/06: Copper Creek Records released Curly's brand new CD, "Bluegrass,
Don't You Know." The title song is a brand new Seckler original, sung by
Curly and Larry Cordle. Other guests on the recording include Larry Sparks,
Dudley Connell, Russell Moore, Rob Ickes, Tater Tate, Herschel Sizemore, Bob Moore and more.

10/14/06: Curly and Willis Spears performed with Marty Stuart at Lester
Flatt Day in Sparta, TN. Among the songs they sang was the classic, "Salty
Dog Blues." Also on hand was Gladys Flatt, Lester's widow, who is 91 years
old.

10/7/06: Curly performed at the Nashville Music Classic Festival in
Ridgetop, TN. His guests included Willis Spears and Gerald McCormick.
Thanks to John Tomlin for organizing the accompanying musicians.

10/3/06: Curly was an honorary pall bearer at the funeral of dobro legend
Josh Graves, who passed away on September 30 at age 80. Curly and Josh
worked together in the Foggy Mountain Boys from 1955-1962, and had remained
good friends through the years.

10/06: The "Down in Caroline" CD received high praise in a review in
Bluegrass Now magazine.

9/30/06: Curly performed on a "Legends" set at the IBMA Fan Fest. Also
performing were Hall of Honor members Everett Lilly and J.D. Crowe. Curly
and Everett Lilly, who each worked with the Foggy Mountain Boys in the
1950s, sang together here for the first time ever (see photo on Scrapbook
Page). Foggy Mountain Boys dobro master Josh Graves was originally
scheduled to perform as well, but he passed away unexpectedly on the morning
before the show, after being hospitalized for a week. As a special tribute
to Josh on the Legends set, many of the finest dobro players in bluegrass
(including Randy Kohrs, Rob Ickes, Leroy Mack, Phil Leadbetter, and others)
got together to perform two of Josh's signature songs. The Legends were
accompanied by a top notch group of pickers, including Bryan Sutton, Randy
Kohrs, Aubrey Haynie, Mike Compton, Charlie Cushman, and Mike Bub (see photo on Scrapbook Page). Hall of Honor member Lance Leroy was the emcee for the set.

9/29/06: Curly attended a ceremony at the Ryman Auditorium unveiling a
plaque commemorating the "Birth of Bluegrass" in December, 1945, when what
many consider to be the "original" bluegrass band (Bill Monroe, Lester
Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Chubby Wise, Cedric Rainwater) first performed on the
Grand Ole Opry. The only surviving member of that band is Earl Scruggs, who
was guest of honor at the ceremony. He was introduced by WSM Radio's Eddie
Stubbs and Ricky Skaggs. Also in attendance were IBMA Hall of Honor members
Curly Seckler, Everett Lilly, Jesse McReynolds, and Lance Leroy, as well as
other Nashville dignitaries, and surprise guest Ray Price (who was performing at the Ryman that evening).

5/06: Glowing review of "Down in Caroline" appeared in Bluegrass Unlimited
magazine.

4/29/06: Curly received several standing ovations for his performances at MerleFest in Wilkesboro, NC. He made a guest appearance on two sets with IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year Larry Sparks. The two award-winning singers reprised several hits from Curly's tenure with Flatt & Scruggs, including "Some Old Day," "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke," "We'll Meet Again Sweetheart," and "He Took Your Place" (which they recorded together on Curly's new "Down in Caroline" CD). On Curly's own set, he was backed by the fabulous Steep Canyon Rangers from Asheville, NC. The Rangers are one of the hottest young traditional bands on the bluegrass scene. The chemistry between them and Curly was so great that we plan to book them together on some future shows, so check the Show Dates page for updates! Here are a few examples of email feedback we received:

"Curly, I loved the set you did with The Steep Canyon Rangers at MerleFest. The old and new was sensational. That was one of the most fun things I have seen in a long time." -Walt

"Steep Canyon Rangers, I saw you guys at the MerleFest on Saturday playing with Curly Seckler. Hands down the best bluegrass performance I've seen."-Aaron

"[At MerleFest] there was also Curly....that was the best thing I've seen since Bill [Monroe] passed [in 1996]. Seeing and hearing Sec reminded me what I fell in love with about this music." -Jeff

2/7/06: Curly recorded two songs with James King for James' upcoming release
on Rounder Records.

2/4/06: Curly performed with James King at the SPBGMA (Society for
Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America) convention in Nashville, TN.

1/11/06: Glowing review of "That Old Book of Mine" CD appeared on Bluegrass
Works website (http://www.bluegrassworks.com/review.php?reviewID=175)

10/28/05: Curly performed to a full house at the Roots & Branches Stage at
IBMA Fan Fest in Nashville. He was backed by the fine Chris Sharp/David
Long Band, with guests Rob Ickes on dobro and Larry Perkins on guitar.
Curly's special singing guests for the set were Gerald McCormick, Doyle
Lawson, Russell Moore, and Willis Spears.

10/11/05: County Records released a reissue of Curly's first solo
recording, made in 1971 with guests Tater Tate, Herschel Sizemore, Billy Edwards, and John Palmer (The Shenandoah Cut-Ups).  The CD, now entitled "That Old Book of Mine", contains 5 bonus tracks recorded in 1989, featuring Curly’s singing partner, Willis Spears, and the Nashville Grass (Larry Perkins, Ron Stewart, Philip Staff).

9/20/05: Copper Creek Records released Curly’s brand new CD, “Down In Caroline,” which was recorded in 2004 and includes many of Curly’s original songs, which have never been recorded before.  Guests, in addition to those listed below, include Larry Sparks, Russell Moore, Rob Ickes, John Carter Cash, Laura Weber Cash, Doc Watson, Leroy Troy, Josh McMurray, and Andrea Roberts.

9/3/05: Curly performed at the Bass Mountain Bluegrass Festival near Burlington, NC.  He was joined on stage by David Parmley & Continental Divide, Larry Sparks, Willis Spears, Rob Ickes, and Josh McMurray for a truly memorable set, for which he received three standing ovations.  At the end of his performance, the festival presented Curly with a plaque commemorating his 70 years in bluegrass music.

6/23/05: Curly was present for the official unveiling of his plaque in the IBMA Hall of Honor at the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, KY. Many of his family and friends were on hand to celebrate with him, including Tommy Scott, Willis Spears, and the McCormick Brothers.  The Museum also premiered a film about Curly’s life in music, as part of their ongoing oral history series.  That evening, Curly was featured on the Legends in Bluegrass show at the RiverPark Center.  He was accompanied by Tom Gray and Friends, and was joined for a few songs by his former singing partner in the Nashville Grass, Willis Spears, and also by Gerald McCormick.

4/12/05: Copper Creek Records reissued Curly’s “60 Years of Bluegrass” CD, which was originally recorded in 1994.  Guests include Jimmy Martin, Ralph Stanley, Jim & Jesse, Josh Graves, Doyle Lawson, Benny Martin, Willis Spears, Marty Stuart, Tater Tate, Benny Sims, and many more.

10/7/04: Curly Seckler became the newest member of the IBMA Hall of Honor.  He was presented with the award by WSM Radio and Grand Ole Opry announcer Eddie Stubbs, at the IBMA Awards Show.  Curly then performed one of his best known songs from the Flatt & Scruggs days, “I’ll Go Stepping Too,” backed  by J.D. Crowe & the New South.  He received a standing ovation.

6/14/04 – 6/16/04: Curly went into Flat5 Studio in Salem, VA to begin recording material for two new albums on Copper Creek Records, produced by Larry Perkins and Penny Parsons.  Musicians on hand to help him on these sessions were Dudley Connell, Tater Tate, Herschel Sizemore, Chris Sharp, George Buckner, Kevin Sluder, and Larry Perkins.  Additional tracks and overdubs were recorded in Nashville in the following months.

June, 2004: Curly was featured in a cover story in Bluegrass Unlimited magazine.  Click here to read the article.

3/12/04 – 3/13/04: Curly performed in Smithfield, NC as part of a Legends in Bluegrass show at Johnston Community College.  Also featured were Tater Tate, Herschel Sizemore, Allen Shelton, Kenny Baker, Josh Graves, John Shuffler, and Les Sandy.

April, 2003: Curly traveled to Bristol, VA for the induction of the Sauceman Brothers into the BCMA (Birthplace of Country Music Alliance) Museum.  He was a member of the Sauceman Brothers’ band in 1951, and worked again briefly with Carl Sauceman in 1958.