Doug Dillard '81

Doug & Rodney Dillard (Part 5)

The 80's, 90's and New Millenium

1980 - 1981

Dillard-Hartford-Dillard

Doug, Rodney and John Hartford joined up for a second Dillard - Hartford - Dillard album:

- DILLARD-HARTFORD-DILLARD: Permanent Wave (Flying Fish FF 233)
With Doug Dillard, Rodney Dillard and John Hartford.
Guests Amos Garrett, Phil Aaberg, Mac Cridlin, Scott Matthews, Michael Melford
Samm Bennett, Greg Selker, Linda Dillard, Ginger Blake and Laura Creamer.
Produced by Michael Melford.

Rodney/John/Doug

Earl Scruggs & Rodney

Rodney Dillard with Earl Scruggs

Rodney Dillard, Dean Webb and Earl Scruggs teamed up together for an extended tour.

Doug Dillard

Doug Dillard went to Malta to appear in Robert Altman's movie "Popeye", which starred Robin Williams and had songs by Harry Nilsson. Doug had a speaking part this time, as the character "Farmer Clem". Released on Boardwalk records (SWAL 36880). The basic tracks were recorded on location in Malta by "The Falcons" (Ray Cooper, Doug Dillard, Harry Nilsson, Van Dyke Parks, Klaus Voormann, and The Mysterious Karsten). Harry wrote all of the songs except for "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man".

Rodney

Also this year Doug and Jack Hoffmann collaborated together to produce a textbook, "The Bluegrass Banjo Style Of Douglas Flint Dillard". The book includes the fundamental instructions for bluegrass banjo pickers, left hand techniques and the sheet music for many of the Dillards' most popular tunes.

1982 - 1983

The Dillards

Rodney

Rodney settled down in Branson. For the next six years Rodney, his new wife Beverly and Dean Webb performed together at the "Silver Dollar City" amphitheater. Rodney kept the Dillards with various members alive.

Doug Dillard Band

Doug Dillard reformed the Doug Dillard Band in 1983 with various members over the years. Only Ginger Boatwright was a permanent member of the band. Other members were Kathy Chiavola, Billy Constable, Roger Rasnake and David Grier.

Rodney Dillard with Earl Scruggs

Rodney Dillard appeared on two songs of the Earl Scruggs album:

- EARL SCRUGGS: Top Of The World (Columbia PC38295)

Sittin' On Top Of The World - Rodney lead vocals

Carolina Star - Rodney lead vocals

Other songs done by "The Burrito Brothers" (with Gib Guilbeau and John Beland), Ricky Skaggs and Lacy J. Dalton and two instrumentals.

Dillard, Hoppers & Friends

Also 1983 Rodney was in a group named "Dillard, Hoppers & Friends". Lonnie Hoppers is a fine banjo player from Missouri who once played with Bill Monroe!

Rodney & Earl Scruggs

1984

The Dillards

The Dillards recorded an album with new members Steve Cooley, Rick McEwen and Ric Williams in Nashville to be sold only at "Silver Dollar City":

- THE DILLARDS: Silver Dollar Jubilee (Silver Dollar City 100)
With Rodney Dillard, Dean Webb, Steve Cooley, Rick McEwen and Ric Williams.
Guests: Beverly Cotten Dillard, Annette Carlton, Greg Allen, D.A. Callaway and Charles Cochran.

1985

The Dillards at Silver Dollar City

Rodney Dillard

Rodney Dillard recorded a solo album for Flying Fish:

- RODNEY DILLARD: At Silver Dollar City (Flying Fish FF 369)
With Rodney Dillard, Dean Webb, Steve Cooley, Rick McEwen and Ric Williams.
Guests: D.A. Callaway, Annette Calton, Fred Carpenter and Beverly Cotten Dillard.
Produced by Rodney Dillard and Bob Millsap.

1986

Doug Dillard Band

Doug Dillard Band

In 1986 Doug released his next album for Flying Fish, "What's That?". The group still included Ginger, but also included Roger Rasnake and David Grier.

- DOUG DILLARD BAND: What's That? (Flying Fish FF 377)
With Doug Dillard, Roger Rasnake, Ginger Boatwright and David Grier.
Guests: Bobby Clark, Vassar Clemments, Rodney Dillard, Pat Flynn, David Grisman, Mark Howard, Joe Osborne, John Probst, Buddy Spicher and Gordon Stinson.
Produced by Doug Dillard and Rodney Dillard.

Gram Parsons Tribute in Nashville 1986
R. White/D. Dillard/David Grier/Bob James

1988

Doug Dillard Band

The line-up was still in place in 1988 when the album "Heartbreak Hotel" was released:

- DOUG DILLARD BAND: Heartbreak Hotel (Flying Fish FF 477)
With Doug Dillard, Roger Rasnake, Ginger Boatwright, David Gried and Jonathan Yudkin.
Produced by Rodney Dillard.

The album garnered a Grammy nonination in the bluegrass category!

Note: Both albums ("What's That?" and "Heartbreak Hotel") were released on one CD in 1993 by Flying Fish Records (FF70477).

The Original Dillards

In May 1988 the original line-up with actor Denver Pyle, who played "Briscoe Darling" in "The Andy Griffith Show" got back together on TNN's "Nashville Now".

1989

Steve Cooley, Rodney, Mitch, Dean & Doug

Dean, Mitch, Doug & Rodney

Doug (in Leeds)
(by Stan Laundon)

The Original Dillards

Doug

The Original Dillards reunited for the "Andy Griffith Show" special, a made-for-television movie: "Return To Mayberry"! This was an amazing undertaking. Twenty years had passed since the Dilllards made their final appearance on the show as The Darling Boys, The film received the season's highest rating for a made-for-TV movie and at the time became the seventh highest-rated made-for-TV movie of all time.

John McEuen (ex-member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) asked Rodney if he could have four days of the Dillards' time to make an attempt at capturing the spirit and raw energy of the Dillards on film. The project became a labor of love for McEuen and fellow friends and fans of the Dillards. The eighty-minute video "A Night At The Ozark" - also available on DVD on Varese Sarabende - features nineteen songs:

- THE DILLARDS: A Night At The Ozarks (Hendrin HEN 2334)
With Doug Dillard, Rodney Dillard, Dean Webb, Mitch Jayne and Steve Cooley.
Guests: Beverly Cotton Dillard, Homer Dilllard, Ginger Boatwright and the people of Salem.
Produced and directed by John McEuen.
Written by John McEuen, Rodney Dillard and Mitch Jayne.

1990

The Original Dillards

Doug

The thirtieth anniversary of "The Andy Griffith Show" provided another infusion of interest in the Dillards plus Steve Cooley. Originally the group had agreed to play four concerts. The number of concert dates grew to eight, then twelve and upward, until finally the Dillards played one hundred and thirty-two dates, including performances in Great Britain and Japan.

Rodney, Steve
Dean & Mitch

The Dillards

For the next Dillards album Herb Pedersen (at this time member of the "Desert Rose Band") came back for the recordings:

- THE DILLARDS: Let It Fly (Vanguard VHD 79 460)
With Rodney Dillard, Dean Webb, Mitch Jayne and Steve Cooley.
Guests: Herb Pedersen, Byron Berline, Bill Bryson, Ric Williams, Scott MacPherson, Tom Brumley and Bob Warford.
Produced by Herb Pedersen.

The song "Darlin Boys" garnered the band a Grammy nomination!
After the recordings for that album Herb Pedersen went back to the "Desert Rose Band".

1991

Rodney

Rodney Dillard

Rodney released his second solo album:

- RODNEY DILLARD: Let The Rough Side Drag (Flying Fish FF 70 537)
With Rodney Dillard, Steve Cooley, Rick McEwen and Ric Williams.
Guests: Gary Smith, Fred Carpenter, Dave Milligan, Mitch Kiersey and Beverly Cotton Dillard.
Produced by Rodney Dillard.

The same year Rodney became Vice President of Creative Productions and serves as Production Executive for a subsidary Patch Entertainment.

Rodney

1992

The Dillards

The (until now) last Dillards album was released:

- THE DILLARDS: Take Me Along For The Ride (Vanguard VCD 79 464)
With Rodney Dillard, Dean Webb, Steve Cooley and Mitch Jayne.
Guests: Gary Smith, Mark Pearman, Jeff Jarvis, Jeff Donachy, Darren Novotny, Benny Wood and Suzan Tilbury.
Produced by Rodney Dillard and Steve Cooley.

Dean, Mitch, Rodney & Steve

1993

Rodney Dillard

Rodney and wife Beverly Dillard (as "The Ozarks") perform the song "Rolling Stone" on the soundtrack for the mini-series "The Wild West" produced by John McEuen. Beverly Dillard performs another song "Cluck Old Hen".

1995

Rodney Dillard

Patch Entertainment acquired Caravell Studio in Branson, where Rodney's duties include production coordinator, studio manager and studio overseer for Patch, along with working in artist development.

The Dillards

1995 Vanguard Records released a compilation CD with songs of the last two Dillards albums:

- THE DILLARDS: The Best Of The Darlin' Boys (Vanguard 506-2)

1998

Here are pictures from the Original Dillards when they played in Guthrie, Oklahoma in Oct. 1998. Picture right is with John Hartford and Barry Patton (Byron Berline's nephew) playing bones.

The Original Dillards
Dean, Rodney, Mitch & Doug

The Original Dillards with
Barry Patton & John Hartford

The Original Dillards performed also together with Byron Berline at the 2nd Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival in October 1998.

Picture left again the Original Dillards in August 1999 with Carsten Panduro of "Tonder Festival" in Denmark.

Doug, Mitch, Panduro, Rodney & Dean

Doug Dillard

The New Millenium

Rodney

The Dillard/Haynes Band

Rodney, Rachel & Beverly Dillard

2000 Rodney Dillard teamed up with Bruce Haynes, a Grammy and Dove award nominated singer-songwriter with eight No. 1 Christian hits under his belt. They recorded an album and released it as:

- THE DILLARD/HAYNES BAND: There goes the neighborhood (Varese Sarabande 302 066 206 2)
With Rodney Dillard, Bruce Haynes, Jimmy Ponders, David Creech
Tim Crouch, Danny Yancy, Jarrett Dougherty.
Produced by Rodney Dillard and Bruce Haynes.

Beverly Cotten-Dillard feat. The Dillards

Rodney's wife Beverly Cotten-Dillard released a CD with The Dillards as special guests:

- Beverly Cotten-Dillard: Banjo pickin' girl (Selfreleased)
With Beverly Cotten-Dillard, Rodney Dillard, Doug Dillard, Dean Webb and others.

2000 Rodney Dillard recorded a new solo CD with the title "Roots of Gospel":

- RODNEY DILLARD: Roots Of Gospel (Rodney Dillard Music CD-2002))
With Rodney Dillard ...

Doug Dillard songbook

Doug's songbook

Long-awaited songbook by Doug Dillard contains exact transcriptions in banjo tablature that capture the unique playing style of Douglas Dillard.

This fantastic collection includes all of his best-loved tunes, from the Andy Griffith Show, from his many great years of recording as the original Dillards, and from his solo banjo albums and his releases with The Doug Dillard Band.

The Dillards & Arlo Guthrie

Features more than 20 tunes in G tuning, C tuning amd G modal tuning, including classics such as: Cripple Creek � Hickory Hollow � Jamboree � John Henry � Old Joe Clark � Buckin' Mule � and more.

The Dillards

The Dillards performed with Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger at the Carnegie Hall on Nov. 30th 2002.
Guthrie plans to release an album of timeless songs by Woody Guthrie with special guests The Dillards.
This album was released 2008 on Rising Son Records with the title "32 Cents" (more info later - 2008 section).
Millstream Records released a double CD-sampler with one track from that album "Do-Re-Mi".

Rodney Dillard

Doug and Rodney

Rodney Dillard sings the Dillards song "There is a time" (written by Rodney Dillard and Mitch Jayne) on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album "Will the circle be unbroken - Part 3". The Dillards recorded that song 1964 for their album "Live!!! Almost!!!.

The original Dillards - 2002

July 2003 Beatball Records released the Dillards "Decade Waltz" album from 1979 on CD with great booklet and complete album discography (band and solo)!

Rodney Dillard produced an album 2003 for Albert E. Brumley, Jr. with the title "I'll fly away". Musicians on that album are: Tim Crouch, Boone Carlon, Steve Bush, Randall George, Dean Holman, Bruce Haynes & Jimmy Ponder. This CD was released by "Copper Creek" records.

2004 Rodney Dillard released a self-produced solo CD with the title "I Wish Life Was Like Mayberry". This recent release is taylor-made for Mayberry fans. That's 8 outstanding tracks of Mayberry and Mayberry-esque music, plus a final track with Rodney's personal reflections about what it means to have a Mayberry life. Also a must for Dillard fans. The album was recorded in Branson, MO and has Rodney's son Brian Dillard on harmony vocals.

- RODNEY DILLARD: I wish life was like Mayberry (Mayberry)
With Rodney Dillard, Steve Bush, Tim Crouch, Boone Carlin
Rondal George, Rick McEwen and Rodney's son Brian Dillard.
Produced by Rodney Dillard.

Summer 2004 Doug & Rodney Dillard performed together at several events from California to Kentucky to North Carolina and beyond.

Dillards songbook

Note: Dillards founding member Dean Webb has recorded a new CD with his group "MISSOURI BOAT RIDE". Songs recorded on that album are: Man of constant sorrow, Old home place, Old train, Old and in the way, How mountain girls can love, Back to the old home etc ... .

Note: 2004 "Elektra Records" has released a double CD including three Dillards albums and two singles: "Pickin' and fiddlin'" with Byron Berline, "Wheatstraw suite" and "Copperfields" and 2 singles as bonus tracks which were recorded for "Capitol Records" in 1965.

Note: May 2005 a Dillards compilation CD with 29 tracks from 1963-1979 was released: "The Dillards: Let the music flow - The best of 1963-79" (RVCD197).

Rodney & Beverly Dillard

Spring 2005 "Centerstream Publishing" released a Dillards songbook "THIS IS THE TIME - The Dillards Songbook Collection". Featuring the classic songs, celebrating 40 years of great Bluegrass. Book includes a foreword by Mitch Jayne and Rodney Dillard, a discography of The Dillards and 26 songs like "Dooley", "Old home place", "There is a time", "Ebo Walker" and many others!

Rodney & Beverly Dillard recorded a new CD "Heaven":

- RODNEY and BEVERLY DILLARD: Heaven (Selfreleased)
With Rodney & Beverly Dillard
Steve Bush, Lee Hendrix, George Giddens and Greg Roller.

2005 Rodney released a CD with old material (from the early 60s) under the title "The Dillards - Doug and Rodney: The lost years".

Another new released CD with Rodney Dillard (no music!!!!) is the Mayberry Moments - Volume 1. Rodney takes a look back at episodes of the "Andy Griffith Show" and the great moral and life lessons they taught. From the archives of the popular radio show, hosted by Rodney Dillard, "Mayberry Minute" which ran nationally for 3 years.

2006 - 2007

Here are some pics (from Connie Cook) of Doug and Rodney Dillard at the "Lewis Family Homecoming and Bluegrass Festival" in Lincolnton, Georgia on May 8, 2006:

Doug and Rodney Dillard - May 2006

2007 Mitch Jayne wrote a new book. His latest novel, "Fiddler's Ghost" is available from www.wildstonemedia.com and www.amazon.com.

Here's a list of Mitch Jayne's books:

Mitch Jayne's books

1) "The Forest in the Wind" published 1966 by The Bobbs-Merrill Company. This book is out of print.

2) "Old Fish Hawk" published 1970 by J. B. Lippincott Co. The cover painting is by Mitch himself. This book is out of print.

3) "An Up To Date Biography of the Original Dillards" self-published by Mitch Jayne in 1989. Rare book contains some of Mitch's humor columns from two Missouri newspapers: the Salem Sun and The Shannon County Current Wave. Mitch still writes a humor column for The Current Wave, which is published in Eminence, Missouri, where Mitch lives with his artist wife, Diana. This book also contains illustrations by Mitch.

4) "Some More Home Grown Stories & Home Fried Lies" self-published by Mitch Jayne in 1994. Rare book collects Mitch's humor columns from The Current Wave, with illustrations by Diana Engstrom, who later became Mitch's wife.

5) "Home Grown Stories & Home Fried Lies" published 2000 by Wildstone Media. Cover illustration and inside illustrations are by Mitch's wife, Diana. This book is available at www.wildstonemedia.com and www.amazon.com.

6) "Fiddler's Ghost" published 2007 by Wildstone Media. Cover painting is by Mitch's wife, Diana. This book is available at www.wildstonemedia.com and www.amazon.com.

"32 Cents" CD

2008

Doug and Rodney Dillard are continuing their American tour in 2008. Schedule and booking information can be found at www.the-dillards.com.

Early 2000 Arlo Guthrie sat down with his old friends, The Original Dillards in Branson, MO and spent a few days recording some of his father's (Woody Guthrie) songs together.
This record was originally planned for when the US Post Office released a Woody Guthrie stamp worth 32 Cents. Now it's released.

- ARLO GUTHRIE & THE DILLARDS: 32 Cents / Postage Due (Rising Son Records RSR-1127)
Produced by Arlo Guthrie & Rodney Dillard
With Arlo Guthrie, Doug Dillard, Rodney Dillard, Dean Webb & Mitch Jayne

Mitch, Doug, Rodney & Dean

February 2009 Dewey Martin who played drums for the Dillards 1965 and recorded two singles with the group for Capitol Records died at the age of 68 in his Van Nuys apartment.
Dewey Martin was hired after a Dillards tour from Stephen Stills to form Buffalo Springfield. Martin was one of the founding members, along with Neil Young, Stephen Stills, singer-songwriter-guitarist Richie Furay and bassist Bruce Palmer.

!!! Original Dillards inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame !!!

2009 "The original Dillards" - Doug & Rodney Dillard, Dean Webb & Mitch Jayne - were inducted into the "International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame".
Visit the IBMA page and read about the awards show on Oct. 1st 2009.

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