Allison Krauss: Singin' n' Fiddlin' for a Quarter Century

         Alison Krauss is a country artist well-known for “blending bluegrass with folk” (Country Music Television).  Her adherence to typical country traditions combined with her rustic fiddling in her work has shown her dedication to the music itself which has paid off.  Throughout her career Krauss has won more Grammy awards than any other woman in history, along with numerous wins at the Country Music Association awards and the Americana Honors & Awards.  Krauss has received many other honors as well; including her membership in the Grand Ole Opry beginning in 1993 and appearances in songs and television with numerous legendary country artists, such as Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton (Roland Note Country Music Database Searches).  Presently, Krauss is only 39 years old and continues to be honored by the country music business in many ways – just recently in May of 2012, she and country-rock group The Eagles “received honorarydoctorates from the Berklee College of Music in Boston.”  She also had the opportunity to release an album with the rock star and lead singer of VanHalen, Robert Plant in  2007 called Raising Sand - the album proved to be a huge success - and she just released her newest album with Union Station in 2011 called Paper Airplane.  As Krauss ages she just doesn't loose her touch, she says, "I make judgments based on how something makes me feel" (Alison Krauss & Union Station).

Music Video for Allison Krauss and Robert Plant's single, "Please Read the Letter" 

Compared to the number of accomplishments already racked up, Krauss is rather young.  She has already exceeded any expectations for someone coming from such a specific genre.  On the other hand, she has also met the expectations for a person who has been so dedicated and passionate about their music, predominantly, from the beginning.  Born on July 23, 1971 in Decatur, Illinois, Krauss took on the violin as her instrument of choice at just five years of age.  By the time she reached the age of eight she had already tired of playing classical music and begun to reform to a country style, entering herself in fiddle contests.  As a pre-teen she won the title of Illinois State Fiddle Championship and the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass in America named her the Most Promising Fiddler in the Midwest.  By the time she was fourteen, her first album was recorded with Rounder Records but her debut album didn't appear until about two years later in 1987.  This debut album was recorded with her backup band, the Union Station (Country Music Television).

        Beginning with this album, the Union Station band continued to play with Krauss throughout the majority of her career.  Throughout her time under the spotlight, no matter how dim, Krauss has only created five of her total fourteen albums without her faithful band being credited directly on the cover as a group (Alison Krauss & Union Station).  The backup group itself is made up four members – Ron Block, Dan Tyminski, Barry Bales, and Jerry Douglas – who all achieved their own successful identities outside that of “Alison Krauss + Union Station.”  Vocal contributor, and banjo and guitar player Ron Block (left) wrote ten songs for the group, one of which won a Gospel Music Association Dove award for Bluegrass song of the year (Alison Krauss & Union Station).  Beyond the group, Block wrote for and played music with renowned country artists Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, the Cox Family, and more, including his own band-mate Dan Tyminski (Country Music Television).  Though Tyminski (right) plays guitar and mandolin for Alison Krauss + Union Station, his main contribution is his renowned “burnished, soulful tenor singing”(Alison Krauss & Union Station) – having been “named ‘Male Vocalist of the Year’ by the International Bluegrass Music Association four times,” and supplying George Clooney’s singing voice in the country hit film, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?.  

             Tyminski’s band-mate Barry Bales ( bottom left) harmonized his and Krauss’ shining vocals, even in Tyminski’s separate band (Tyminski, Dan).  He also played bass for the groups, a talent which earned him multiple Grammys and International Bluegrass Music Association awards, – including Bass Player of the Year in 2008 – and a Country Music Association Award.  Bales also had the opportunity to play alongside other musicians such as country legend Merle Haggard (Alison Krauss & Union Station).  

          The final member of the Union Station, Jerry Douglas (top right) is world-famous for his Dobro playing which he won multiple Dobro Player of the Year awards for (Alison Krauss & Union Station).  The Dobro is a form of slide guitar with a number of resonator discs inside in order to increase volume compared to the conventional guitar.  The instrument is played face up by picking at the strings with metal finger picks and fretting the strings with a metal bar (Dolmetsch Online).  Douglas’ uniquely “transcendent technique” (Alison Krauss & Union Station) provides the band with an advantage to other country music forms.  As the talents of each valuable member mesh together Alison Krauss + Union Station were able to establish themselves as a country music group to be reckoned with.

  Alison Krauss + Union Station performing single, "Cluck Old Hen"     

In addition to their idyllic business relationship there seems to be a lot more personal chemistry between the band members based on the interview Krauss gave posted below.  Upon being asked to name the characteristics that make Union Station “such a great band” (Interview, below) Krauss replies, “Besides everybody in the band – ya know, the four of them are so amazing . . .  Besides everybody being so incredibly unique, I mean each one of them has their own sound, nobody plays like them.  Besides that, nobody sings like them.  And besides that, everybody has the same goal; everybody is the band, everybody is for the song.  Their ego is involved in being the best band member for each song, everybody feels the same way.  It’s about getting whatever that feeling is across on a record and when we play a show – that is such a gift to find people who are, that’s what their ego is wrapped up in, is being a part of a group.  And then, on top of that everybody is such a great human being” (Interview, below).  Within the passage above, Krauss expresses a deep admiration for the people she works with.  That is part of country; it’s something personal, something bigger than a single person.  It’s about a group of people relating to one another on a level of depth that isn't as apparent in other forms of music – that’s the beauty of country.

Citations

1.      Country Music Television, “Alison Krauss Biography,” All Music Guide, http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/krauss_alison/bio.jhtml (accessed October 1, 2012).

2.      Roland Note Country Music Database Searches, “Alison Krauss: Timeline,” Roland, Tom, http://www.rolandnote.com/people.php?keyword=alison+krauss&scode=timeline&submit=go&page=24 (accessed October 1, 2012).

3.      Alison Krauss & Union Station, “ABOUT: ALISON KRAUSS AND UNION STATION,” Music City Networks, http://alisonkrauss.com/about (accessed October 1, 2012).

4.      Alison Krauss & Union Station, “MUSIC: DISCOGRAPHY,” Music City Networks, http://alisonkrauss.com/discography (accessed October 1, 2012).

5.      Country Music Television, “Ron Block Biography,” All Music Guide, http://www.cmt.com.artists/az/block_ron/bio.jhtml (accessed October 1, 2012).

6.      Tyminski, Dan, “Bios: Dan Tyminski,” The Dan Tyminski Band, http://www.dantyminski.com/bios.html (accessed October 2, 2012).

7.      Dolmetsch Online, “Music Dictionary: Do – Dq: Dobro,” Dolmetsch Organisation, http://www.dolmetsch.com/defsd2.htm (accessed October 2, 2012).