Foggy Mountain Troubadour: The Life and Music of Curly Seckler

by Penny Parsons

With his trademark mandolin style and unequaled tenor harmonies, Curly Seckler has carved out a seventy-seven-year career in bluegrass and country music. His foundational work in Flatt and Scruggs's Foggy Mountain Boys secured him a place in bluegrass history, while his role in The Nashville Grass made him an essential part of the music's triumphant 1970s revival. Written in close collaboration with Mr. Seckler and those who know him, Foggy Mountain Troubadour is the first full-length biography of an American original. Penny Parsons follows a journey from North Carolina schoolhouses to the Grand Ole Opry stage and the Bluegrass Hall of Fame, from boarding houses to radio studios and traveling five to a car on two-lane roads to make the next show. Throughout, she captures the warm humor, hard choices, and vivid details of a brilliant artist's life as he criss-crosses a nation and a century making music.

304 pages, Paperback

Published May 6, 2016

Reviews

[King Haddock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely well-written biography. Parsons writes in a succinct, highly informative, easily-followable style. This book provides information on all points in Curly's career and life, focusing the most on the Foggy Mountain Boys. I appreciate that Parsons discusses Curly's personal life with heart, highlights interesting musical moments in each of his albums or recording sessions, and tells not only the broad facts, but sprinkles the biography with what I call the "everyday nothings" - the amusing memories that let us understand the everyday camaraderie, humanity, and beloved traits of friends, family, bandmates, and Curly himself.

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story of an under appreciated member of the first generation of bluegrass. Many interesting tidbits from the Flatt and Scruggs days.