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Staying true blue(grass)
You never know when a life-long career is going to fall into your lap.Marshall resident Pete Kuykendall certainly wasn’t looking for a new job when the radio station where he worked as disc jockey got a phone call from a bluegrass fan.
“She had missed a performance by one of her favorite bands,” Kuykendall recalled recently. “And she suggested that someone put out a newsletter with the dates of all the bluegrass concerts.”
At first, the idea seemed crazy to Kuykendall, who was already busy enough with his full-time job as a technical engineer for Channel 26 in Washington, D.C. But as bluegrass fan himself, he decided to take a risk.
After recruiting several helpers and buying a used mimeograph machine Kuykendall started work on what he thought would be a “hobby.” In July 1966, the group published an eight-page newsletter called Bluegrass Unlimited. The annual subscription fee was $3.
Little did he know what he was getting into.
Forty-two years later, the magazine has nearly 25,000 subscribers and seven full-time employees. The 100- page monthly is internationally recognized as one of the leading publications in the bluegrass industry. The magazine's office is on U.S. 29, South of Warrenton.
It is clear that the four-plus decades Kuykendall has spent as editor of one of the most important publications in music have had a profound effect on the success of the industry itself. In 1996, Kuykendall was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association as an outstanding individual and member of the bluegrass industry. And this past June, Kuykendall was honored by the International Bluegrass Music Museum in recognition of his role as a founder and pioneer in bluegrass music.
“Pete has dedicated his entire being to promoting bluegrass,” said local resident Len Holscaw. A close friend of Kuykendall, Holscaw was the manager of the renowned bluegrass band “Country Gentlemen.”
Kuykendall was influenced by music at a young age. His mother was a classical piano teacher. And though classical music was not his thing, Kuykendall liked to bang around on the piano playing boogie woogie. He also had an extensive record collection.
In high school, Kuykendall taught himself the banjo, fiddle, bass and guitar. By the age of 16, he was in a band. He and his friends played at schools and assemblies. Later, he performed at dances and in bars throughout Northern Virginia.
“I learned by ear,” he said. “At that time, there weren’t many instruction manuals around.”
Indeed, Kuykendall had talent. In 1956 he won the Warrenton Country Music contest. Several years later he played with two well-known bluegrass musicians, Red Allen and Frank Wakefield, at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
In the 50s, bluegrass music was still in its infancy. Kuykendall discovered it through radio, from performances at the Grand Ole Oprey.
“It was unique,” he said. “It was country music, but not like today’s country music, which is basically southern rock ‘n roll.”
The origin of bluegrass music came from a Kentucky man named Bill Monroe. In 1939, Monroe started a band called “The Blue Grass Boys.”
“Bluegrass is pretty current when you consider other genres,” noted Kuykendall.
The music is generally acoustic with a five-string banjo, fiddle, mandolin, bass and sometimes a resonator guitar. Vocals are more harmonies, rather than a sole lead singer.
Kuykendall says harmony singing came naturally to him, which he liked better than playing instruments. “The best times were when we would get a good trio or quartet,” he said. “Not unlike a barbershop quartet, but with a different sound blend.”
“He was a great baritone singer,” Kuykendall's friend Holscaw said. “And he had some great successes with songwriting.”
Perhaps Kuykendall’s most famous song is “I am Weary.” The song is featured on the soundtrack for the movie “O Brother Where Art Thou” starring George Clooney. The American Roots album won a Grammy Award for Best Album of the Year in 2002.
In recent years, Kuykendall has concentrated his efforts more on writing about music that playing it. In fact, his efforts in keeping the public informed about bluegrass events have been a major factor in the industry’s exposure.
“He doesn’t give himself the accolades,” said Kitsy Kuykendall, his wife of 21 years. “But Bluegrass Unlimited is a conduit of information.” Fans of the music have depended on the magazine for years to tell them where and when the concerts and festivals will be.
Kitsy herself plays an important role in Bluegrass Unlimited. She calls herself “assistant to the editor” but in fact does much of the behind-the-scenes work. Kuykendall’s first wife, Marion, who died of cancer in 1984, also spent many long hours during the publication’s early years getting it off the ground.
If Bluegrass Unlimited’s longevity is the result of a sustained interest in bluegrass music through several generations, the magazine must also take credit for keeping the genre itself alive.
“If you had asked me 10 years ago about the future of Bluegrass Unlimited, I would have said it would be dead by now,” said Kuykendall. “But we are still healthy, and bluegrass music continues to grow.”
It is today’s young people, says Kuykendall, who must continue the tradition of appreciating bluegrass. The thousands of 20- and 30-somethings who attend the 550 bluegrass music festivals a year in the United States are a pretty good indication that enthusiasm for the music is still on the rise.
In fact, interest in this American-born genre has spread internationally, and to such places where one would never expect to find a banjo. For example, for the last 25 years, bluegrass has steadily gained popularity in Japan.
It is Kuykendall’s hope that this trend continues. “Our idea for Bluegrass Unlimited, we have managed to continue for 42. We have had our ups and downs, but by and large, it has been pretty good,” Kuykendall said.
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