Duffey proposed some rules that the others agreed to including playing only one night a week at local clubs, doing occasional concerts and festivals on weekends, making records, and keeping their day jobs. Duffey repaired musical instruments, Eldridge was a mathematician, Starling a physician, Auldridge a graphic artist, and Gray a cartographer with National Geographic. The Scene's first home was the Red Fox Inn in Bethesda, Maryland, where they spent six years before starting weekly performances at The Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria, Virginia.
Bluegrass reached a second peak in popularity in the early 1970s, and the progressive bluegrass style played by The Seldom Scene was particularly popular. Duffey's stratospheric tenor anchored the group, but the vocal blend of Duffey/Starling/Auldridge set a new standard that attracted new audiences to what had been a niche music. Their weekly shows included bluegrass versions of country music, rock, and even classical pop. The band's popularity soon forced them to play more than once a week--but they continued to maintain their image as being seldom seen, and on several of their early album covers were photographed with the stage lights on only their feet, or with their backs to the camera.
Though the Scene remained a non-touring band, they were prolific recorders, producing seven albums in their first five years of existence, including two live albums (among the first live bluegrass albums). But the band's philosophy of not touring and maintaining their day jobs eventually caused some changes in membership.
In 1977, John Starling left the group to focus on his medical career, and was replaced by singer and songwriter Phil Rosenthal, whose song "Muddy Water" had been recorded by the Scene on two earlier albums. Around the same time, the group switched record labels from Rebel Records to Sugar Hill; however, while Starling had been officially the band's frontman, these changes made little significant difference to the band's overall sound.
The band recorded several more albums in the 1980s and firmly established themselves as one of the most influential bluegrass bands. In 1986, Rosenthal and Tom Gray both left the band to focus on other pursuits, and were replaced by Lou Reid and T. Michael Coleman, respectively. Coleman proved to be very controversial, as many purists objected to his use of an electric bass in what is an acoustic genre, but the albums produced by the band after Coleman's arrival maintained the traditional appeal of any of the Scene's earlier albums.
Reid left the band in 1993, and Duffey convinced former member John Starling to return to the band for the next year. During that year the Scene recorded the album "Like We Used To Be," but Starling did not wish to stay with the band long term. He was replaced in 1994 by lead singer Moondi Klein.
Throughout these changes, John Duffey remained the group's spiritual center and greatest influence, and his initial ideas about keeping a light touring schedule and staying close to home continued to prevail. Though there had been disagreements about this philosophy before, it wasn't until after Starling left for the second time that it cost the band a majority of its members at once. During 1995 and 1996, Klein and Coleman, along with original member Mike Auldridge, left the group to form a new band called Chesapeake. This new band became a full-time project for its members, and for a time the Scene stopped recording.
Duffey and Ben Eldridge, the two remaining original members, recruited resophonic guitar player Fred Travers, bassist Ronnie Simpkins, and guitarist and singer Dudley Connell to join the band, and the reconstituted group recorded an album in 1996 and resumed live appearances.
For 25 years The Seldom Scene remained extremely popular in bluegrass circles even with the near-constant personnel changes. But the band was dealt what seemed a crushing blow in late 1996, when founder and leader John Duffey suffered a fatal heart attack. The band again stopped recording and made no live appearances for some years. Duffey had been widely regarded as one of the most powerful and entertaining stage performers in bluegrass, and there was no one who could replace him.
Nonetheless, the band was simply too popular to disappear for good. Banjoist Ben Eldridge, the sole remaining original member and a significant force in banjo music in his own right, assumed leadership of the band. Former guitarist Lou Reid rejoined the band on mandolin. Initially the new Scene concentrated on live performances, but in 2000 the group recorded a new album, "Scene it All." The Seldom Scene continues to tour, and remains on the Sugar Hill label for future recordings.
The band currently consists of Dudley Connell (guitar/lead vocals), Ben Eldridge (banjo), Lou Reid (mandolin/tenor vocals), Fred Travers (dobro/lead vocals), and Ronnie Simpkins (bass/baritone vocals).
John Starling died in May 2019.
Discography
Act I (Rebel, 1972)
Act II (Rebel, 1973)
Act III (Rebel, 1973)
Old Train (Rebel, 1973)
Live At The Cellar Door (Rebel, 1975)
The New Seldom Scene Album (Rebel, 1976)
Baptizing (Rebel, 1978)
Act IV (Sugar Hill, 1979)
After Midnight (Sugar Hill, 1981)
At The Scene (Sugar Hill, 1983)
Blue Ridge with Jonathan Edwards (Sugar Hill, 1985)
15th Anniversary Celebration (Sugar Hill, 1986)
A Change Of Scenery (Sugar Hill, 1988)
Scenic Roots (Sugar Hill, 1990)
Scene 20: 20th Anniversary Concert (Sugar Hill, 1992)
Like We Used To Be (Sugar Hill, 1994)
Dream Scene (Sugar Hill, 1996)
Scene It All (Sugar Hill, 2000)
External links
Official site
Nadine
The Seldom Scene Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I thought I saw my future bride walking up the street,
I shouted to the driver hey conductor, you must slow down.
I think I see her please let me off this bus
Nadine, honey is that you?
Oh, nadine. honey, is that you?
Seems like every time I see you darling you got something else to do
[alternate verse: seems like every time I catch you,
Datcha you're up to something new]
I saw her from the corner when she turned and doubled back
And started walkin' toward a coffee colored cadillac
I was pushin' through the crowd to get to where she's at
And I was campaign shouting like a southern diplomat
Downtown searching for her, looking all around.
Saw her getting in a yellow cab heading up town.
I caught a loaded taxi, paid up everybody's tab.
With a twenty dollar bill, told him 'catch that yellow cab.'
She move around like a wave of summer breeze,
Go, driver, go, go, catch her balmy breeze.
Moving thru the traffic like a mounted cavalier.
Leaning out the taxi window trying to make her hear
The Seldom Scene's song Nadine tells the story of a man who is searching for his love interest named Nadine. He boards a city bus and sees someone he believes is his future bride walking down the street. He quickly realizes it is Nadine and asks the bus driver to slow down so he can get off the bus. He then tries to catch up to Nadine who is walking towards a coffee-colored Cadillac. He fights his way through the crowd like a "southern diplomat" and eventually catches a taxi, telling the driver to catch the cab Nadine has just got in. The song portrays a man who is determined to find his love and is willing to go to great lengths to catch up with her.
The lyrics of the song are simple but poetic, with phrases such as "moving through the traffic like a mounted cavalier" adding a touch of romance and adventure to the story. The repetition of the lines "Nadine, honey is that you?" and "Seems like every time I see you darling you got something else to do" suggest that Nadine is a woman who is always on the go and difficult to catch. The song captures the excitement and energy of a man who is chasing after his love, and the ending leaves the listener wondering whether he will finally catch her.
Line by Line Meaning
I got on a city bus and found a vacant seat,
I entered the city bus and discovered a free seat to occupy.
I thought I saw my future bride walking up the street,
I came across a woman who I believed could be my future wife while walking by.
I shouted to the driver hey conductor, you must slow down.
I yelled at the bus driver, requesting them to reduce the pace of the vehicle.
I think I see her please let me off this bus
I thought I spotted the woman I'm looking for and demanded to get off the bus.
Nadine, honey is that you?
I asked the woman I saw if she was Nadine, my lover.
Oh, nadine. honey, is that you?
I repeated the question, calling her honey as a term of endearment.
Seems like every time I see you darling you got something else to do
It appears like every time I encounter Nadine, she has some other work to attend.
I saw her from the corner when she turned and doubled back
I noticed Nadine from the intersection as she turned back and walked the other way.
And started walkin' toward a coffee colored cadillac
She moved in the direction of a brown-colored Cadillac.
I was pushin' through the crowd to get to where she's at
I was pushing people in the crowd aside to reach where Nadine was standing.
And I was campaign shouting like a southern diplomat
I was making a lot of noise, promoting myself like a politician from the southern United States.
Downtown searching for her, looking all around.
I was searching for Nadine in the downtown area, scanning in all directions.
Saw her getting in a yellow cab heading up town.
I spotted Nadine entering a yellow taxi headed uptown.
I caught a loaded taxi, paid up everybody's tab.
I took an occupied taxi, settling the bills for all its passengers.
With a twenty dollar bill, told him 'catch that yellow cab.'
I handed a $20 bill and instructed the taxi driver to pursue the yellow cab Nadine was in.
She move around like a wave of summer breeze,
Nadine moves gracefully like the blowing wind of summer.
Go, driver, go, go, catch her balmy breeze.
I urged the taxi driver to increase speed and pursue Nadine's balmy essence.
Moving thru the traffic like a mounted cavalier.
She moved through the traffic like a chivalrous rider mounted on a horse.
Leaning out the taxi window trying to make her hear
I leant out of the window to get Nadine's attention and communicate with her.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Chuck Berry
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind