As well as his solo recordings and as The Tony Rice Unit, he was a founding member of The David Grisman Quintet (setting the guitar standard for the bluegrass-jazz fusion music often called Dawg after the bearded facial appearance of David Grisman) and The Bluegrass Album Band. He has also recorded as Ricky Skaggs & Tony Rice, Norman Blake & Tony Rice, Tony Rice & David Grisman, Tony Rice & John Carlini, Jerry Garcia, David Grisman & Tony Rice, Peter Rowan & Tony Rice, and John Hartford, Tony Rice & Vassar Clements.
Rice spanned the range of acoustic music, from straight-ahead bluegrass to jazz-influenced new acoustic music, to songwriter-oriented folk. He is remembered as perhaps the greatest innovator in acoustic flatpicked guitar since Clarence White. Over the course of his career, he played alongside J.D. Crowe and the New South, David Grisman (during the formation of “Dawg Music”), led his own groups, collaborated with fellow picker Norman Blake and recorded with his brothers. He recorded with drums, piano, soprano sax, and with straight-ahead bluegrass instrumentation.
Rice was born in Danville, Virginia but grew up in California, where he was introduced to bluegrass by his father. He and his brothers learned a lot from hot L.A. pickers like the Kentucky Colonels, led by Roland and Clarence White. Crossing paths with fellow enthusiasts like Ry Cooder, Herb Pederson and Chris Hillman reinforced the strength of the music he had learned from his father.
In 1970, Rice moved back to Kentucky where he played with the Bluegrass Alliance, and shortly thereafter, J.D. Crowe’s New South. The New South was known as one of the best and most progressive bluegrass groups - even adding drums and electric instruments. But when Ricky Skaggs joined up in 1974, the band recorded J.D. Crowe & the New South, an acoustic album that became Rounder’s top-seller up to that time. With Rice on guitar and vocals, Crowe on banjo and vocals, Jerry Douglas on Dobro, Skaggs on fiddle and mandolin and Bobby Slone on bass, the band’s energy, as well as their instrumental and vocal drive have rarely been matched.
Around this time Rice met mandolinist David Grisman, who played with Red Allen during the ‘60s and was now working on some original material that blended jazz, bluegrass and classical styles. Rice left the New South and moved to California to join Grisman’s all instrumental group. As part of the David Grisman Quintet, Rice expanded his horizons beyond three chord bluegrass, studying chord theory, learning to read charts and expanding the range of his playing.
In 1979, he left the group to pursue his own music. He recorded Acoustics, a guitar-oriented record, and then Manzanita which collected some favorite folk and bluegrass vocals. In 1980, Rice, Crowe, Bobby Hicks, Doyle Lawson and Todd Phillips formed a highly successful coalition, attacking bluegrass standards under the name the Bluegrass Album Band. This group recorded six volumes of music.
Rice’s solo career hit its stride with Cold on the Shoulder, a collection of bluegrass vocals. With this album, Native American and Me & My Guitar, Rice arrived at a formula that incorporated his disparate influences, combining bluegrass, the songwriting of folk artists like Ian Tyson, Joni Mitchell, Phil Ochs and especially Gordon Lightfoot, with nimble, jazz-inflected guitar work. Simultaneously, he pursued his jazz and experimental “spacegrass” with the Tony Rice Unit on Mar West, Still Inside and Backwaters.
Two highly regarded albums with traditional guitar virtuoso Norman Blake gained a great deal of acclaim, as well as two Rice Brother albums that reunited him with his younger brother, Wyatt. Tony Rice remained one of bluegrass’ top instrumentalists and singers, bringing originality and vitality to everything he played.
Official Website: Tony Rice
Shady Grove
Tony Rice Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Apples in the fall
If I can't have the girl I love
I won't have none at all
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove, I know
Shady Grove, my little love
I wish I had a banjo string
Made of golden twine
Every tune I'd pick on it
I wish that girl was mine
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove, I know
Shady Grove, my little love
I'm bound for Shady Grove
Some come here to fiddle and dance
Some come here to tarry
Some come here to fiddle and dance
I come here to marry
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove, I know
Shady Grove, my little love
I'm bound for Shady Grove
(Yes)
Every night, when I go home
My wife, I try to please her
The more I try, the worse she gets
Damned if I don't leave her
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove, my darling
Shady Grove, my little love
I'm going back to Harlan
Every night, when I go home
My wife, I try to please her
The more I try, the worse she gets
Damned if I don't leave her
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove, I know
Shady Grove, my little love
I'm bound for Shady Grove
Fly around, my pretty little miss
Fly around, my Daisy
Fly around, my pretty little miss
Nearly drive me crazy
Shady Grove, my true love
Shady Grove, I know
Shady Grove, my little love
I'm bound for Shady Grove
Tony Rice’s song, “Shady Grove,” is a classic folk tune that tells the story of a man who can’t have the woman he loves, so he decides to have no one at all. The song is filled with references to fruit, pickin’, and fiddlin’, all elements of traditional American music genres. The lyrics capture the feeling of desperation as the singer sings about wanting to be with his love and wishing that he had a special banjo string that could bring her closer to him.
Throughout the song, the singer expresses his yearning for the woman he loves. He sings about peaches and apples, using fruit as a metaphor for the different seasons of love. He talks about wishing he had a special banjo string, made from golden twine, that he could use to send his love to her. The chorus is a simple, repetitive one that expresses his love for a place called Shady Grove, where he hopes to be reunited with his beloved.
Line by Line Meaning
Peaches in the summertime
I love to eat peaches in the summertime
Apples in the fall
I love to eat apples in the fall
If I can't have the girl I love
If I can't have the girl I love, then I won't be with anyone else
I won't have none at all
I won't be with anyone else if I can't be with the girl I love
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove is my little love
Shady Grove, I know
I know Shady Grove well
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove is my little love
I'm bound for Shady Grove
I am going to Shady Grove
I wish I had a banjo string
I wish I had a banjo string made of golden twine
Made of golden twine
I would really like a banjo string made of golden twine
Every tune I'd pick on it
If I had a banjo string made of golden twine, I'd pick every tune on it
I wish that girl was mine
I really wish the girl I love was mine
Some come here to fiddle and dance
Some people come here to dance and fiddle
Some come here to tarry
Some people come here to stay
Some come here to fiddle and dance
Some people come here to dance and fiddle
I come here to marry
I came here to get married
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove is my little love
Shady Grove, I know
I know Shady Grove well
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove is my little love
I'm bound for Shady Grove
I am going to Shady Grove
(Yes)
Yes
Every night, when I go home
Every night when I go home
My wife, I try to please her
I try to please my wife
The more I try, the worse she gets
The more I try to please her, the more difficult she becomes
Damned if I don't leave her
I may have to leave her
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove is my little love
Shady Grove, my darling
Shady Grove is my darling
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove is my little love
I'm going back to Harlan
I'm going back to Harlan
Fly around, my pretty little miss
My pretty little miss, fly around
Fly around, my Daisy
My Daisy, fly around
Fly around, my pretty little miss
My pretty little miss, fly around
Nearly drive me crazy
You nearly drive me crazy
Shady Grove, my true love
Shady Grove is my true love
Shady Grove, I know
I know Shady Grove well
Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove is my little love
I'm bound for Shady Grove
I am going to Shady Grove
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jerome J. Garcia, David Jay Grisman, DP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@truthtone58
Tony Rice was beyond belief, just can't beat that sound.
@bethrobison7403
This song has been done many times, by outstanding musicians. This trio (no offense to Rowan) was gifted. Their performances probably will never be bested.
@jefferyscott8875
RIP TONY RICE. One of the greats.
@cranem99
Tony Rice is a marvel, but the whole band is great. I especially love Sharon Gilchrist's mandolin playing. Terrific stuff.
@-jank-willson
Imagine this band, but with effects on the guitar like heavy distortion. That would be delicious to listen to...
@nicholasdauphinais
@@-jank-willsonBilly Strings lol?
@martinwall7297
best bar fly's i ever heard or seen, great taltent. we want more. rip Tony.
@apiarygirl
You girls are GREAT! Enjoyed seeing female grassers ROCK!
@jerrycoleman498
6
@williamsmith41
Been a huge Tony fan since I was a kid back in the 90's! And even though he's not playing "Clarence Antique" that guitar has the stuff and Bryn is phenomenal-major bass talent-I'm married but yeah man I have a respectful crush on her for her ability to feel the vibe-she amazes me every time I watch her play! God Bless