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
Walls
Tony Rice Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And out on the valley way below
It sweeps the grave of my darling
When I die that's where I want to go
Lord, send the angels for my darling
And take her to that home on high
I'll wait my time out here on earth love
Our names are carved upon the tombstone
I promised you before you died
Our love will bloom forever, darling
When we rest side by side
I hear a voice out in the darkness
It moans and whispers through the pines
I know it's my sweetheart a calling
I hear her through the walls of time
The Walls of Time is a mournful and beautiful ballad about a love that transcends death. The lyrics paint a picture of a windy mountain landscape where the singer's beloved is buried in a valley below. The singer longs to join her in the sweet by and by, but until then, he promises that their love will endure forever. The idea of a love that surpasses death is a powerful and universal one, and it's easy to understand why this song has become a classic in the bluegrass canon.
The first verse sets the scene with images of the wind sweeping across the mountains and valleys. The second verse introduces the theme of death and the singer's wish to be reunited with his beloved in heaven. The third verse touches on the idea of eternal love, with the promise that their names will be together on the tombstone, and that their love will continue to bloom beyond the grave. The final verse is the most haunting, with the singer hearing his lover's voice calling to him from beyond the grave. This verse is particularly poignant because it suggests that even though death may separate us physically, love can still reach across the boundary of the afterlife.
Line by Line Meaning
The wind is blowing 'cross the mountains
The gusts of wind are blowing past the lofty mountains
And out on the valley way below
Further down in the valley, the wind flows
It sweeps the grave of my darling
The wind brushes across the resting place of my beloved
When I die that's where I want to go
When my life ends, it is my wish to be laid to rest in that location
Lord, send the angels for my darling
Almighty, graciously assign your angels to escort my dearest one
And take her to that home on high
Lead her to the place of eternal peace and glory
I'll wait my time out here on earth love
I am willing to patiently wait my turn to reunite with her
And come to you when I die
After my passing, I will come to your loving embrace
Our names are carved upon the tombstone
Our written names adorn the marker of our final resting place
I promised you before you died
I gave you my word before you took your final breath
Our love will bloom forever, darling
Our deep affection will forever flourish, my dearest love
When we rest side by side
As we lay together eternally
I hear a voice out in the darkness
In the obscure emptiness, I perceive a sound
It moans and whispers through the pines
It gently sighs and murmurs through the rustling pine trees
I know it's my sweetheart a calling
My intuition confirms that it is my darling beckoning me
I hear her through the walls of time
I experience her voice through the barrier of passed moments and memories
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: BILL MONROE, PETER ROWAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
richard mindemann
Of the two real musical paths, composition and interpretation, Tony Rice is master of the latter. He's particularly fond of the songs of Gordon Lightfoot, of which this song is one. I'm certain Lightfoot is flattered by the many genius interpretations of his work by the great Tony Rice.
Michael Aronson
I love every one of Tony's arrangements of Gordon's songs. He goosed my awareness and appreciation of Gordon's work. Tony was a national treasure - when his voice was intact he was IMHO the best bluegrass guitarist AND vocalist of the day.
John Harrington
Things get serious when this guy gets involved.
Richard Perkins
A much faster tempo on this great cover.
Pamela Hodges-Rice
This is Tony's song about being in Facebook. Lol
Luke Day Music
Pamela Hodges-Rice. Omgoodness that is funny 😂
James Davis
thnx Tony and Pam