Herb Pedersen

A longtime staple of the bluegrass scene, singer and multi-instrumentalist Herb Pedersen was born April 27, 1944, in Berkeley, CA. The child of a policeman, he was introduced to country music at numerous Bay Area folk festivals, finding kindred spirits in fellow aspiring musicians like <a href="spotify:artist:3QDaXfnxfQqqJQK5lSdjLN">Jerry Garcia</a> (who went on to form <a href="spotify:artist:4TMHGUX5WI7OOm53PqSDAT">the Grateful Dead</a>) and David Nelson (later of <a href="spotify:artist:2D3v3HJ9k3UzehaewnT3QA">the New Riders of the Purple Sage</a>). In his mid-teens, Pedersen formed his first bluegrass band, the Pine Valley Boys.

In 1961, Pedersen began working in Nashville, performing on Carl Tipton's Bluegrass TV Show. After a 1963 stint with <a href="spotify:artist:5udgy2xk333j33hKnwDz8O">David Grisman</a>'s Smokey Grass Boys, he joined the veteran bluegrass performers Vern and Ray as a singer and five-string banjo player. His work with the duo brought him to the attention of <a href="spotify:artist:4NEA48c6ajydrRzCbyll3M">Earl Scruggs</a>, who in 1967 tapped Pedersen to fill in for him during his recovery from a hip operation. A year later, he replaced <a href="spotify:artist:40bbzCyICujp6RwxBotac6">Doug Dillard</a> in <a href="spotify:artist:3WAkTbMThUvVRq5keECFtS">the Dillards</a> for 1968's Wheatstraw Suite and 1970's Copperfields.

After leaving <a href="spotify:artist:3WAkTbMThUvVRq5keECFtS">the Dillards</a>, Pedersen remained in Los Angeles, where he became a highly regarded session player, working with the likes of <a href="spotify:artist:1KA3WXYMPLxomNuoE22LYd">Gram Parsons</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5s6TJEuHTr9GR894wc6VfP">Emmylou Harris</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1sXbwvCQLGZnaH0Jp2HTVc">Linda Ronstadt</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0vYQRW5LIDeYQOccTviQNX">Kris Kristofferson</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0nJUwPwC9Ti4vvuJ0q3MfT">John Prine</a>. After spending the first half of the decade in the studio, in 1975 Pedersen joined <a href="spotify:artist:5lkiCO9UQ8B23dZ1o0UV4m">Jackson Browne</a>'s tour, and the following year released his first solo LP, Southwest. After 1976's Sandman, he joined <a href="spotify:artist:7EK1bQADBoqbYXnT4Cqv9w">John Denver</a>'s band from 1977 to 1980 and continued his extensive session and production work well into the next decade before cutting a third solo effort, Lonesome Feeling, in 1984. He also ventured into scoring television programs, composing the music for series including The Rockford Files, Kojak, The Dukes of Hazzard, and The A-Team.

Throughout the years, Pedersen had occasionally reunited with his old friend <a href="spotify:artist:70FybmH2MMz9fHewhnLvjs">Chris Hillman</a>, who had made his mark as a member of <a href="spotify:artist:1PCZpxHJz7WAMF8EEq8bfc">the Byrds</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0rESpKEusFHxhW59MIf7eM">the Flying Burrito Brothers</a>. In 1986, the two musicians again joined forces to form <a href="spotify:artist:19FK6WGl1TLyFNsXXqTz8u">the Desert Rose Band</a>, a highly successful country-rock act which scored a series of major hits. After the group disbanded in 1993, a year later Pedersen founded the bluegrass outfit <a href="spotify:artist:7ofWIiVxOlwnLS3jRDjQZT">the Laurel Canyon Ramblers</a>, which released the LP Rambler's Blues in 1995. The group's second effort, Blue Rambler 2, followed in 1996, as did Bakersfield Bound, another reunion between Pederson and <a href="spotify:artist:70FybmH2MMz9fHewhnLvjs">Hillman</a>. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi