 |
 |
Picture made available by Al Hawkes of Event Records.
LILLY BROTHERS
Mike’s uncles - The Lilly Brothers, Everett and Bea, were pioneers of old time American folk and bluegrass music. They began their careers as a duet with Bea on guitar and Everett playing mandolin in West Virginia. After establishing a reputation for their music in southern West Virginia they played live radio shows throughout the larger southern Appalachian region for several years and joined the well-known WWVA in Wheeling Jamboree on the Red Belcher Show in 1947. In 1950 Everett joined Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and appears on their classic Columbia recordings singing tenor and playing mandolin. In 1952 Everett and Bea along with Don Stover joined Tex Logan, who had played fiddle on the Red Belcher show, to form the first bluegrass band to gain prominence in Boston. In addition to nightly performances at the Hillbilly Ranch for most of the next 18 years they appeared on radio and television shows and introduced their old time southern Appalachian music on college campuses and concert halls in the region. Don Stover, a remarkable banjo player and fellow West Virginian, played with the Lilly Brothers throughout this time except for a couple of short stints with other bands. The Lilly Brothers and Don Stover were inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Honor in 2002 in recognition of their beautiful music and for their many contributions in the diffusion of bluegrass. Their recordings appear on Rounder Records, Rebel Records, Smithsonian Folkways, Fantasy Records and Hay Holler.