My best friend and old picking-buddy died today. Paul Garvey(83),of Kinston NC, and I have been playing music together since 1975. He and I were the founders of the Eastern NC Bluegrass Association in 1981 and we ran it it until I retired from it in 1991. Paul played with my band, The Famous Farm & Home and with the Buicks of Bluegrass, Sour Mash, Bluegrass Connection, The Kinston Winter Bluegrass Promotional Band, and Bridgewater Band and spent the last several years jamming all around, frequenting the Mount Olive NC jam sessions each week. He had a bad car wreck back in December, breaking his knee and 3 ribs. He then got pneumonia and never recovered strength enough to survive.
Paul played an old-timey style of mandolin and fiddle that really brought out the melody of the tune. He was never a fancy, hot-lick player, but always stuck to the basics so anybody could recognize the tune. A truly humble man, he loved Bluegrass and helped me learn a lot of the older tunes that were popular before I came along. We traveled the roads together since 1975 and would play off each other's licks and did a lot of the old brother duets, like the Blue Sky Boys, Delmores, Louvins, together. Our favorite number was Bluebirds, done with a banjo/mandolin echo. We were both fans of Bill Clifton and included many of his songs in our repertoire.
One of our best times was when we traveled to Nashville for the organizational meeting of the IBMA, donating seed money to get it going. We stood in awe on the empty stage of the Ryman and had a great night at the Station Inn. There are so many memories. Neither one of us never made the "big time," but we did have a big time. Rest well, my friend until we meet again.