One More For The Hall!

In the past few weeks, I have written about the merits of Jerry Reed Hubbard and Richard Lee Skaggs as 2012 inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Today, I am going to take a look at the third person I hope gets some consideration for this high honor. I have been talking about the "Year of the Picker," and since the rotating category for 2012 is "Musician," I didn't have to think long about who my pick would be....Donald Eugene Ulrich.

Of course, he's better known to the world as "Dangerous" Don Rich, right hand man for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos from 1959 until his tragic death in July 1974. This is a big statement, but here goes, just as Chet Atkins' strings echoed Nashville, Don Rich's Telecaster licks defined the California sound. Buck Owens said it often.....He would not have been near as successful had he not had Don behind him. Plus, it didn't end there. His harmonies gave some of Buck's records a haunting side that would have been much different without him, and there was his fiddling. As great of a guitarist as he was, he was an equally good fiddler. If you need proof, take a listen to his playing on "Uncle Pen" from Owens' 1971 album Ruby (And Other Bluegrass Specials). It may be the best piece of fiddling that I have ever heard. And, his playing influenced a generation.

Nashville is slow sometimes to recognize the accomplishments of the West Coast musicians. But, before they induct a deserving session player from Nashville, let's give some credit to one of the best musicians that ever lived. Don Rich. Jerry Reed. Ricky Skaggs. Three reasons why 2012 should be the "Year of the Picker."