Crowe, whose group already included Tony’s older brother Larry. Through the Alliance, Tony came in contact with Sam Bush, another musician who shared his now widening eclectic tastes in music.Īfter a year with the Bluegrass Alliance, Tony left to begin a four-year stint with J.D.
Tony had previously performed as a rhythm player, while developing his lead guitar work in private. In 1970 Tony attended Carlton Haney’s festival in Reidsville, North Carolina, where he met and joined the Bluegrass Alliance, taking the place of exiting guitar wizard, Dan Crary. The pursuit of work created somewhat of a transient lifestyle for the Rice family and Tony’s teenage years found them living in Florida, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina. The youngsters played a number of California venues including the Ash Grove and Troubadour nightclubs and Disneyland. Shortly after, Tony played in a group with his brothers Larry on mandolin and Ronnie on bass, plus banjo player Andy Evans. It was here that he met the Kentucky Colonels and their lead guitarist, Clarence White, who would have a profound impact on his playing. He made his performing debut at age nine when he sang “Under Your Spell Again” on the Town Hall radio show. Tony started out learning to play mandolin but soon switched to guitar.
The band, headed by Tony’s guitar and mandolin-playing father Herbert Rice, also included uncles Walter Poindexter on banjo and Leon Poindexter on bass. In his infancy, the family headed west to Los Angeles where Tony’s earliest musical memory is the guitar playing of his uncle, Hal Poindexter, who played in the Golden State Boys. Tony Rice was born in Danville, Virginia, on June 8, 1951.
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