Song of the Day 12/30: Tony Rice, “Church Street Blues”

The deadly year of 2020 claimed yet another notable musician on Christmas Day when influential bluegrass guitarist Tony Rice died, age 69, at his North Carolina home — according to longtime friend and collaborator Ricky Skaggs, while he was making his morning coffee. Rice’s impeccable flat-picking influenced virtually every bluegrass flat-picker since his days with J.D. Crowe and the New South, and after a stint with David Grisman, he expanded the traditional bluegrass sound with elements of jazz and blues. He could also sing more than a little.

In addition to a dozen solo albums, Rice played led his own band in the ’90s, and collaborated on albums with Ricky Skaggs, Bela Fleck and Norman Blake, who wrote this tune, the title track from Rice’s 1983 LP.

You can get a better idea of his guitar chops from this live solo performance of the old folk tune “Shenandoah.”