2000 Heritage Award Winner Marty
Stuart
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| This is from the Uncle Dave Macon
Days brochure |
| Uncle Dave Macon Days
annually presents the prestigious Heritage Award to
an individual who has dedicated his/her professional
career to the preservation and promotion of old-time
music and dance. This year's winner is Marty Stuart. Music enthusiasts and performers alike often recognize Marty as the laison between the past, present and future of country music. He is perhaps the most progressive of country artists today; yet his old-time and bluegrass roots run deep and wide. His ability merges a variety of styles. Marty was on the stage of the very first Uncle Dave Macon Days in 1977. At the age of 13, he was on the road with Lester Flatt's band, startling even veteran pickers with his world-class performances. When Lester Flatt died in 1979, Marty branched out, playing a kind of bluegrass fusion with fiddler Vassar Clements and working with acoustic guitar virtuoso Doc Watson. He also began a six-year stint touring with Johnny Cash, which would leave a lsting impression on the young artist and lead Cash to refer to Marty as his favorite guitar player. Marty produced his first solo album in 1982, Busy Bee Cafe. The session band on the half-vocal, half-instrumental album attested to the industry's respect for this young musician: Doc Watson, Merle Watson and Johnny Cash on guitars, Jerry Douglas on dobro, and Carl Jackson on banjo. In 1986, Marty made his major label debut. He began as a sought-after session player with credited contributions on recordings made by Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Neil Young and Bob Dylan. Marty's songwriting skills ultimately led him to an award-winning duet with his friend, Travis Tritt: "The Whiskey Ain't Workin' " and "This One's Gonna Hurt You." The collaboration on those two songs brough the team a Country Music Association award for Vocal Event of the Year in 1992 and a Grammy in 1993. Perhaps Marty would say his biggest moment came November 22, 1992, when he was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry, upon the same stage where he had first appeared as a 13-year-old mandolin-playing teenager. |
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