Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys
Band · Active 1971–present · Boston area
Classic Bluegrass
Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys was the most important traditional bluegrass band to emerge from the Northeast — proof, in bandleader Joe Val's words, that “bluegrass knew no geographical bounds.” Val's piercing high tenor and mandolin anchored six Rounder albums across fifteen years, establishing a Boston-area bluegrass scene that continues today.
- Born Joseph Paul Valiante in Everett, Massachusetts in 1926, Val worked a day job as a typewriter repairman for most of his career, often having to request time off to tour.
- Apprenticed with the Lilly Brothers and Don Stover at Boston's Hillbilly Ranch; filled in on banjo for Stover in 1957 when Stover went to work for Bill Monroe. Joined the Berkshire Mountain Boys in 1960.
- Recorded with the Bill Keith/Jim Rooney Band on Livin' on the Mountain (Prestige, 1962) and with the Harvard/MIT-based Charles River Valley Boys on Bluegrass Get Together (1964) and the landmark Beatle Country (Elektra, 1966), where Val's vocal on “Norwegian Wood” was the album's standout.
- Formed the New England Bluegrass Boys in 1970 with Herb Applin (guitar, vocals), Bob French (banjo), and Bob Tidwell (bass). Bill Monroe personally gave his blessing for the group to use “Bluegrass Boys” in the name.
- Debut album One Morning in May (Rounder 0003, 1971) was one of the very first Rounder Records releases and helped launch the label. Built around Louvin Brothers, Monroe Brothers, and Blue Sky Boys duet material.
- Full Rounder catalog (all acclaimed): One Morning in May (1971), Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys (1975, Rounder 0025), Not a Word from Home (1977), Bound to Ride (1978, Rounder 0109), Diamond Joe (1982), and I'm a Free Born Man (1984). Plus Live in Holland (Strictly Country, 1981).
- Rotating lineup over 15 years included guitarists Dave Dillon and Dave Haney; banjoists Paul Silvius, Karl Lauber, and Joe Dietz; fiddler Sonny Miller; bassist Eric Levenson; and Dobroist Roger Williams. Dan Paisley filled in on guitar for the 1981 European tour.
- Val's signature vocal moments — “Sparkling Brown Eyes” with its yodels, “T for Texas,” “Freight Train Blues” — became “Joe Val songs” to New England audiences.
- Val was diagnosed with lymphoma in 1984 and played his last show that September at a festival in Keene, New Hampshire. He died June 11, 1985 at age 59.
- Posthumously received the IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award (1995) and was inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2018. His 1923 Gibson Lloyd Loar mandolin is engraved on his headstone. The Boston Bluegrass Union's annual Joe Val Bluegrass Festival (held each February) continues his legacy.
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Lonesome Road BluesSparkling Brown Eyes (1982)
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Joe ValPlayed on recordings with Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys
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Eric LevensonPlayed on recordings with Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys
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Paul SilviusPlayed on recordings with Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys
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Dave DillonPlayed on recordings with Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys
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Bob FrenchPlayed on recordings with Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys
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Bob TidwellPlayed on recordings with Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys
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Danny PaisleyPlayed on recordings with Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys
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Herb ApplinPlayed on recordings with Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys
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Dave HaneyPlayed on recordings with Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys
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Herb HoovenPlayed on recordings with Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys
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Karl LauberPlayed on recordings with Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys
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Jim BuchananPlayed on recording with Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys
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Sonny MillerPlayed on recording with Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys