Try it free

Ed Ferris

Musician · b. 1934 · Virginia/Maryland region
Best known for Bass

Edward Warren “Ed” Ferris — nicknamed “Metronome” for the unwavering precision of his timing — was one of the most active bassists in the Washington, D.C. bluegrass scene of the late 1960s and 1970s. He played with Emerson and Waldron, Cliff Waldron's New Shades of Grass, Ralph Stanley's Clinch Mountain Boys, the Country Gentlemen, and Mike Auldridge.

Assisted by AI. Spot something off? Help us fix it.
  • Played with Emerson and Waldron as their bassist from the late 1960s — appearing on the influential Rebel albums New Shades of Grass, Bluegrass Country (1969, including the first bluegrass recording of “Fox on the Run”), and One More Step.
  • Member of the Country Gentlemen from 1967-1969, playing on The Traveler and Other Favorites (1968), New Look, New Sound (1969), and Play It Like It Is (1969).
  • Continued with Cliff Waldron's New Shades of Grass after Bill Emerson rejoined the Country Gentlemen in 1970. Played on Waldron's classic Rebel LPs including Travelling Light (1971) through the mid-1970s.
  • Recorded extensively with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys in the early 1970s, appearing on Cry from the Cross (1971), Ralph Stanley Plays Requests (1972), and other Rebel sessions during the classic Roy Lee Centers era.
  • Played bass on Mike Auldridge's solo debut Dobro (1972).
  • Instrumental in defining the D.C.-area bluegrass bass sound of the late 1960s and 1970s across multiple band configurations.

Share Playlist