Gene Burrows
Musician · Bedford County, Virginia
Best known for
Mandolin
Gene Burrows is a Virginia-born mandolinist and tenor singer whose long career on the bluegrass mainline ran from the Sunny Valley Boys through Reno & Smiley's Bluegrass Cutups and the Shenandoah Cutups, with a five-year detour into the Dominion State Quartet on the gospel circuit.
- Born September 12, 1928 in Bedford County, Virginia.
- First exposed to bluegrass at age 8 when his family brought home an early Monroe Brothers record.
- Led local ensemble the Sunny Valley Boys from the mid-1950s through the early 1960s.
- Appeared on Reno and Smiley's TV show before becoming a full member of the Bluegrass Cutups.
- Played rhythm guitar or mandolin and sang tenor with the Bluegrass Cutups; recorded on their Rimrock and Rural Rhythm albums until 1968.
- Spent five years away from bluegrass working with the gospel Dominion State Quartet, recording three albums.
- Returned to the Shenandoah Cutups on mandolin in fall 1973, noted for tenor harmonies in duets with Billy Edwards.
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Red Smiley and the Bluegrass CutupsPlayed on recordings with Red Smiley and the Bluegrass Cutups
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Jim EanesPlayed on recordings with Jim Eanes