Rodney Dillard
Best known for
Guitar
Lead Vocals
Rodney Dillard is a Missouri-born guitarist and lead singer who co-founded The Dillards with brother Doug in 1962 and helped electrify bluegrass into "country rock" with 1968's "Wheatstraw Suite" — familiar to a generation of TV viewers as the eldest brother of the Darling family on "The Andy Griffith Show."
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- Born May 18, 1942 in Salem, Missouri; grew up in the Ozark Mountains.
- Co-founded The Dillards with older brother Doug Dillard (banjo); originally performed as The Dillard Brothers on St. Louis radio in 1958.
- Original 1962 lineup with Doug Dillard, Mitch Jayne (bass), and Dean Webb (mandolin); signed to Elektra Records after moving to Los Angeles.
- Played the Darling family on The Andy Griffith Show (the Darlings appeared 1963–1966).
- Pioneered "progressive bluegrass" / "country rock" by electrifying instruments and adding drums on 1968's "Wheatstraw Suite."
- Two Grammy nominations and recipient of the Outstanding Missourian Award.
- The Dillards inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Bill Monroe Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2022.
- Continues to lead The Dillards with wife Beverly Cotton-Dillard; brother Doug died in 2012.
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The DillardsPlayed on recordings with The Dillards
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The Nitty Gritty Dirt BandPlayed on recording with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
