Ron Spears
Musician · 1953–2023
Ron Spears was a bluegrass singer, mandolinist, and bass player from Utah who led Ron Spears and Within Tradition through three Copper Creek albums, then spent two decades as a sideman and harmony singer in touring bands from the Special Consensus to Fast Track.
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- Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 28, 1953, and raised in West Valley City.
- Started on electric guitar playing rock and roll at twelve, and traded it for a banjo at sixteen after hearing bluegrass.
- Played with Obadiah’s Organic Bluegrass Band in the 1970s and Bluegrass Conspiracy around 1990.
- Formed Within Tradition in 1995; the band lasted a year, re-formed in 1999, and released My Time Has Come (Copper Creek, 1999) and Carolina Rain (Copper Creek, 2004).
- Joined the Special Consensus on mandolin in 2004, replacing Josh Williams, and stayed through 2007.
- Went on to play with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, David Parmley and Continental Divide, the James King band, Reno and Harrell, and David Parmley and Cardinal Tradition.
- Joined Fast Track in 2019 and remained with the band until his death.
- Wrote songs recorded by Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, IIIrd Tyme Out, Lou Reid, and the Bluegrass Cardinals; his “Cold Virginia Rain,” written with Charles Edsall, was cut by Josh Williams on Lonesome Highway (2004).
- Won the Utah State Grand Championship as a competitive yo-yo player and also worked as a ventriloquist.
- Died on March 22, 2023.
