Biography

Doyle Lawson was born in Ford Town, Sullivan County, Tennessee, the son of Leonard and Minnie Lawson. The Lawson family moved to Sneedville in 1954, around the time that Doyle acted upon his love for music. Lawson grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday nights. This is where he became inspired by Bill Monroe, the "founding father" of bluegrass, and his band the Blue Grass Boys. His own instrumental piece, "Rosine," is a tribute to Monroe's birthplace and features, among other things, strains from the singer's 1967 instrumental "Kentucky Mandolin".

Doyle became interested in playing the mandolin around the age of eleven so his father borrowed a mandolin from Willis Byrd, a family friend and fellow musician. Doyle taught himself how to play the mandolin by listening to the radio and records, and watching an occasional TV show. His love for music grew and Doyle decided to learn to play the guitar and banjo as well.

Every year Doyle hosts the Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver Festival in Denton, North Carolina. He has one son, Robbie, and two daughters Suzi and Kristi. Kristi gave birth to the Lawson’s first grandchild, Spencer, in July 2007. Doyle rededicated his life to Christianity in May 1985 and is a practicing member of Cold Spring Presbyterian Church.

1960s

In 1963, at the age of eighteen, Doyle went to Nashville to play the banjo with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys. In 1966, he started playing with J.D. Crowe and the Kentucky Mountain Boys (later the New South), in Lexington, Kentucky. He went back to play the mandolin and sing tenor with Jimmy Martin in 1969 for six months. After he left the Sunny Mountain Boys, he returned to play with Crowe until August 1971.

1970s

On September 1, 1971, Doyle started playing with the Country Gentlemen and remained part of the band for almost eight years, when in March 1979 Doyle left the band. Doyle states that at that time in his career he wanted to make his own sound and that he has done. In 1977, he backed up U.S. Senator Robert Byrd on his "Mountain Fiddler" album. In April 1979 Doyle formed his own band and called them Doyle Lawson and Foxfire, which quickly changed to Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. "No one since the late great Bill Monroe melds bluegrass with gospel music quite like the former Country Gentlemen member Doyle Lawson…" Memphis Commercial Appeal.

1980s

In 1981, Lawson and Quicksilver released the critically acclaimed "Rock My Soul," an album that would become a landmark bluegrass gospel project.

In 1989 they won IBMA song of the year for "Little Mountain Church House."

1990s

In 1996, "There's a Light Guiding Me" was nominated for a Grammy.

In 1998 Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver became the first bluegrass band to perform at the National Quartet Convention.

2000s

Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver performed in Ontario, Canada at the Tottenham Bluegrass Festival in June 2001 and again in June 2015. Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver provided the background vocals to the song "Dazzling Blue" on Paul Simon's 2011 album "So Beautiful or So What".

In 2015, "In Session"was nominated for Best Bluegrass Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.

Original and current lineup of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

Original:

• Doyle Lawson-mandolin,vocal
• Jimmy Haley-guitar, vocal
• Lou Reid-bass, vocal
• Terry Baucom-banjo, vocal

Current:

• Doyle Lawson-mandolin, vocal
• Josh Swift-dobro, vocal
• Joe Dean-banjo
• Dustin Pyrtle-guitar, vocal
• Eli Johnston-bass, vocal
• Stephen Burwell-fiddle

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album		Label
1977	Tennessee Dream		County
1979	Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver		Sugar Hill
1981	Heavenly Treasures
	Quicksilver Rides Again
	Rock My Soul
1985	Once and for Always
1986	Beyond the Shadows
1987	The News Is Out
1988	Heaven's Joy Awaits
	Hymn Time in the Country
	I'll Wander Back Someday
1989	I Heard the Angels Singing
1990	My Heart Is Yours
1991	Merry Christmas from Our House to Your House
1992	Pressing on Regardless		Brentwood
	Treasures Money Can't Buy
1995	Doyle Lawson with Bobby Hicks & Jerry Douglas		Koch
	Never Walk Away		Sugar Hill
1996	There's a Light Guiding Me
1997	Kept & Protected
1998	Gospel Radio Gems
1999	Original Band
	Winding Through Life
2000	Just Over in Heaven
2001	Gospel Parade
2002	The Hard Game of Love
1994	Hallelujah in My Heart		Music Mill
	Thank God		Crossroads
2005	You Gotta Dig a Little Deeper	4	Rounder
2006	He Lives in Me	4	Crossroads
2007	More Behind the Picture Than the Wall	2	Rounder
2008	Help Is On the Way	4	Horizon
2009	Lonely Street		Rounder
2010	Light On My Feet, Ready to Fly	11	Horizon
2011	Drive Time	15	Crossroads
2012	Sing Me a Song About Jesus	9
2013	Roads Well Traveled	14	Mountain Home
2014	Open Carefully, Message Inside	10
2015	In Session	8

Compilation albums

Year	Album		Label
1990	The Gospel Collection 1		Sugar Hill
1999	A School of Bluegrass	9	Crossroads
	Once and for Always/The News Is Out		Sugar Hill
2007	Best of the Sugar Hill Years

Awards

International Bluegrass Music Association

• 1990 Song of the Year: Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver for "Little Mountain Church"
• 1996 Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year: Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver for "There's a Light Guiding Me"
• 2000 Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year: Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver for "Winding Through Life"
• 2001 Vocal Group of the Year: Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
• 2002 Vocal Group of the Year: Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
• 2003 Vocal Group of the Year: Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
• 2003 Song of the Year: Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver for "Blue Train"
• 2003 Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year: Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver for "Hand Made Cross"
• 2004 Vocal Group of the Year: Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
• 2005 Vocal Group of the Year: Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
• 2005 Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year: Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver for "Praise His Name"
• 2006 Vocal Group of the Year: Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
• 2006 Album of the Year: Celebration of Life: Musicians Against Childhood Cancer, featuring various bluegrass bands and musicians
• 2006 Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year: Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver for "He Lives in Me"
• 2007 Vocal Group of the Year: Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
• 2007 Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year: Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver for "He Lives in Me"
• 2011 Recorded Event of the Year: Doyle Lawson, J. D. Crowe, Paul Williams for "Prayer Bells of Heaven"
• 2011 Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year: Doyle Lawson, J. D. Crowe, Paul Williams for "Prayer Bells of Heaven"
• 2012 Hall of Fame: Doyle Lawson

[ Source: Wikipedia ]