The Dewey Murphy Loar Mandolin Project | Teaser

For over 50 years, Dewey Murphy used an old Gibson mandolin to play bluegrass music around North Carolina. He was emblematic of the first generation of bluegrass musicians, who grew up in the lean years of the 1930s surrounded by old-time and early country music. Dewey and his brother Fred played all along the front range of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which was and continues to be a hotbed for bluegrass and old-time music. Although he never reached fame like Bill Monroe, Dewey Murphy was well known in North Carolina and performed regularly up into the final years of his life. He passed away in August 2017, leaving behind a rich musical legacy and a very special mandolin, which has subsequently been nicknamed “Dewey”.
For bluegrass aficionados, Gibson F5 mandolins signed by acoustic engineer Lloyd Loar are the most prized instrument. Bill Monroe famously played a Gibson F5 that was signed on July 9th, 1923 and many credit this instrument in particular with the development of bluegrass.
Dewey Murphy found his Gibson F5 Lloyd Loar mandolin in the early 1960s through mandolin dealer Harry West in New York City. The mandolin was signed on February 18th, 1924, but it has features that set it apart from other mandolins signed on this date. The current theory is that this mandolin was assembled out of spare parts, a "floor sweep" model. No one knows where it traveled in the decades before Dewey or what style of music it produced. But once Dewey got a hold of it, it became a bluegrass mandolin.
The concept for “Happy Birthday, Dewey!” was simple. We would celebrate the 100th birthday of this historic mandolin by recording Daniel Ullom, playing the Dewey Murphy Loar in both ensemble and solo settings. The full band tracks feature the amazing talents of Rebecca Branson Jones (banjo), Riley Calcagno (fiddle), Sonya Badigian (guitar) and Joebass DeJarnette (bass). We selected two of Dewey's original tunes, Cherokee and Sandy Mush, and recorded them for this project alongside several legendary old time fiddle tunes.
If you'd like to contribute to funding the completion of this projects you can donate here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
Daniel (@danielullom1516) and Rebecca have teamed up to document the journey of Dewey's Loar in a forth coming short documentary. This teaser is a sneak peek into what we've gathered so far.

[@barbjones6081]

Dewey D. Murphy, my dad - the best dad!!

[@user-ki5ey2iu8k]

I met Daniel at Wintergrass and he let me play Dewey’s mandolin.
Beautiful instrument
Thanks Daniel

[@bygonedaze]

Marvelous story ! Thanks !

[@ChrisHenryVideos]

very cool project! good music!