Bluegrass Music Legend JD Crowe Dies At 84
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The banjo player, Grammy-winning artist, and legendary bluegrass player JD Crowe passed away on Friday, December 24. Kentucky Country Music announced his death on their social media pages on Christmas eve.
The family of the famous Bluegrass musician confirmed the news and asked for prayers for him.
As stated in the Facebook post, earlier today, JD Crowe passed away, as confirmed by his son David.
“You could not have found a nicer guy in the world of bluegrass than Crowe.”
After mentioning one of the hardest working folks in the music industry, the post continued. He was also incredibly fun to be around too.
There is no word yet on what caused his death.
According to Bluegrass Today, JD was hospitalized for unknown reasons in November and was recovering in a rehabilitation facility.
Approximately 20 days before the banjo player was scheduled to be released from a rehab facility, Bluegrass Today reported. On Crowe’s fan page, he, however, said he died at the medical facility, which might suggest that he experienced some health problems while he was there.
The magazine claimed the late star was suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for the past two years.
Flood of Tributes are paid to the musician
Many fans of the musician expressed their condolences after hearing the news of the banjo legend’s death. His fans and industry contacts tweeted about his accomplishments in bluegrass music and as a banjo player.
The country singer Tim McGraw wrote: “Gonna sit down and soak up his records today.” He continued by saying he loved this early video of him performing Tennessee Blues. “Gone too soon,” said Tim.
In his post, Matt Jones mentions: “RIP to the legend, JD Crowe”. Matt Jones also said that JD Crowe was a great talent in Bluegrass music history, and as good a picker as you’ll ever hear. He added that this was part of “our state’s” legendary musical history. “He will be dearly missed,” concluded Jones.
James Dee Crowe aka JD Crowe was born in 1937. He began working professionally as a teenager during the 1950s. During the four years from 1956 through 1958, he recorded multiple pieces with Jimmy Martin’s Sunny Mountain Boys.
In 1983, he won the Grammy Award for Country Instrumental of the Year for his song Fireball.
In 2011, he was also honored with the Bluegrass Star Award until he officially retired from touring the following year.
Ankita Khanrah
Ankita Khanrah is a second-year student of the Master of Communication and Journalism (Integrated) programme at the School of Mass Communication, KIIT Deemed University, Bhubaneswar.
