Anybody with any first hand knowledge want to state why J.R. wasn't brought into such circles of the folk revival like his contemporaries such as Doc Watson, Bill Monore, Flatt & Scruggs, Johnny Cash, let alone all the legendary Black Country Blues players etc.? Even post Folk revival era of the last 30 years while acknowledging Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, Willie Nelson . I don't really know about his personal political beliefs ...but was it because people stereotyped him as a redneck. At least some of the people I mentioned above I would speculate had some Conservative leanings, but it didn't stop them from playing at the Newport Folk Festival , or recording with Dylan or the Circle be Unbroken entourage ..... Thoughts? He certainly was diverse, and amazing easily holding his own (at least) on those duets with Chet!
Anybody with any first hand knowledge want to state why J.R. wasn't brought into such circles of the folk revival like his contemporaries such as Doc Watson, Bill Monore, Flatt & Scruggs, Johnny Cash, let alone all the legendary Black Country Blues players etc.? Even post Folk revival era of the last 30 years while acknowledging Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, Willie Nelson . I don't really know about his personal political beliefs ...but was it because people stereotyped him as a redneck. At least some of the people I mentioned above I would speculate had some Conservative leanings, but it didn't stop them from playing at the Newport Folk Festival , or recording with Dylan or the Circle be Unbroken entourage ..... Thoughts? He certainly was diverse, and amazing easily holding his own (at least) on those duets with Chet!