The Seldom Scene - Biography
By J Poet
Since their first weekly jam sessions in Ben Eldridge’s basement in 1969, The Seldom Scene has gone its own way, and by doing so have emerged as one of the best progressive/newgrass bands from the early 1970s on. By incorporating both rock and pop cover songs into their sets and using a Dobro rather than a fiddle as a lead instrument, they have distinguished themselves from other acts on the bluegrass scene by bringing an “urban” approach to the genre.
Ben Eldridge was born in Richmond, Virginia and was playing guitar before he was a teen. By high school he’d become an accomplished banjo picker, and was already forming his unique musical style. He attended the University of Virginia at Charlottesville where he met John Starling, a guitarist who shared his taste for bluegrass and country music, and they began playing together. After graduation, both moved to Washington, D.C., where they continued playing in Eldridge’s basement. Mandolin player John Duffey, Dobro player Mike Auldridge and bassist Tom Gray joined the sporadic sessions and the first version of the still unnamed band was complete.
As the band only played out live once or twice a month, they chose to go by the tongue-in-cheek name, The Seldom Scene. Despite their relatively low profile, they soon gained a loyal following at the intimate locations they played, and Rebel Records signed them to a contract. While keeping their day jobs they cut six groundbreaking progressive bluegrass collections: Act 1 (1972 Rebel), Act 2 (1973 Rebel), Act 3 (1973, Rebel), which featured Ricky Skaggs sitting in on fiddle, Old Train (1974 Rebel), Live at the Cellar Door (1975 Rebel), and The New Seldom Scene Album (1976, Rebel.) From 1972 to 1976 they played weekly at Bethesda, Maryland’s Red Fox Inn and the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia.
In 1977, Starling left the band to pursue a career as a doctor. Singer/songwriter Phil Rosenthal stepped in and The Seldom Scene decided to take a stab at becoming a pro band. For the first time in their careers they began touring and signed a deal with Barry Poss’s Sugar Hill Records, where they would remain for many years. They recorded Act Four (1978), After Midnight (1981), and At the Scene (1983) for the label, the latter which featured a cover of Jackson Browne’s “Jamaica, Say You Will.” They also did a one-off Gospel album with Ricky Skaggs, Baptizing (1978 Rebel), which included the traditional song, “Were You There?”
There were some more personnel shifts for The Seldom Scene in 1986. Rosenthal and bassist Tom Gray left the group and Lou Reid and T. Michael Coleman, his blasphemous electric bass in tow, joined. In 1986, electric bass was still considered controversial in bluegrass, but The Seldom Scene pushed the envelope and stayed true to its roots—which was to combine traditional and progressive playing with innovative song selections. The new line-up recorded Change of Scenery (1988 Sugar Hill)—an album with a noticeably fuller vocal sound—and Scenic Roots (1990 Sugar Hill), an old-fashioned traditional bluegrass record.
John Starling rejoined the group briefly in 1994, and the line-up shuffled for Like We Used to Be (1994 Sugar Hill), another traditional sounding set. After the band split apart in 1995 and some of the members went on to form the bluegrass outfit Chesapeake, the band resurfaced again to record Dream Scene (1996 Sugar Hill), which would prove to be John Duffy’s last.
In 1996, longtime member John Duffy died suddenly of a heart attack and the band fell apart. After a period of soul searching, banjoist Eldridge decided to carry on. Old friend Lou Reid came back aboard with Dobro player Fred Travers, bassist Ronnie Simpkins and vocalist Dudley Connell, and this incarnation of The Seldom Scene continued to put out records. In 2000 they put out Scene It All (Sugar Hill), which is widely hailed as one of their best all time albums. On it the band recorded without the use of synthesizers and electric instruments. It’d be a long while before they would record again, but in 2007 Scenechronized (Sugar Hill) came out, with Eldridge the lone original member. Nostalgia buffs can pick up Different Roads (2007 Rebel), a compilation culled from their first six Rebel albums.
The Seldom Scene are widely regarded as pioneers in progressive bluegrass, and have influenced many bands over the last three decades, securing the band's space in bluegrass history.