Earl Taylor

b. 17 June 1929, Rose Hill, Lee County, Virginia, USA, d. 28 January 1984. In the late 30s, Taylor was attracted to the music of the Monroe Brothers and learned to play mandolin (on which he later specialized), guitar and harmonica. In 1946, he relocated to Michigan where he played with the Mountaineers, before forming his own Stoney Mountain Boys. In 1948, broke and disenchanted, he disbanded his group and returned to Virginia before moving to Maryland, where he worked outside of music until 1953. He became friendly with teenagers Charlie Waller (later of Country Gentlemen fa...