Celebrating Mike Auldridge

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Mike Auldridge
(photo by Jennie Scott)

Dec. 29, 2012: It is with great sadness that we report that Mike Auldridge passed away this morning, one day before his 74th birthday. We know that Mike was very touched by the tributes posted in the guest book. He said this in an interview with IBMA: ” “I was amazed at how many people from around the world signed on and said the most wonderful things imaginable. I had no idea how many people I’ve influenced with my music over the years!”

A heartfelt thanks to each of you who posted messages in the guest book at the time of the NEA award ceremony, and to those who have posted in memoriam.

Welcome to the Mike Auldridge Tribute website, celebrating the 2012 award of the National Endowment for the Art’s highest honor, the National Heritage Fellowship, to Mike Auldridge.

A major purpose of this site is to provide a place for Mike’s many friends and fans to post a tribute to Mike. We hope you’ll click on the Guest Book link and share your tribute: what Mike has meant to you and your music, your reflections on his contributions and influence, stories, anecdotes, or whatever you would like to share.

Visit the NEA’s bio page for Mike to read more about Mike and hear sound clips of some of his music.

In 2007, the International Bluegrass Music Association presented Mike with its prestigious Distinguished Achievement Award. Visit this page to read the text of Rob Ickes’ presentation of this award to Mike.

Mike (left) at ResoSummit (with Jimmy Heffernan)

The influence Mike has wielded is incalculable. From the moment his first solo album, Dobro, was released in 1972, the very sound of the dobro was indelibly and profoundly changed.  To borrow from Steve Martin’s assessment of Earl Scruggs’ influence on the banjo:  Before Mike Auldridge, no one sounded like Mike Auldridge on the dobro. After Mike Auldridge, everyone aspired to sound like Mike Auldridge. As Rob Ickes noted in his IBMA presentation, “To this day, [Mike’s] tone is the holy grail of contemporary resophonic guitar players.” Rob also particularly noted how Mike stretched the boundaries of the instrument in terms of technique, musical vision and elegant taste firmly rooted in a “less is more” ethic.

Thanks for sharing your own tributes to Mike in the Guest Book, and for joining in this celebration of Mike Auldridge and his richly deserved National Heritage Fellowship.

One thought on “Celebrating Mike Auldridge”

  1. Editor's note says:
    October 2, 2012 at 4:20 pm

    Please post comments & tributes on the Guest Book page, rather than here.

    (And if you originally posted your tribute here, you’ll find it on the Guest Book page.)

    Reply

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webcast of the fellowships concert

The National Heritage Fellowships Concert, including a performance by Mike Auldridge, was webcast from Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 4. An archive video of the performance is available at www.arts.gov.
Click the Photos link above to see recently added photographs from the NEA National Heritage celebration events.

Mike Auldridge has been named one of nine 2012 recipients of the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowships – the nation's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.

The Washington Post called Auldridge "one of maybe a handful of truly innovative Dobro players in the history of country and bluegrass music." Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that Mike Auldridge forever changed the sound of the dobro. There is the dobro before Mike, and there is the dobro after Mike, and the dividing line is unmistakeable. His influence is evident in the playing of every dobro player who has followed him, and his role as the key inspiration for the generation of dobro masters who followed him is an important element of his musical legacy.

This website celebrates Mike's enduring achievements, and the award of this prestigious fellowship to him.

read the NEA bio of Mike Auldridge here

contact

To contact this site's administrator, send an email to resosummit@gmail.com.