Biography
Bobby Van (7 December 1931; mandolin, vocals) and Sonny (b. 29 October 1937, both at Hyden, Kentucky, USA; banjo, vocals) formed this talented bluegrass duo. Bobby had played with the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers in 1949 and in 1951, they recorded as a duo with Jimmy Martin. During Bobby’s military service in 1952, Sonny, though barely 15 years old, was playing and appearing on the Grand Ole Opry with Bill Monroe. They were reunited in 1953, appeared on WROL Knoxville and made further recordings with Martin. From 1956-59, they played WWVA’s Wheeling Jamboree and, recording with Red Allen, had a 1958 hit on MGM Records with ‘Once More’. In 1963 they joined the Grand Ole Opry and after changing to the Decca Records label had several country chart successes, including ‘Rocky Top’. Never afraid to modernize their bluegrass (Sonny actually once stated that he did not care too much for the genre), they added other musicians and used electrified...
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