JERRY DOUGLAS (Nominated for Musician of the Year.)
Though he did not invent the dobro, Jerry Douglas is the acknowledged master of the instrument. Born in Warren, Ohio, Douglas' father John was a steelworker who played bluegrass as a hobby. After a Flatt & Scruggs concert in 1963, Douglas decided that he would spend the rest of his life playing the dobro. At 17, Douglas joined a pioneering bluegrass band The Country Gentlemen. After releasing his debut solo album in 1979, Douglas began touring with The Whites. He released several more solo albums and became the most in-demand dobro player in the 1980s. In 1998, Alison Krauss asked Douglas to help out for a tour and he has been a member of Union Station ever since. Douglas, named one of the best Country musicians of all time by Life magazine, has produced albums for the Del McCoury Band, the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Maura O'Connell and Jesse Winchester. Douglas, who won the 2002 CMA Musician of the Year Award, released a new album, The Best Kept Secret, in September on Koch Records.
CMA Awards:
2002 Musician of the Year
CMA Nominations:
1989 Musician of the Year
1990 Musician of the Year
1991 Musician of the Year
1993 Musician of the Year
1995 Musician of the Year
1996 Musician of the Year
1997 Musician of the Year
1998 Musician of the Year
1999 Musician of the Year
2000 Musician of the Year
2001 Musician of the Year
2002 Musician of the Year
2003 Musician of the Year
2005 Musician of the Year
(Bio and Award Listing courtesy the Country Music Association)