Bluegrass Characters I Know

        I tell you friend, if you hang out in the world of bluegrass music, you’re gonna meet some characters.  My name is Dr. Tommy Bibey.  I am a semi-retired country doc from eastern N.C.  I was in practice for decades, but always played in a bluegrass band, my best one being Neuse River.
        Now there ain’t no way you can talk about Neuse River without telling you about Moose Dooley.  I reckon Moose is about the best banjo player you ain’t never heard of.  He never hit the road, ’cause as Steve Martin said, “He never heard anyone tell the banjo player to throw that instrument in his Porsche.”  No, the Moose was too wily, and made his fortune in the diamond futures market. The wealth never stopped him from loving bluegrass music, though, and he was my faithful sidekick for fifty years. It was a good thing.  I was a good country doc, but slender and naive.  Moose was strong as a dad-gum bull, and always my protector on the road.
        Moose had made enough money that he could have any banjo he wanted, but his favorite was always the ’27 Gibson flathead.  He’ll correct me if I am wrong, but I believe it is actually a tenor conversion with a Frank Neat neck.  The tone ring is vintage Gibson 30’s; one the Moose excavated on one of his Arctic Diamond Expeditions.  I’m telling’ ya,’ that banjer cracks better than the polar ice caps in global warming.
        If you know any bluegrass stories I need to document for posterity, please comment. Now that I am retired, I view the documentation of the people’s music, and the exploits of memorable characters in bluegrass as one of my final missions on this earth.

Dr. B

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