Band of Joy

He kept grinding through bands.

The Crawling King Snakes was another one, and in one of them, the Band of Joy, he sang alongside a hard-hitting drummer from just down the road named John Bonham.

And it was when he was in another band, Obs Tweedle, that Jimmy Page saw him perform for the first time, which would change everything.

In 1968, Page was putting together a new band out of the wreckage of the Yardbirds.

He needed a singer, and the first person he tried, Terry Reid, couldn't do it because he had other commitments, including opening for the Rolling Stones.

But Reid had a suggestion.

You should go see this kid in the Midlands.

While covering songs from Jefferson Airplane and Buffalo Springfield to a very small audience, it was obvious that Plant was a star, and he had a voice that could cut through a wall.

And just last week, Buddy Miller was here in the Bay Area, where we are, where he appeared at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, the amazing free festival that happens every October.

And during Buddy's set, he was joined on stage by his fellow Band of Joy member, Robert Plant; in addition to being joined by Emmylou Harris, who is one of the many guests on this album, Buddy Miller, his first solo album in 15 years.

Those other guests include Shawn Colvin, Lee Ann Womack, Ashley Monroe, The War and Treaty, Jim Lauderdale, Elizabeth Cook, Dan Penn, Regina McCrary, Larry Campbell, and Teresa Williams.

It's an eclectic album, and Buddy himself is an affable and fascinating fellow, and I really enjoyed speaking with him a few weeks ago, shortly after the passing of Dolly Parton and Hayden Panettiere, both of whom worked very closely with Buddy.

... and besides guitar, mostly guitar, thankfully, and Stuart Duncan.

And, um, but anyway, so when we went in the studio, uh, to, and began work on a second record that kind of then petered out at that time, they, they did finish it, um, Robert called me and said, "Hey, man, let's, let's do a record.

Uh, let's put a band together, and let's do a record." And we put a band together called The Band of Joy.

I called up, uh, Patty Griffin, who I just produced a record on her, and, uh, Daryl Scott, who lived down the street from me, who could play anything, and my friend Byron House on bass, who just loves every kind of music, could go out on a limb.

And then when the second record sort of blew up the first time, he approached me about making a record together and putting a band together.

And that's what we did, Band of Joy.

The

Band of Joy.

Right.

Right.