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Born
July 23, 1971, Alison Krauss grew up in Champaign, Ill.,
where her parents encouraged her and her brother, Viktor,
to play instruments at an early age. Soon after taking
up the violin, Krauss discovered fiddle contests and
bluegrass festivals.
She earned her initial acclaim as an instrumentalist,
but soon it was her voice that captivated everyone's
attention.
Rounder Records signed Krauss as an artist when she
was 14. As her career has progressed, she has developed
her skills as a producer, arranger and finder of great
songs. In addition to producing her own recordings with
Union Station, Krauss has produced three albums for
the Cox Family and two for Nickel Creek. She also produced
Reba McEntire’s 2001 single, “Sweet Music
Man.”
After launching her recording career with the 1987 album,
Too Late to Cry, Krauss introduced her band, Union Station,
on the 1989 release Two Highways. They made bluegrass
sales history with the 1995 release of Now That I’ve
Found You: A Collection which achieved double platinum
status from the RIAA after selling more than 2 million
copies. Her next three projects, including 1999’s
pop-flavored solo album Forget About It, were each certified
gold for sales of 500,000 copies. The band’s 2002
concert album, Live, was certified platinum.
Krauss remains in demand for studio work. She has sung
and played on recordings by such artists as Bad Company,
Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, John Michael Montgomery,
Michael McDonald, Michael Johnson, Dolly Parton, Alan
Jackson, Rhonda Vincent, Dar Williams, Brad Paisley,
the Chieftains, Kris Kristofferson, Kenny Rogers, Ralph
Stanley, Shenandoah and Phish. She joined the Grand
Ole Opry in 1993 at the age of 21. By 2003, she had
won 14 Grammy awards.
In addition to collaborating with high profile artists
for special projects, Krauss has been in high demand
for film soundtracks. Most notable is her involvement
in the soundtrack for the 2000 film O Brother, Where
Art Thou? -- a project that also gained additional attention
for Union Station member Dan Tyminski. They also appeared
in the companion concert film, Down From the Mountain.
Krauss has also contributed music to other film and
TV shows, including soundtracks for Divine Secrets of
the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Where the Red Fern Grows, Mona
Lisa Smile, Crossing Jordan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
Krauss collaborated with rock musician Sting for “You
Will Be My Ain True Love,” one of two tracks she
recorded for the 2003 film, Cold Mountain. The song
garnered an Oscar nomination. She also teamed with James
Taylor to record “How’s the World Treating
You” for the 2003 tribute album, Livin’,
Lovin’, Losin’: Songs of the Louvin Brothers.
The pairing won a Grammy and Live won two. As of 2004,
Krauss has won 17 Grammys.
Tyminski, who plays guitar and sings in Union Station,
remains one of the most dynamic and talented performers
on the bluegrass scene. Although he had already earned
a strong following, Tyminski found himself in the media
spotlight after providing the singing voice for George
Clooney in O Brother, Where Art Thou? His performance
of “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” won single
of the year honors at the 2001 CMA Awards and a 2001
Grammy for country collaboration of the year. Including
his tally with Union Station, he has won 10 Grammys.
Before becoming a member of Union Station in 1994, Tyminski
played mandolin and sang in the Lonesome River Band.
Tyminski's love and feel for traditional bluegrass didn't
come from growing up in the southern Appalachians but
rather in Vermont. He credits his brother Stan with
getting him hooked on the guitar and mandolin at the
age of 6. While Stan was in the Navy and home on leave,
he left his mandolin with his younger brother.
Tyminski attributes his love for traditional bluegrass
to such musicians and singers as Del McCoury, Ricky
Skaggs, Tony Rice, Larry Sparks and Jimmy Martin. In
2003, Rounder reissued Tyminski's solo album, Carry
Me Across the Mountain, first released in 2000 by Doobie
Shea Records.
Barry Bales, bass player and harmony vocalist for Union
Station, grew up in Kingsport, Tenn. His first memories
of music are listening to the records of Flatt &
Scruggs, Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers, Bob Wills,
Buck Owens and Hank Thompson from his father's extensive
collection. Inspired by his father's guitar playing
and singing, Bales started experimenting with different
instruments at the age of 10. At 16, he found the bass.
Bales attended East Tennessee State University for three-and-a-half
years. During that time, he played in the band Dusty
Miller, which also included former Union Station members
Adam Steffey and Tim Stafford. It was during that time
the three met Krauss, who soon after asked them to join
Union Station.
Ron Block has been playing the banjo and guitar, as
well as writing songs and singing, with Union Station
since October 1991. Before joining Union Station, he
was a member of the Lynn Morris Band and Weary Hearts.
Block grew up surrounded by music in his father's music
store in Lawndale, Calif. A musician himself, Block's
father played bass in a rhythm and blues band. Block
says his earliest memories are of the smell of old guitars
and of listening to guys sitting around the store playing.
When he was 11, he received his first guitar. At 13
he became fascinated with the banjo after seeing Flatt
& Scruggs on television. The following year, his
dad gave him a banjo for Christmas.
As he listened to the Stanley Brothers and Larry Sparks,
Block became more interested in playing guitar and singing.
Other musical influences include Joni Mitchell, Pat
Metheny, Larry Carlton, James Taylor and Benny Goodman.
Alison Krauss & Union Station have recorded several
of Block's songs, including "There Is a Reason"
and "Pain of a Troubled Life," both of which
appear on their So Long, So Wrong album. Rounder released
Block’s solo album, Faraway Land, in 2001.
Jerry Douglas started his musical career early. As a
5-year-old, he began playing the mandolin. He then moved
to guitar and at 11 segued into Dobro after seeing Flatt
& Scruggs Dobro master Uncle Josh Graves perform.
At 18, Douglas hit the bluegrass festival circuit full
time as a member of the Country Gentlemen. Before long,
he joined Ricky Skaggs in J.D. Crowe's band, New South.
In September 1975, the two young pickers broke away
and formed their own group, Boone Creek. After three
years, Skaggs embarked on his successful solo career,
and Douglas started making his distinctive mark on all
things Dobro.
In 1983, Douglas joined the Whites and played with them
for two years. During this time, he became one of the
first artists signed to the MCA Master Series label,
for which he recorded three solo albums. Douglas began
recording for Sugar Hill in 1992. His most recent album
for that label is Lookout for Hope (2003). He has won
eight Grammy awards. |
