sweetest ever harmony vocals and most adventurous arrangements yet – shoulder-to- shoulder with the rollicking ‘Hey Boys’ (featuring Herb on lead vocal) and the staggering, million miles an hour romp that is ‘Bending The Strings’. To fully appreciate why the song is so called, one is invited to witness the group in full flight (not to mention matching fringed jackets and boots!) on ’67 TV show Melody Ranch where Herb actually detunes the strings of his banjo to get the notes during this breakneck bluegrass face- off. For the record the group also perform ‘Dooley’, ‘Shady Grove’ and ‘Old Man At The Mill’ – originally included on their debut back in ’63 and about to be renovated for their next album – while continuing to indulge their comedy hick personae for laughs, something decidedly at odds with the music the four Dillards were actually making behind closed doors. Much has been made of the group’s interpretation of The Beatles’ ‘I’ve Just Seen A Face’ – itself a bluegrass steal – but even this knowing concession to “pop” struggles to rival the group’s own songwriting ability on this album.


Copperfields followed in early 1970 and found the band revelling in their newfound freedom even further. The cover shows the foursome in shirts and slacks with Herb centre-stage. The list of session support that characterised Wheatstraw Suite is gone, replaced by drummer Paul York and guest fiddle maestro Byron Berline. The material continues in the vein of its predecessor, featuring another Beatles tune (a jaw- dropping a capella ‘Yesterday’), the best ever version of Harry Nilsson’s ‘Rainmaker’ and a whole host of stunning originals that run the gamut from nostalgic folk-pop (the exquisite title track) to strident country-rock (‘In Our Time’); upbeat bluegrass (a reworked ‘Ebo Walker’) to longing ballads (‘Touch Her If You Can’). According to Rodney, the latter was virtually made up on the spot by him and Mitch. “Mitch and I, we were in our bummer love song period because we were both suffering divorces.” Even its melancholic origins can’t disguise the song’s innate prettiness and commercial appeal.


The group even came pretty close to echoing the psychedelic slant of The Byrds or Buffalo Springfield on ‘Brother John’, which swings along on a jazz backbeat and some nifty guitar work. “As for ‘Brother John’, Herb had written this great song and we decided to record it that way. Besides, I’d never gotten to play jazz guitar before!” remembers Rodney.


Any one of them could have been plucked off a single and brightened up the airwaves that spring. “I don’t think we were trying to write hits,” recalls Rodney. “I mean, that’s a job for the song factories.”


Sadly, the album sold poorly, as had its equally illustrious predecessor. It’s clear that this was no reflection of quality –the group was still being paid lip service by virtually every successful acoustic act in the land – but more to do with Elektra’s inability to promote them effectively. I mean, what the hell were they anyway? Seasoned bluegrass veterans, country-rockers, radio-friendly songsmiths or serious musicians? How about all of the above?


“They didn’t know what we were,” states Rodney. “They couldn’t identify us. Nobody has really ever known how to market what we did.”


A short-lived tenure at White Whale Records resulted in two superb 1970 singles. Of these, the Herb-sung ‘Comin’ Back Again’ is a gorgeous pearl of bossa-tinged sunshine pop while the group’s pedal steel-drenched reading of Bob Dylan’s ‘One Too Many Mornings’ almost defines the term “country- rock” and would’ve fit snugly on Copperfields.


Herb was the first to leave in ’70, following his forerunner Doug Dillard into session work with the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Johnny Rivers, James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot and John Prine as well as TV and movie soundtracks like The Rockford Files, Smokey And The Bandit, Maverick, Hunter and The Simpsons. He also recorded solo sets Southwest and Lonely Feeling and in the ’80s formed The Desert Rose Band with Chris Hillman. The pair has continued to play together on and off ever since.


Meanwhile, the group was dropped by Elektra and signed to United Artists offshoot Anthem Records, recruiting Californian banjo picker Billy Ray Latham, fresh from a 13-year stint with The Kentucky Colonels – also one- time guests on The Andy Griffiths Show – as Herb’s replacement. The group photo that graced the cover of the ’72 album Roots And Branches also features drummer Paul York alongside the newly be-whiskered Dillards. The record itself eschews much of the pastoral charm of the two late ’60s albums in favour of a more pronounced rock feel; opener ‘Redbone Hound’ features fuzz-banjo! There are less group-composed tunes


too and the overall impression is one of record company intervention and unnecessary polish. That said, ‘Forget Me Not’ recalls their best work, ‘Big Bayou’ is an irresistible country-rocker and a stripped- down ‘Man Of Constant Sorrow’ reminds you who it is you’re listening to.


The album went on to become the group’s biggest seller, its success no doubt buoyed by a high-profile US tour supporting Elton John, whose own Americana-drenched Honky Chateau was sitting pretty at the top of the US charts at the time.


1974’s Tribute To The American Duck was smoother still with almost all traces of folk and bluegrass replaced by a sterile production and some sub-par material. A surprise return to the 10-year old ‘Dooley’ sounds jarring in such surroundings. ’74 also saw the departure of Mitch Jayne, who was suffering hearing problems and whose book Old Fish Hawk was picked up by 20th Century Fox. Lured away to Hollywood, just like he had been 11 years earlier.


The group continued to play and record with ever-shifting line-ups and the surprise release of Elektra’s Country Tracks: The Best Of The Dillards in ’76 rekindled some interest. But by the time of their next album, Flying Fish, in ’77 the magic was dwindling.


Rodney, Doug, Dean, Mitch and Herb all went on to enjoy successful careers in music, TV, books or movies. In ’88 the original quartet reunited for a TV special and a year later they appeared in Return To Mayberry, a TV movie reuniting the cast of The Andy Griffith Show and the highest-viewed TV movie of the year. The following year saw them embark on a short tour of America that grew and grew and grew. They ended up playing 132 dates around the globe. They still perform and record today.


The steady reissue of their back catalogue on CD, and their continuing influence on country and folk music, has introduced The Dillards’ music to a couple of generations of new fans who weren’t even born during the group’s ’60s heyday and – if they’re anything like this writer – didn’t even realise they liked country music. Hearing Copperfields for the first time certainly opened my ears and I shall be forever grateful to The Darling Boys for that.


I shall leave the final word on the magic of The Dillards’ musical legacy to Rodney himself. “You try to define all this, you guys who write the books, but it’s very much like trying to put sunlight in a bottle – it’s really hard to capture. We did it ‘cause it was fun.”


Amen to that.


With grateful acknowledgements to Richie Unterberger’s liner notes for the Wheatstraw Suite and Copperfields CDs on Collectors Choice, Mr Tambourine Man: The Life And Legacy Of The Byrds’ Gene Clark by John Einarson (Backbeat Books) and So You Wanna Be A Rock ‘n’ Roll Star by Christopher Hjort (Jawbone Books). Thanks also to Thomas Aubrunner and his web pages.


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